Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Germany

Berlin vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Berlin is 15.4% more expensive than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Berlin
Groceries: pay 40.3% more in Berlin
Transportation: pay 2.0 times more in Berlin
Housing: pay 12.4% less in Berlin
Childcare: pay 55.8% less in Berlin
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.2% less in Berlin
Clothing: pay 15.6% more in Berlin

The cost of restaurants, transportation, groceries, and clothing in Berlin are more expensive than in Abu Dhabi. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing are lower in Berlin. Notably, restaurants and transportation are significantly more expensive in Berlin.

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Berlin vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Berlin instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Berlin
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$16.80 €14.95	+105.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$13.44 €11.96	+41.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$3.44 €3.06	+198.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$3.10 €2.76	+645.5%
Average			+112.7%

Abu Dhabi vs. Berlin - Cost of restaurants

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pay 40.3% more for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Berlin
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$2.40 €2.14	+48.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$8.59 €7.65	+47.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.10	$4.72 €4.20	-36.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$4.47 €3.98	+28.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.16	$5.44 €4.84	+23.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$1.61 €1.43	+43.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$0.90 €0.81	-4.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$1.52 €1.35	+80.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$1.70 €1.51	+139.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$0.94 €0.84	+71.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.98 €0.87	+83.4%
Average			+40.3%

Abu Dhabi vs. Berlin - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.0 times more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Berlin
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.32	$8.66 €7.71	+138.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.49	$70.54 €62.79	+165.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$32,914.63 €29,295.20	+9.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$30.29 €26.96	+297.3%
Average			+104.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Berlin - Cost of transportation

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pay 12.4% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Berlin
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.28	$48.20 €42.90	-45.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,221.36	$1,478.95 €1,316.32	-24.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,139.88	$1,114.14 €991.62	-20.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.52	$295.08 €262.63	+99.4%
Average			-12.4%

Abu Dhabi vs. Berlin - Cost of housing

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pay 55.8% less for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Berlin
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,904.68	$144.45 €128.56	-81.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,423.74	$15,853.22 €14,109.93	+7.0%
Average			-55.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Berlin - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Berlin
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$5.43 €4.83	-53.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.87	$4.34 €3.86	-27.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$10.53 €9.37	+57.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED349.96	$40.06 €35.65	-58.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED54.99	$15.68 €13.95	+4.7%
Average			-31.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Berlin - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.6% more for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Berlin
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.73	$95.44 €84.95	+55.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.30	$47.03 €41.86	-4.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED409.96	$104.60 €93.09	-6.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.50	$141.17 €125.65	+28.2%
Average			+15.6%

Abu Dhabi vs. Berlin - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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