Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Italy

Bologna vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Bologna is 5.3% more expensive than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in Bologna
Groceries: pay 35.0% more in Bologna
Transportation: pay 72.9% more in Bologna
Housing: pay 34.5% less in Bologna
Childcare: pay 3.6% more in Bologna
Entertainment and Sports: pay 39.4% less in Bologna
Clothing: pay 19.5% more in Bologna

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

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Bologna vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Bologna
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$22.39 €19.93	+174.2%
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	$3.63 €3.23	+214.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$1.77 €1.58	+326.2%
Average			+130.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Bologna - Cost of restaurants

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pay 35.0% more for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Bologna
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$3.09 €2.75	+90.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$10.33 €9.20	+77.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.10	$5.19 €4.62	-29.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$3.95 €3.52	+13.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.16	$5.59 €4.97	+26.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$1.10 €0.98	-1.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$1.08 €0.96	+13.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$1.17 €1.04	+39.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$1.54 €1.37	+118.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$0.86 €0.77	+56.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.80 €0.71	+49.1%
Average			+35.0%

Abu Dhabi vs. Bologna - Cost of groceries

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pay 72.9% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Bologna
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.32	$8.06 €7.17	+122.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.49	$43.67 €38.87	+64.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$36,317.50 €32,323.89	+21.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$18.03 €16.05	+136.5%
Average			+72.9%

Abu Dhabi vs. Bologna - Cost of transportation

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pay 34.5% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Bologna
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.28	$31.17 €27.74	-64.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,221.36	$1,136.62 €1,011.63	-42.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,139.88	$872.70 €776.74	-37.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.52	$189.21 €168.41	+27.8%
Average			-34.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Bologna - Cost of housing

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pay 3.6% more for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Bologna
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,904.68	$771.78 €686.91	-2.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,423.74	$16,312.31 €14,518.54	+10.1%
Average			+3.6%

Abu Dhabi vs. Bologna - Cost of childcare

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pay 39.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Bologna
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$6.72 €5.98	-41.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.87	$2.23 €1.98	-62.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$6.96 €6.20	+4.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED349.96	$63.58 €56.59	-33.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED54.99	$10.08 €8.97	-32.7%
Average			-39.4%

Abu Dhabi vs. Bologna - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 19.5% more for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Bologna
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.73	$92.07 €81.94	+49.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.30	$45.99 €40.93	-6.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED409.96	$120.58 €107.32	+8.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.50	$147.99 €131.71	+34.4%
Average			+19.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Bologna - 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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