Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Khafji and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Khafji: $675 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $26,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Khafji
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Khafji Living Index
140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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Khafji

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$675

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Khafji and in Dubai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $675 in Khafji versus $2,896 in Dubai.

Khafji $675
Dubai $2,896

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,061 in Khafji versus $4,384 in Dubai.

Khafji $1,061
Dubai $4,384

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,447 in Khafji versus $5,872 in Dubai.

Khafji $1,447
Dubai $5,872

Living in Khafji costs roughly 77% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Khafji is 50% below, Dubai is 115% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.22 SAR 12.09

$12.67 AED 46.55

-74.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.71 SAR 130

$81.7 AED 300

-57.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.00 SAR 18.75

$9.34 AED 34.30

-46.47%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.92 SAR 3.44

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 SAR 5.95

Cappuccino

$3.02 SAR 11.32

$5.89 AED 21.62

-48.73%

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

$0.73 SAR 2.73

$1.69 AED 6.20

-56.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.19 SAR 0.72

$0.78 AED 2.86

-75.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

Milk (1 liter)

$1.80 SAR 6.74

$1.84 AED 6.78

-2.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.34 SAR 5.02

$1.50 AED 5.50

-10.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.88 SAR 7.04

$2.57 AED 9.45

-26.85%

Eggs

$2.13 SAR 7.98

$3.32 AED 12.18

-35.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.62 SAR 28.58

$12.60 AED 46.28

-39.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.07 SAR 30.30

$9.66 AED 35.46

-16.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.64 SAR 47.42

$12.78 AED 46.93

-1.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 SAR 8.26

$2.60 AED 9.54

-15.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 SAR 6.18

$1.90 AED 6.99

-13.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.59 SAR 5.98

$1.91 AED 7.02

-16.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.60 SAR 6.00

$1.37 AED 5.02

16.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 SAR 4.21

$1.13 AED 4.14

-0.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.20 SAR 4.49

$1.01 AED 3.71

18.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 SAR 4.78

$1.44 AED 5.30

-11.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 SAR 2.15

$0.67 AED 2.48

-14.93%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.04 SAR 15.15

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 SAR 5.43

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 SAR 8.02

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.66 SAR 28.75

$5.88 AED 21.59

30.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.64 SAR 9.90

$3.24 AED 11.91

-18.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.64 SAR 9.91

$0.71 AED 2.61

271.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.39 SAR 50.3

$7.96 AED 29.22

68.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.64 SAR 2.41

$0.98 AED 3.62

-34.69%

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

$65.7K SAR 246.6K

$27.4K AED 100.6K

139.94%

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

$20.8K SAR 77.9K

$22.0K AED 80.9K

-5.78%

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

$131 SAR 490

$249 AED 913

-47.45%

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

$32.18 SAR 121

$54.4 AED 200

-40.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.0 SAR 236

$91.5 AED 336

-31.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

Cinema Ticket

$13.28 SAR 49.82

$16.29 AED 59.8

-18.48%

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

$133 SAR 500

$844 AED 3,098

-84.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,009 SAR 15.0K

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-78.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.39 SAR 159

$67.0 AED 246

-36.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.33 SAR 185

$57.9 AED 213

-14.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$94.5 SAR 355

$102 AED 375

-7.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.1 SAR 342

$98.7 AED 363

-7.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$678 SAR 2,544

$2,393 AED 8,788

-71.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.9

4.54

29.96%

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

Last update for Khafji: October 13, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Khafji

$226 33.4%

Dubai

$394 13.6% 74.7% $169

Groceries & Markets

Khafji

$201 29.8%

Dubai

$292 10.1% 44.8% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Khafji

$125 18.5%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 17.5% $22

Eating Out

Khafji

$81 12%

Dubai

$305 10.5% 279% $225

Sport & Entertainment

Khafji

$27 * 3.9%

Dubai

$136 4.7% 412% $109

Getting Around

Khafji

$16 * 2.4%

Dubai

$89 3.1% 463% $73

Accommodation & Living

Khafji

- * 0%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $678 in Khafji and $2,393 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Khafji vs $82.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $201 vs $292 per month, with Khafji cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Khafji

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

00:48 12:48 AM

01:48 1:48 AM

1 h ahead of Khafji

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

67,012

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Khafji Dubai 760 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Khafji
Dubai

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

Khafji vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Khafji is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and utilities. The 329% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,013 in Khafji and $4,344 in Dubai to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $678 in Khafji versus $2,393 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 45% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $675 per month in Khafji versus $2,896 in Dubai – a 329% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $675 in Khafji versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Khafji but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Khafji the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Khafji 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, Khafji and Dubai 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 Khafji gentler on the wallet – expenses run 329% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.