Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Yanbu and Riyadh

For one person, living is cheaper in Yanbu: $1,021 a month against $1,738 in Riyadh, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Yanbu
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Yanbu Living Index
83

Cost of Living Index in Riyadh
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Riyadh Living Index

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Yanbu

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,021

/mo nomad

Riyadh

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,738

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,021 in Yanbu versus $1,738 in Riyadh.

Yanbu $1,021
Riyadh $1,738

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,620 in Yanbu versus $2,587 in Riyadh.

Yanbu $1,620
Riyadh $2,587

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,220 in Yanbu versus $3,437 in Riyadh.

Yanbu $2,220
Riyadh $3,437

Living in Yanbu costs roughly 41% less than in Riyadh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Yanbu is 25% below, Riyadh is 28% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.99 SAR 22.48

$8.09 SAR 30.38

-25.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.12 SAR 143

$65.3 SAR 245

-41.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.67 SAR 25.02

$8.18 SAR 30.69

-18.46%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.57 SAR 5.88

$2.16 SAR 8.12

-27.31%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 SAR 6.18

$2.97 SAR 11.16

-44.44%

Cappuccino

$3.90 SAR 14.65

$4.30 SAR 16.14

-9.30%

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

$0.82 SAR 3.07

$0.85 SAR 3.18

-3.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.18 SAR 0.68

$0.30 SAR 1.12

-40.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 SAR 6.40

$1.83 SAR 6.85

-6.56%

White Bread (500g)

$0.94 SAR 3.52

$1.31 SAR 4.93

-28.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 SAR 8.26

$2.37 SAR 8.88

-7.17%

Eggs

$2.53 SAR 9.48

$3.04 SAR 11.41

-16.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.33 SAR 23.76

$10.77 SAR 40.41

-41.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.43 SAR 31.64

$9.38 SAR 35.18

-10.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.00 SAR 48.78

$14.98 SAR 56.2

-13.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 SAR 7.97

$2.85 SAR 10.70

-25.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 SAR 6.41

$1.90 SAR 7.13

-10.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 SAR 5.46

$2.47 SAR 9.26

-40.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.62 SAR 6.06

$1.71 SAR 6.44

-5.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 SAR 4.39

$1.18 SAR 4.43

-0.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 SAR 3.91

$1.28 SAR 4.82

-18.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 SAR 4.13

$1.78 SAR 6.70

-38.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 SAR 2.03

$0.58 SAR 2.17

-6.90%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.33 SAR 4.98

$8.15 SAR 30.59

-83.68%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 SAR 5.10

$1.82 SAR 6.83

-25.27%

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 SAR 8.26

$2.47 SAR 9.28

-10.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.48 SAR 24.32

$7.85 SAR 29.46

-17.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.06 SAR 3.97

$1.04 SAR 3.91

1.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.43 SAR 140

$38.07 SAR 143

-1.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.15 SAR 11.82

$3.13 SAR 11.75

0.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 SAR 2.94

$1.91 SAR 7.16

-59.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.66 SAR 51.3

$13.31 SAR 49.93

2.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.62 SAR 2.32

$0.60 SAR 2.26

3.33%

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

$37.9K SAR 142.3K

$26.2K SAR 98.3K

44.84%

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

$22.0K SAR 82.5K

$22.2K SAR 83.4K

-1.10%

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

$91.4 SAR 343

$108 SAR 404

-14.98%

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

$22.38 SAR 84.0

$29.62 SAR 111

-24.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.0 SAR 251

$71.0 SAR 266

-5.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$95.6 SAR 359

$83.0 SAR 312

15.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.53 SAR 99.6

$57.3 SAR 215

-53.68%

Cinema Ticket

$11.78 SAR 44.21

$13.31 SAR 49.96

-11.50%

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

$263 SAR 987

$554 SAR 2,077

-52.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,844 SAR 14.4K

$10.1K SAR 37.9K

-61.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$74.3 SAR 279

$57.7 SAR 217

28.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.7 SAR 217

$54.4 SAR 204

6.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.2 SAR 372

$104 SAR 391

-4.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.5 SAR 351

$105 SAR 393

-10.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$315 SAR 1,181

$1,149 SAR 4,312

-72.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$211 SAR 790

$833 SAR 3,128

-74.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$610 SAR 2,288

$2,166 SAR 8,127

-71.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$414 SAR 1,552

$1,276 SAR 4,788

-67.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,702 SAR 6,386

$2,779 SAR 10.4K

-38.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,237 SAR 4,644

$1,718 SAR 6,446

-27.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,411 SAR 12.8K

$2,052 SAR 7,702

66.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

5.54

-2.71%

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

Last update for Yanbu: October 25, 2026

Last update for Riyadh: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Yanbu

$210 20.6%

Riyadh

$833 48% 296% $623

Groceries & Markets

Yanbu

$197 19.3%

Riyadh

$241 13.9% 22.7% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Yanbu

$181 17.7%

Riyadh

$208 12% 15.1% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Yanbu

$146 14.3%

Riyadh

$144 8.3% 1.1% $1.7

Sport & Entertainment

Yanbu

$119 11.7%

Riyadh

$110 6.3% 8% $9.5

Eating Out

Yanbu

$119 11.6%

Riyadh

$145 8.4% 22.5% $27

Getting Around

Yanbu

$49 4.8%

Riyadh

$55 3.2% 12.7% $6.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $315 in Yanbu and $1,149 in Riyadh. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Yanbu pays 66% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $38 in Yanbu vs $65 in Riyadh for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $197 vs $241 per month, with Yanbu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Yanbu

🇸🇦 Riyadh

🕒 Local time

17:48 5:48 PM

Same time as Yanbu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

233,236

5,188,286 Capital

💱 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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Between locations

Yanbu Riyadh 880 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Yanbu
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

Yanbu vs Riyadh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,021 in Yanbu and $1,738 in Riyadh, so Yanbu is about 41% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 66% higher in Yanbu, 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: $315 in Yanbu versus $1,149 in Riyadh. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Riyadh. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,021 per month in Yanbu versus $1,738 in Riyadh – Yanbu is about 41% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Yanbu 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, Yanbu and Riyadh are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.