Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al Khobar and Unaizah

For one person, living is cheaper in Unaizah: $1,221 a month against $1,471 in Al Khobar, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

71

Cost of Living Index in Al Khobar
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Al Khobar Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Unaizah
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Unaizah Living Index

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Al Khobar

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,471

/mo nomad

Unaizah

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,221

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Al Khobar and in Unaizah

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Al Khobar and in Unaizah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,471 in Al Khobar versus $1,221 in Unaizah.

Al Khobar $1,471
Unaizah $1,221

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,231 in Al Khobar versus $1,813 in Unaizah.

Al Khobar $2,231
Unaizah $1,813

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,991 in Al Khobar versus $2,405 in Unaizah.

Al Khobar $2,991
Unaizah $2,405

Living in Al Khobar is roughly 20% more expensive than in Unaizah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Al Khobar is 9% above, Unaizah is 10% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.74 SAR 25.29

$6.68 SAR 25.07

0.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.2 SAR 226

$40.07 SAR 150

50.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.14 SAR 30.57

$7.05 SAR 26.48

15.46%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.60 SAR 9.76

$1.91 SAR 7.19

36.13%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 SAR 10.03

$1.83 SAR 6.88

45.90%

Cappuccino

$4.35 SAR 16.33

$4.40 SAR 16.52

-1.14%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 SAR 3.54

$0.73 SAR 2.73

28.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.41 SAR 1.53

$0.28 SAR 1.06

46.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 SAR 6.18

$1.64 SAR 6.17

0.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.24 SAR 4.67

$0.44 SAR 1.67

181.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.46 SAR 9.24

$2.27 SAR 8.51

8.37%

Eggs

$2.35 SAR 8.81

$4.76 SAR 17.87

-50.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.42 SAR 27.86

$4.55 SAR 17.09

63.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.09 SAR 37.87

$4.66 SAR 17.50

116.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.69 SAR 43.86

$12.69 SAR 47.64

-7.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 SAR 10.20

$1.82 SAR 6.83

49.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 SAR 6.40

$1.98 SAR 7.44

-13.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 SAR 7.43

$1.82 SAR 6.85

8.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 SAR 6.52

$2.00 SAR 7.51

-13.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.42 SAR 5.33

$2.11 SAR 7.92

-32.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 SAR 6.25

$2.60 SAR 9.76

-35.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 SAR 6.18

$1.28 SAR 4.81

28.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 SAR 2.01

$0.64 SAR 2.40

-17.19%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.62 SAR 9.82

$2.82 SAR 10.60

-7.09%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 SAR 5.92

$2.01 SAR 7.53

-21.39%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 SAR 7.03

$2.16 SAR 8.09

-13.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.80 SAR 25.50

$6.74 SAR 25.29

0.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 SAR 3.49

$0.95 SAR 3.56

-2.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.5 SAR 204

$40.56 SAR 152

34.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.76 SAR 6.61

$2.60 SAR 9.76

-32.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.68 SAR 10.07

$1.57 SAR 5.88

70.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.22 SAR 53.4

$16.03 SAR 60.2

-11.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.63 SAR 2.38

$0.55 SAR 2.08

14.55%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$66.8K SAR 250.9K

$27.6K SAR 103.5K

142.30%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$21.4K SAR 80.3K

$21.7K SAR 81.6K

-1.57%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$96.9 SAR 364

$103 SAR 386

-5.73%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$32.58 SAR 122

$32.41 SAR 122

0.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$68.3 SAR 256

$67.2 SAR 252

1.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$80.1 SAR 301

$54.1 SAR 203

48.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.17 SAR 136

Cinema Ticket

$15.22 SAR 57.1

$13.23 SAR 49.64

15.04%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$599 SAR 2,249

$471 SAR 1,767

27.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.6K SAR 69.9K

$9,262 SAR 34.8K

100.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.5 SAR 238

$45.34 SAR 170

39.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$83.0 SAR 311

$53.0 SAR 199

56.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.4 SAR 366

$100 SAR 377

-2.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.8 SAR 356

$80.4 SAR 302

18.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$762 SAR 2,860

$588 SAR 2,207

29.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$584 SAR 2,192

$440 SAR 1,651

32.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,226 SAR 4,602

$760 SAR 2,853

61.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$912 SAR 3,424

$684 SAR 2,567

33.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,437 SAR 5,392

$2,056 SAR 7,716

-30.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,037 SAR 3,894

$1,255 SAR 4,711

-17.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,872 SAR 7,028

$2,550 SAR 9,570

-26.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.88

5.54

6.14%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Al Khobar: November 3, 2026

Last update for Unaizah: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Al Khobar

$584 39.7%

Unaizah

$440 36% 24.7% $144

Groceries & Markets

Al Khobar

$217 14.8%

Unaizah

$187 15.3% 13.9% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al Khobar

$198 13.4%

Unaizah

$202 16.6% 2.3% $4.6

Clothing & Footwear

Al Khobar

$152 10.4%

Unaizah

$126 10.3% 17.6% $27

Eating Out

Al Khobar

$136 9.2%

Unaizah

$131 10.8% 3.3% $4.5

Sport & Entertainment

Al Khobar

$111 7.5%

Unaizah

$81 6.6% 27.2% $30

Getting Around

Al Khobar

$73 5%

Unaizah

$55 4.5% 25.3% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $762 in Al Khobar and $588 in Unaizah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Unaizah pays 36% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $60 in Al Khobar vs $40 in Unaizah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $217 vs $187 per month, with Unaizah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Al Khobar

🇸🇦 Unaizah

🕒 Local time

10:43 10:43 AM

Same time as Al Khobar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

219,679

163,729

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Al Khobar Unaizah 620 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Al Khobar
Unaizah

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Al Khobar vs Unaizah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Unaizah wins on cost – living expenses run 17% lower than in Al Khobar. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Unaizah the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 27% lower in Al Khobar. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $762 in Al Khobar versus $588 in Unaizah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Unaizah runs roughly 26% less than in Al Khobar. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $599 in Al Khobar versus $471 in Unaizah. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Unaizah gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Al Khobar and Unaizah are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Unaizah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 17% less than in Al Khobar. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.