Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Saudi Arabia

Name: Saudi Arabia
Address: SA

For one person, living is cheaper in Saudi Arabia: $1,268 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $19,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Saudi Arabia
Learn more

Saudi Arabia Living Index

Jump to prices

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,268

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Dubai is 49% more expensive than Saudi Arabia without rent, and 125% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Dubai is 53.8% more expensive than Saudi Arabia without rent, and 126.3% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$6.47 SAR 24.30

101.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$40.23 SAR 151

102.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$7.90 SAR 29.67

17.97%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.95 SAR 7.33

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 SAR 7.12

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$3.65 SAR 13.69

63.56%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$0.81 SAR 3.03

101.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$0.27 SAR 1.01

200.00%

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

$1.76 SAR 6.61

2.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$1.08 SAR 4.05

45.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$2.21 SAR 8.31

12.67%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$2.54 SAR 9.53

29.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$7.41 SAR 27.81

70.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$8.18 SAR 30.71

19.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$13.10 SAR 49.17

0.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$2.19 SAR 8.22

19.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$1.78 SAR 6.68

8.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$1.78 SAR 6.68

7.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$1.61 SAR 6.04

-15.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$1.35 SAR 5.07

-13.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.30 SAR 4.90

-22.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$1.21 SAR 4.56

24.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$0.57 SAR 2.15

8.77%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.27 SAR 16.02

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 SAR 6.42

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 SAR 8.25

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$7.58 SAR 28.48

-22.82%

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

$1.04 SAR 3.90

57.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$38.03 SAR 143

93.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$2.74 SAR 10.28

15.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$2.71 SAR 10.17

-73.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$13.45 SAR 50.5

-40.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$0.64 SAR 2.42

54.69%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$67.1K SAR 252.1K

-59.24%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$21.6K SAR 81.2K

4.29%

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

$250 AED 920

$96.1 SAR 361

160.45%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$31.59 SAR 119

71.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$67.3 SAR 253

36.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$85.1 SAR 320

15.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$38.83 SAR 146

9.73%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$13.91 SAR 52.2

15.24%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$432 SAR 1,623

95.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$9,116 SAR 34.2K

100.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$47.80 SAR 179

42.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$56.6 SAR 213

2.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$89.7 SAR 337

12.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$84.8 SAR 318

19.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$611 SAR 2,295

289.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$441 SAR 1,655

241.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$974 SAR 3,657

355.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$652 SAR 2,447

361.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$2,344 SAR 8,801

203.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$1,391 SAR 5,225

197.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$1,885 SAR 7,078

79.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

5.4

-15.93%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Saudi Arabia: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Saudi Arabia

$441 34.9% 70.7% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Saudi Arabia

$195 15.5% 50.8% $201

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Saudi Arabia

$124 9.8% 60% $185

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Saudi Arabia

$205 16.3% 30% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Saudi Arabia

$126 10% 14.8% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Saudi Arabia

$113 9% 13.6% $18

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Saudi Arabia

$58 4.6% 32.7% $28

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

🕒 Local time

17:50 5:50 PM

16:50 4:50 PM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

33,000,000

💱 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 = 0.238 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 = 0.238 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

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Dubai Saudi Arabia 860 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Saudi Arabia

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

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🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

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