Cost of Living in Saudi Arabia in Details

Hi guys, and welcome back to another video! If you’re new here, my name is Ebony, and I’m currently living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Today, we’re going to discuss the cost of living here. Having lived in Dubai for 16 years, I have a good understanding of the prices in the region. In my personal opinion, Saudi Arabia is a little bit more expensive than Dubai, but we’ll go through the different prices of things. If you’re watching from the UK, America, or somewhere else and you’re moving over soon, this will give you a good indication of how much you need to budget per month to live here.

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Starting off with housing costs, a lot of people rent here. For a one-bedroom apartment, you’re looking at about 80,000 SAR for a standalone and up to around 150,000 SAR for an apartment in a compound. For a villa, expect around 150,000 SAR for a standalone and 350,000 SAR plus for a villa in a compound. Most places do require a deposit; we paid a 24,000 SAR deposit for our apartment, which is quite high compared to Dubai. Rents here are typically paid yearly, often in two checks—one for the first six months and another for the last six months.

Regarding house bills, many rental prices include utilities like electricity, water, and gas, but Wi-Fi is usually separate. For transportation, I brought my car over from Dubai and can keep it here for a year as a tourist. Renting a car costs around 3,000 SAR a month for a small car, and taxis are easily available, with rides costing between 50 to 80 SAR for a 30-minute journey.

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For my phone bill, I use Virgin Mobile, which costs about 100 SAR per month for 35 GB of data, unlimited social media, and 750 minutes of calls. For Wi-Fi, I pay 350 SAR monthly for unlimited service. Grocery shopping can range from 500 to 600 SAR per week for a couple, totaling about 2,000 SAR per month, depending on your eating habits.

When it comes to ordering food, one of the main delivery apps is Hunger Station, where delivery fees can be quite high, sometimes up to 35 SAR. Activities in Riyadh vary; for example, entry to Blli World is only 30 SAR, while cinema tickets range from 40 to 300 SAR, depending on the experience.

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Overall, there are many options for dining and activities, catering to different budgets. If you have any questions or want to know prices for anything else, feel free to reach out to me on Instagram or comment below. I hope you found this video useful, especially if you’re moving over and need some direction. Thank you for watching, and I hope to see you in the next one!