Cost of Living in Doha

Crime is very very low. It is quite a well organised city (doha), and the large number of expats (many nations) means Doha is a very international cosmopolitan city with international standards in most things. But in relation to costs ...

Your 3 biggest costs for living will be (i) rent (ii) schooling (iii) food and bills

It is all about where you live vs work, the standard you are expecting and your lifestyle.

You can pay 25,000 qar a month for a high end 1 bed apartment or 7000 qar for a 2 bed villa in a compound on the outskirts of the city. Just go to property finder for qatar and you can see the costs yourself.

Private schooling is very expensive for the average salary person and unless your company covers the costs. It can range from 20,000 qar a year up to 70,000 qar a year. Just go to the school websites and you can see the fees yourself.

Bills are the next biggest costs you will have limited control over, especially air con and qatar cool. Rough est is around 300-800 qar a month for bills, elec, gas, water, internet (but it depends on your usage). Go to vodafone or oreedo website in doha and see for your self. Also go into talabat doha and the supermarkets (lulu, carrefour etc) and see for yourself.

Transport is surprisingly cheap in doha (unless you have to use uber every day from afar). If you are serviced by a bus or metro, it is very cheap (but takes time)

If you eat in alot and cook yourself, you can save alot on food. If you go out to high restaurants, your drink/smoke alot, and have expensive hobbies...yes it will add alot to your expenses. But you can control these.

The World Cup has caused massive hikes in rent and bills. The above prices don't allow for that. Whether the prices come down will have to be seen, but you can see on the above websites (don't take my word for it).

Companies however have reduced allowances for employees or they do not raise them to allow for inflation. So you need to check what your employer says in their employee handbook. Also note, if the allowances are not in your employment contract, they are not legally protected. The government is very strict about ensuring employers pay their employees on what is in their employment contract. So if you don't see it, you are not protected on that. The responsibility is yours to check. Do not take verbal promises or email. It has to be written into your employment contract.

Wherever you live, live simply, don't be extravagant, check out for yourself online current prices. The general advice though is, if you have your family with you please check the costs carefully before making a decision. If you come single status, you should be able to save, but you will need to sacrifice and live modestly and manage your budget.

I wish you peace. And if you find you can afford it, then you will like it in Doha (the people in qatar are generally nice, and most expats are also)

Want to know whether Qataris are interested in freeze-dried vegetables and fruits?Let's briefly understand the freeze-dried food, which is the abbreviation of vacuum freeze-dried food. Make the product "fresh" during freeze-drying, and then enter the packaging procedure.Most foods such as meat, rice and noodles have a long shelf life, while fresh vegetables are difficult to preserve. It is difficult to store pickled vegetables as substitutes for fresh vegetables. Freeze dried vegetables may be a balance between fresh food and storage.I don't know if Qataris like freeze-dried food，Want to be informed, thank you.Please reply to my email if you have any comments.THank you .

Is it possible to live for 12k QAR for 2 members. ? Do we need to pay advance for house ? Can a 1BHK will come for 3000 QAR ?

Rent and schooling are the 2 biggest costs you will have. A large company will contribute to it, but allowances have not kept pace with rises. Average salaries for low skilled range from 1500 qar/month to professional at 50k qar a month. You cannot have the same lifestyle as you had in your home country but it's tax free. Don't expect to live like a king, you have to economize like you did in your home country if you intend saving money. Fuel is cheap, taxis are cheap, tram is cheap compared to Europe. Everything else is more expensive. Eating out is expensive unless at food courts. It's safe, safer than most cities in Europe. Alcohol has a huge tax, so if you like drinking, it will be very expensive. 2500 qar is not alot to survive on.

My God! Somebody has been offered 110,000 QR per/m. The average salary in Doha is a round 2700 euro per/m and than Nate showes up here and say 110,00 also 29,415 Euro per/m..... Dear Nate you are my new king of the Qatar. :-) Can I be your bodyguard, please?

I have been offered a job for 16000qar/m, i have a family with 2 kids, one is school going. Is this salary enough forca family of 4?

Thanks for the informative blog about apartment rent tips, for more details visit: http://capitaloneqa.com/

i found it more expensive for accommodation which would be big problem for family compared to salary rate

Hello I am Tshering Penden from Inadia.
So my salary is 2500 Qatar royal including all allowance like transportation, fooding and accommodation. So I need rough calculations of living expense in qater. Is it enough to lived there.

#Nate.. It is a decent package. Approx usd 1000/d + allowance, isnt it? Not sure how much you spend back home, but you won't spend more than qar 25k p.m. as a single in Qatar. I believe you'll be in the office most of the time :)

Hello everyone,
Im looking for a job in doha, How do u think i should apply for one?
Any recommendations?
I have a bachelor's degree!
Please send some tips and hints, Thanks.

Hi, I got offer on contract role for Graphic Design Post, My monthly salary is 10,000 qar
& they can't provide me the accommodation, food
then can anyone guide me is it sufficient for me to live and eating & how much i can save per month

i got an offer for 1920 qar you think i should accept it

I really desire to get a teaching job for both myself and my wife. We have two kids and we are really looking for opportunity to move to Qater. Please I need help on how to go about it. You can send advice to my mail at emmychona@gmail.com

What about children's school fees,is that expensive?

Name some best schools in terms of education and cost

Hi All,

I have an opportunity to work in Qatar Doha and company has been offering 11000 riyal/month, my living style is normal. What about the Accommodation and food cost for single person. Please provide with detailed information.
A so is this good package or i need to ask for more salary?

Hello all people interested to come to Doha, I've been living in Doha in the past 8 years, if you have any questions about cost of living, your offered salary package and if it will work for you, please feel free to contact me by mail princ1981@hotmail.com,
One more thing it is relative when it comes to spending, you can live with 3000 QR, and 50,000 might not be enough depending on what lifestyle u are planning, Qatar is the safest country I've lived or visited so far (US, Europe, Middle East, and many Asian countries), house rent is the major expense, I'm managing a company and I'm paying 8,500 QR/month for a 2 bedroom fully furnished apartment in a decent compound with a big club house, gym, swimming pool, etc... Most of the prices mentioned here is reasonable and accurate

Hi just want to ask how much is the basic salary in doha qatar monthly.
Thank you

What might be expected salary for software quality assurance in QAFCO may be some range

#DDD-J your calculations are correct, unfortunately.
I am spending 30k a month, not doing extravagant stuff, with a wife and 2 kids.
Been living here since 2008 and things are getting more expensive by the minute.
The new exise tax also will limit your alcohol consumption as all prices for liquor have doubled. Same goes for tobacco products, pork and energy drinks as well as an extra 50% on soda.
Fuel is always cheaper than Europe. Accomodation is a flexible item, depending on the location, so you might get a villa from 10K+ monthly. Public hospitals are almost free. Cars have reasonable pricing, also a flexible item.