Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Riyadh

For one person, living is cheaper in Riyadh: $1,768 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index
85

Cost of Living Index in Riyadh
Learn more

Riyadh Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Riyadh

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,768

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Riyadh

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $1,768 in Riyadh.

Dubai $2,854
Riyadh $1,768

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $2,557 in Riyadh.

Dubai $4,321
Riyadh $2,557

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $3,345 in Riyadh.

Dubai $5,788
Riyadh $3,345

Living in Dubai is roughly 61% more expensive than in Riyadh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 113% above, Riyadh 32% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$8.09 SAR 30.36

61.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$66.5 SAR 250

22.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$8.11 SAR 30.47

14.92%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.15 SAR 8.09

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 SAR 11.19

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$4.34 SAR 16.31

37.56%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$0.86 SAR 3.24

89.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$0.30 SAR 1.12

170.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$1.77 SAR 6.63

2.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$1.32 SAR 4.97

18.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$2.40 SAR 9.03

3.75%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$3.06 SAR 11.48

7.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$10.63 SAR 39.91

19.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$9.60 SAR 36.05

1.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$14.98 SAR 56.3

-12.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$2.80 SAR 10.51

-6.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$1.98 SAR 7.45

-2.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$2.51 SAR 9.43

-23.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$1.80 SAR 6.75

-24.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$1.18 SAR 4.45

-0.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.34 SAR 5.01

-24.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$1.79 SAR 6.70

-15.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$0.54 SAR 2.03

14.81%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$8.11 SAR 30.44

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 SAR 6.68

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 SAR 9.04

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$7.53 SAR 28.26

-22.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$1.05 SAR 3.96

56.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$37.18 SAR 140

97.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$3.29 SAR 12.35

-3.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$1.91 SAR 7.19

-62.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$13.43 SAR 50.5

-40.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$0.65 SAR 2.42

52.31%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$34.6K SAR 130.0K

-20.96%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$22.8K SAR 85.7K

-1.30%

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

$250 AED 920

$106 SAR 397

136.99%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$29.10 SAR 109

86.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$72.7 SAR 273

26.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$91.4 SAR 343

7.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$56.4 SAR 212

-24.41%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$13.20 SAR 49.58

21.44%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$532 SAR 1,999

58.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$10.2K SAR 38.4K

78.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$57.4 SAR 215

18.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$54.4 SAR 204

6.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$105 SAR 393

-3.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$106 SAR 397

-4.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$1,211 SAR 4,547

96.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$834 SAR 3,132

80.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$2,223 SAR 8,346

99.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$1,241 SAR 4,658

142.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$3,011 SAR 11.3K

136.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$1,937 SAR 7,274

113.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$2,037 SAR 7,648

66.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

5.54

-18.05%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Riyadh: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Riyadh

$834 47.7% 44.6% $672

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Riyadh

$208 11.9% 47.7% $189

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Riyadh

$146 8.4% 52.8% $163

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Riyadh

$242 13.9% 17.2% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Riyadh

$145 8.3% 1.7% $2.4

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Riyadh

$118 6.8% 9.8% $13

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Riyadh

$54 3.1% 37.6% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,380 in Dubai and $1,211 in Riyadh. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 66% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $81.0 in Dubai vs $66.0 in Riyadh for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $242 per month, with Riyadh cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇸🇦 Riyadh

🕒 Local time

11:28 11:28 AM

10:28 10:28 AM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

5,188,286 Capital

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.21 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Riyadh 860 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Riyadh

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

Dubai vs Riyadh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Riyadh is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 61% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 66% higher in Dubai, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,380 in Dubai versus $1,211 in Riyadh. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Riyadh runs roughly 98% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $843 in Dubai versus $532 in Riyadh. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,768 in Riyadh versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Riyadh but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Riyadh the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Riyadh is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Dubai, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Dubai and Riyadh are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Riyadh gentler on the wallet – expenses run 61% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.