Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ha'il and Riyadh

For one person, living is cheaper in Ha’il: $1,073 a month against $1,738 in Riyadh, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Ha'il
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Ha'il Living Index
82

Cost of Living Index in Riyadh
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Riyadh Living Index

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Ha'il

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,073

/mo nomad

Riyadh

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,738

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ha'il 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 Ha'il and in Riyadh actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,073 in Ha’il versus $1,738 in Riyadh.

Ha'il $1,073
Riyadh $1,738

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,623 in Ha’il versus $2,575 in Riyadh.

Ha'il $1,623
Riyadh $2,575

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,174 in Ha’il versus $3,413 in Riyadh.

Ha'il $2,174
Riyadh $3,413

Living in Ha’il costs roughly 38% less than in Riyadh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ha’il is 21% below, Riyadh is 29% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.40 SAR 20.28

$8.20 SAR 30.79

-34.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.86 SAR 138

$65.6 SAR 246

-43.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.91 SAR 22.17

$8.05 SAR 30.20

-26.58%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.17 SAR 4.38

$2.10 SAR 7.87

-44.29%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 SAR 8.32

$2.86 SAR 10.74

-22.38%

Cappuccino

$2.60 SAR 9.77

$4.43 SAR 16.64

-41.31%

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

$0.61 SAR 2.30

$0.87 SAR 3.28

-29.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 SAR 0.86

$0.33 SAR 1.25

-30.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 SAR 6.34

$1.80 SAR 6.75

-6.11%

White Bread (500g)

$0.86 SAR 3.21

$1.29 SAR 4.83

-33.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.88 SAR 7.05

$2.34 SAR 8.80

-19.66%

Eggs

$1.93 SAR 7.26

$3.11 SAR 11.67

-37.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.68 SAR 25.08

$10.65 SAR 39.96

-37.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.88 SAR 33.32

$9.36 SAR 35.12

-5.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.15 SAR 30.58

$15.07 SAR 56.6

-45.92%

Apples (1kg)

$1.49 SAR 5.59

$2.92 SAR 10.95

-48.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 SAR 5.70

$1.95 SAR 7.32

-22.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.27 SAR 4.77

$2.49 SAR 9.35

-49.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.94 SAR 7.28

$1.70 SAR 6.39

14.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.29 SAR 4.85

$1.18 SAR 4.43

9.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.61 SAR 6.05

$1.33 SAR 5.00

21.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 SAR 4.61

$1.75 SAR 6.58

-29.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.48 SAR 1.79

$0.53 SAR 2.00

-9.43%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.64 SAR 9.92

$7.91 SAR 29.69

-66.62%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 SAR 6.47

$1.73 SAR 6.51

-0.58%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 SAR 6.78

$2.39 SAR 8.97

-24.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.77 SAR 25.42

$7.85 SAR 29.45

-13.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.91 SAR 3.43

$1.03 SAR 3.86

-11.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.03 SAR 135

$36.93 SAR 139

-2.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.67 SAR 10.04

$3.22 SAR 12.10

-17.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.77 SAR 6.65

$1.91 SAR 7.18

-7.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.27 SAR 49.82

$13.08 SAR 49.10

1.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.64 SAR 2.41

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

$31.0K SAR 116.5K

$26.6K SAR 99.9K

16.62%

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

$21.8K SAR 81.8K

$22.4K SAR 84.1K

-2.70%

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

$52.8 SAR 198

$105 SAR 394

-49.70%

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

$21.29 SAR 79.9

$29.43 SAR 110

-27.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.84 SAR 172

$69.3 SAR 260

-33.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.0 SAR 248

$77.4 SAR 291

-14.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.26 SAR 98.6

$55.7 SAR 209

-52.85%

Cinema Ticket

$14.67 SAR 55.1

$14.00 SAR 52.6

4.79%

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

$419 SAR 1,571

$555 SAR 2,082

-24.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.1K SAR 45.5K

$17.0K SAR 63.7K

-28.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.92 SAR 161

$58.3 SAR 219

-26.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.5 SAR 208

$53.8 SAR 202

3.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.9 SAR 367

$104 SAR 391

-6.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.5 SAR 313

$104 SAR 391

-19.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$241 SAR 905

$1,138 SAR 4,270

-78.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$406 SAR 1,525

$842 SAR 3,160

-51.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$361 SAR 1,355

$2,159 SAR 8,102

-83.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$618 SAR 2,321

$1,263 SAR 4,739

-51.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,982 SAR 7,438

$2,706 SAR 10.2K

-26.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,201 SAR 4,507

$1,655 SAR 6,212

-27.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,081 SAR 4,056

$2,088 SAR 7,837

-48.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.54

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

Last update for Ha'il: November 2, 2026

Last update for Riyadh: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ha'il

$406 37.9%

Riyadh

$842 48.5% 107% $436

Groceries & Markets

Ha'il

$179 16.7%

Riyadh

$241 13.9% 34.9% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Ha'il

$126 11.7%

Riyadh

$144 8.3% 14.6% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ha'il

$120 11.2%

Riyadh

$204 11.7% 69.8% $84

Eating Out

Ha'il

$96 8.9%

Riyadh

$148 8.5% 54.7% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Ha'il

$95 8.9%

Riyadh

$105 6.1% 10.6% $10

Getting Around

Ha'il

$51 4.8%

Riyadh

$54 3.1% 5.1% $2.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $241 in Ha’il and $1,138 in Riyadh. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Riyadh pays 93% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $37 in Ha’il vs $66 in Riyadh for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $179 vs $241 per month, with Ha’il cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Ha'il

🇸🇦 Riyadh

🕒 Local time

23:13 11:13 PM

Same time as Ha'il

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

310,897

5,188,286 Capital

💱 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

Ha'il Riyadh 590 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Ha'il
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

Ha'il vs Riyadh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ha’il wins on cost – living expenses run 38% lower than in Riyadh. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Ha’il the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 48% lower in Ha’il. 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: $241 in Ha’il versus $1,138 in Riyadh. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $419 in Ha’il versus $555 in Riyadh. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ha’il – a meal for two runs $37 versus $66 in Riyadh. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Ha’il is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Ha’il and Riyadh are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Ha’il wins on affordability, Riyadh on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.