Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Madinat As Sultan Qaboos and Sohar

For one person, living is cheaper in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos: $953 a month against $1,432 in Sohar, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos
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Madinat As Sultan Qaboos Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Sohar
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Sohar Living Index

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Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

🇴🇲 Oman

$953

/mo nomad

Sohar

🇴🇲 Oman

$1,432

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos and in Sohar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $953 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos versus $1,432 in Sohar.

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos $953
Sohar $1,432

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,433 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos versus $2,101 in Sohar.

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos $1,433
Sohar $2,101

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,914 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos versus $2,770 in Sohar.

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos $1,914
Sohar $2,770

Living in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos costs roughly 33% less than in Sohar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Madinat As Sultan Qaboos is 29% below, Sohar is 6% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.29 OMR 2.04

$6.52 OMR 2.51

-18.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.70 OMR 15.29

$21.06 OMR 8.11

88.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.76 OMR 2.99

$9.24 OMR 3.56

-16.02%

Cappuccino

$4.94 OMR 1.90

$4.95 OMR 1.91

-0.20%

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

$0.84 OMR 0.32

$0.70 OMR 0.27

20.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 OMR 0.11

$0.30 OMR 0.12

-3.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.92 OMR 4.97

$12.81 OMR 4.93

0.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$12.93 OMR 4.98

$14.03 OMR 5.40

-7.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.31 OMR 0.89

$2.13 OMR 0.82

8.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.20 OMR 0.46

$1.10 OMR 0.42

9.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 OMR 0.70

$3.21 OMR 1.23

-43.30%

Eggs

$3.03 OMR 1.17

$2.71 OMR 1.04

11.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.11 OMR 2.74

$13.46 OMR 5.18

-47.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.00 OMR 2.70

$8.90 OMR 3.43

-21.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.58 OMR 4.07

$14.55 OMR 5.60

-27.29%

Apples (1kg)

$3.59 OMR 1.38

$3.33 OMR 1.28

7.81%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 OMR 0.78

$2.17 OMR 0.83

-6.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 OMR 0.90

$2.44 OMR 0.94

-4.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.31 OMR 0.50

$1.21 OMR 0.47

8.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 OMR 0.45

$1.76 OMR 0.68

-34.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 OMR 0.49

$1.83 OMR 0.71

-30.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.85 OMR 0.71

$1.71 OMR 0.66

8.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 OMR 0.27

$0.98 OMR 0.38

-27.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.65 OMR 2.56

$5.99 OMR 2.31

11.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.76 OMR 6.07

$25.65 OMR 9.87

-38.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$6.08 OMR 2.34

$3.98 OMR 1.53

52.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.22 OMR 3.93

$8.80 OMR 3.39

16.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.66 OMR 1.03

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$51.1 OMR 19.68

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.32 OMR 1.28

$3.27 OMR 1.26

1.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.56 OMR 0.98

$1.60 OMR 0.62

60.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.74 OMR 2.98

$10.54 OMR 4.06

-26.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.64 OMR 0.25

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

$25.3K OMR 9,736

$17.9K OMR 6,903

41.04%

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

$22.3K OMR 8,570

$20.1K OMR 7,749

10.59%

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

$176 OMR 67.9

$104 OMR 40.17

68.97%

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

$31.16 OMR 12.00

$29.83 OMR 11.48

4.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.5 OMR 27.51

$87.8 OMR 33.81

-18.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.19 OMR 18.55

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 OMR 4.01

$11.76 OMR 4.53

-11.31%

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

$292 OMR 112

$294 OMR 113

-0.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.5K OMR 4,033

$7,075 OMR 2,724

48.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 OMR 21.33

$50.9 OMR 19.60

8.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.86 OMR 16.89

$43.78 OMR 16.86

0.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.6 OMR 34.12

$79.2 OMR 30.50

11.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 OMR 34.02

$47.40 OMR 18.25

86.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$492 OMR 189

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$384 OMR 148

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$821 OMR 316

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$689 OMR 265

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,173 OMR 452

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$784 OMR 302

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,443 OMR 941

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

6.33

-17.06%

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

Last update for Madinat As Sultan Qaboos: October 13, 2026

Last update for Sohar: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$293 30.7%

Sohar

$346 24.2% 18.2% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$279 29.3%

Sohar

$222 15.5% 20.4% $57

Eating Out

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$220 23.1%

Sohar

$235 16.4% 7% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$124 13%

Sohar

$100 7% 19.9% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$21 * 2.2%

Sohar

$72 5% 244% $51

Getting Around

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

$16 * 1.7%

Sohar

$73 5.1% 353% $57

Accommodation & Living

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

- * 0%

Sohar

$384 26.8%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $40.00 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos vs $21.00 in Sohar. Groceries flip the comparison at $293 vs $346, with Madinat As Sultan Qaboos cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇴🇲 Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

🇴🇲 Sohar

🕒 Local time

01:53 1:53 AM

Same time as Madinat As Sultan Qaboos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

221,605

💱 Currency

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

📈 Exchange rate

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.31 EUR

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.31 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Madinat As Sultan Qaboos Sohar 190 km

From you

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos
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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

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos vs Sohar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Madinat As Sultan Qaboos wins on cost – living expenses run 50% lower than in Sohar. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Madinat As Sultan Qaboos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,430 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos and $2,148 in Sohar 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 18% higher in Sohar. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $953 per month in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos versus $1,432 in Sohar – a 50% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $953 in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos versus $1,432 in Sohar, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Madinat As Sultan Qaboos but tight or insufficient in Sohar. The gap between the two cities makes Madinat As Sultan Qaboos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Madinat As Sultan Qaboos delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $953 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Madinat As Sultan Qaboos hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Madinat As Sultan Qaboos and Sohar 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 Madinat As Sultan Qaboos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Sohar. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.