Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Riyadh and Mecca

For one person, living is cheaper in Mecca: $1,076 a month against $1,738 in Riyadh, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in Riyadh
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Riyadh Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Mecca
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Mecca Living Index

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Riyadh

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,738

/mo nomad

Mecca

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,076

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Riyadh and in Mecca

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,738 in Riyadh versus $1,076 in Mecca.

Riyadh $1,738
Mecca $1,076

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,587 in Riyadh versus $1,613 in Mecca.

Riyadh $2,587
Mecca $1,613

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,437 in Riyadh versus $2,151 in Mecca.

Riyadh $3,437
Mecca $2,151

Living in Riyadh is roughly 61% more expensive than in Mecca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Riyadh is 28% above, Mecca is 21% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 SAR 30.38

$4.64 SAR 17.41

74.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.3 SAR 245

$26.18 SAR 98.3

149.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.18 SAR 30.69

$7.00 SAR 26.27

16.86%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 SAR 8.12

$1.51 SAR 5.68

43.05%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 SAR 11.16

$1.56 SAR 5.86

90.38%

Cappuccino

$4.30 SAR 16.14

$2.53 SAR 9.50

69.96%

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

$0.85 SAR 3.18

$0.71 SAR 2.67

19.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 SAR 1.12

$0.25 SAR 0.94

20.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.83 SAR 6.85

$1.69 SAR 6.34

8.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.31 SAR 4.93

$0.96 SAR 3.62

36.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.37 SAR 8.88

$2.10 SAR 7.89

12.86%

Eggs

$3.04 SAR 11.41

$2.50 SAR 9.39

21.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.77 SAR 40.42

$5.91 SAR 22.16

82.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.38 SAR 35.19

$8.18 SAR 30.71

14.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.98 SAR 56.2

$13.00 SAR 48.78

15.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 SAR 10.70

$2.09 SAR 7.83

36.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 SAR 7.13

$1.62 SAR 6.07

17.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.47 SAR 9.26

$1.60 SAR 5.99

54.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.71 SAR 6.44

$1.54 SAR 5.76

11.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.18 SAR 4.43

$1.17 SAR 4.39

0.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 SAR 4.82

$1.32 SAR 4.94

-3.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.78 SAR 6.70

$1.09 SAR 4.08

63.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 SAR 2.17

$0.54 SAR 2.03

7.41%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$8.15 SAR 30.60

$4.24 SAR 15.91

92.22%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 SAR 6.83

$1.77 SAR 6.62

2.82%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 SAR 9.28

$1.65 SAR 6.18

49.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.85 SAR 29.46

$6.70 SAR 25.16

17.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.04 SAR 3.91

$1.09 SAR 4.07

-4.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.07 SAR 143

$45.74 SAR 172

-16.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.13 SAR 11.75

$2.43 SAR 9.11

28.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.91 SAR 7.16

$1.77 SAR 6.65

7.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.31 SAR 49.93

$13.28 SAR 49.85

0.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.60 SAR 2.26

$0.61 SAR 2.27

-1.64%

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

$26.2K SAR 98.3K

$26.5K SAR 99.5K

-1.22%

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

$22.2K SAR 83.4K

$21.4K SAR 80.2K

4.00%

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

$108 SAR 404

$67.8 SAR 254

58.72%

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

$29.62 SAR 111

$34.99 SAR 131

-15.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.0 SAR 266

$61.9 SAR 232

14.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$83.0 SAR 312

$80.8 SAR 303

2.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$57.3 SAR 215

$41.97 SAR 158

36.45%

Cinema Ticket

$13.31 SAR 49.96

$12.00 SAR 45.05

10.92%

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

$554 SAR 2,078

$757 SAR 2,841

-26.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.1K SAR 37.9K

$16.8K SAR 63.0K

-39.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.7 SAR 217

$13.39 SAR 50.3

330.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.4 SAR 204

$56.6 SAR 212

-3.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 SAR 391

$39.94 SAR 150

160.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 SAR 393

$52.6 SAR 197

99.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,149 SAR 4,312

$603 SAR 2,265

90.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$833 SAR 3,128

$386 SAR 1,449

115.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,166 SAR 8,128

$903 SAR 3,389

139.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,276 SAR 4,788

$620 SAR 2,327

105.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,779 SAR 10.4K

$5,392 SAR 20.2K

-48.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,718 SAR 6,446

$1,411 SAR 5,294

21.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,052 SAR 7,702

$1,071 SAR 4,021

91.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.54

5.25

5.52%

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

Last update for Riyadh: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mecca: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Riyadh

$833 48%

Mecca

$386 35.9% 53.7% $447

Groceries & Markets

Riyadh

$241 13.9%

Mecca

$194 18% 19.7% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Riyadh

$208 12%

Mecca

$165 15.3% 20.9% $44

Eating Out

Riyadh

$145 8.4%

Mecca

$92 8.6% 36.5% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Riyadh

$144 8.3%

Mecca

$73 6.8% 49.4% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Riyadh

$110 6.3%

Mecca

$105 9.7% 4.5% $4.9

Getting Around

Riyadh

$55 3.2%

Mecca

$61 5.7% 11.7% $6.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,149 in Riyadh and $603 in Mecca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Riyadh pays 92% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $65 in Riyadh vs $26 in Mecca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $241 vs $194 per month, with Mecca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Riyadh

🇸🇦 Mecca

🕒 Local time

13:18 1:18 PM

Same time as Riyadh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,188,286 Capital

1,675,368

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Riyadh Mecca 790 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Riyadh
Mecca

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

Riyadh vs Mecca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mecca is about 38% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 92% higher in Riyadh, 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: $1,149 in Riyadh versus $603 in Mecca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,738 per month in Riyadh versus $1,076 in Mecca – Mecca is about 38% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Riyadh runs roughly 17% less than in Mecca. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,076 in Mecca versus $1,738 in Riyadh, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Mecca but tight or insufficient in Riyadh. The gap between the two cities makes Mecca the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

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