Makkah vs Madinah: what's cheaper?

We've been capturing data on hotel prices in Makkah and Madinah across our price indices for months now. Putting the two cities side by side, the numbers don't say what you'd expect.

Whilst Makkah draws in visitor numbers into the tens of millions, its pricing actually comes out lower than Madinah for most months.

Ramadan is the exception, and it's a big one. In peak season, Makkah prices lead Madinah by 30%.

Makkah in orange, Madinah in green.

Where Madinah pulls ahead

From November through January, Madinah is consistently the more expensive city. November sees Madinah about 17% ahead. By December Madinah prices are roughly 13% ahead. January is the widest gap of the whole window, a difference of close to 29%.

That January peak isn't random. It's Madinah's best weather of the year, highs around 24°C and lows near 12°C, warm days and cool evenings for long stretches at the Prophet's Mosque. Prices tend to follow the weather in both cities. The most comfortable months are the ones people will pay the most for, and in Madinah that lands squarely in January.

Why Makkah stays cheaper

There's no doubt Makkah's hospitality sector benefits from scale in terms of number of room keys. That scale drives competition, and competition holds prices down.

Visitor numbers to the city are large and continue to grow, but the hotel industry has been able to absorb that demand.

What Ramadan does to the numbers

It's primarily in Ramadan that Makkah sees a real uptick in seasonal demand, and hotel prices respond with significantly higher rates. The average price across the major hotel brands reaches about £430 per night, more than three times the September rate for the same rooms.

Madinah also spikes before, during and after Ramadan, but the relative increase is smaller.

What's behind it

These are likely supply and demand driven factors. The quality of the hotel stock in either city is similar, and both lack a substantial supply of premium and luxury rooms, which would otherwise drive up the average nightly rate.

As noted in our analysis of the upcoming hotels in Madinah, we're anticipating an increase in the premium hospitality segment, which will likely drive up average prices in the holy cities.

What this means if you're going

Here's the thing to keep in mind. Most people do both cities on one trip, a week or two, back to back. That means you're in Makkah and Madinah within the same stretch, the same month give or take a few days. You can't really book Makkah in a cheap month and Madinah in a different cheap month. They move together with your travel dates, and whichever month you fly out sets the price for both.

If you're planning a trip to Makkah or Madinah, keep the pricing dynamics in mind. The choice of month can move the cost of a family trip by thousands.