Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Moldova

Chisinau vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Chisinau is 39.7% cheaper than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 21.1% more in Chisinau
Groceries: pay 31.7% less in Chisinau
Transportation: pay 1.6% less in Chisinau
Housing: pay 61.9% less in Chisinau
Childcare: pay 53.5% less in Chisinau
Entertainment and Sports: pay 61.3% less in Chisinau
Clothing: pay 7.5% more in Chisinau

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

Planning a move to Moldova? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Chisinau vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 21.1% more for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Chisinau
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$11.22 MDL200.58	+37.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$8.70 MDL155.45	-8.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$1.21 MDL21.60	+4.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$0.89 MDL15.92	+114.1%
Average			+21.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Chisinau - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 31.7% less for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Chisinau
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$0.71 MDL12.71	-56.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$4.89 MDL87.39	-15.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.10	$4.73 MDL84.61	-35.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$2.79 MDL49.81	-20.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.16	$2.36 MDL42.13	-46.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$0.44 MDL7.83	-61.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$0.87 MDL15.60	-7.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$0.94 MDL16.79	+11.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$1.01 MDL17.97	+42.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$0.31 MDL5.58	-43.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.25 MDL4.40	-53.9%
Average			-31.7%

Abu Dhabi vs. Chisinau - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.6% less for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Chisinau
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.32	$6.44 MDL115.06	+77.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.49	$13.52 MDL241.70	-49.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$29,507.41 MDL528K	-1.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$4.94 MDL88.26	-35.2%
Average			-1.6%

Abu Dhabi vs. Chisinau - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 61.9% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Chisinau
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.28	$10.59 MDL189.39	-88.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,221.36	$679.74 MDL12,152.24	-65.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,139.88	$435.34 MDL7,782.96	-68.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.52	$185.85 MDL3,322.64	+25.6%
Average			-61.9%

Abu Dhabi vs. Chisinau - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 53.5% less for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Chisinau
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,904.68	$434.06 MDL7,759.94	-45.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,423.74	$5,841.67 MDL104K	-60.6%
Average			-53.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Chisinau - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 61.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Chisinau
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$2.24 MDL40.12	-80.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.87	$2.16 MDL38.67	-63.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$3.42 MDL61.18	-48.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED349.96	$41.67 MDL745.01	-56.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED54.99	$8.41 MDL150.43	-43.8%
Average			-61.3%

Abu Dhabi vs. Chisinau - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.5% more for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Chisinau
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.73	$79.80 MDL1,426.62	+29.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.30	$47.07 MDL841.43	-4.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED409.96	$114.14 MDL2,040.51	+2.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.50	$115.56 MDL2,065.97	+4.9%
Average			+7.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Chisinau - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Abu Dhabi vs. Chisinau

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Chisinau?

More cost comparisons

Abu Dhabi vs.

Quito

Abu Dhabi vs.

Bangkok

Abu Dhabi vs.

Athens

Abu Dhabi vs.

Moscow

Abu Dhabi vs.

New York City

Abu Dhabi vs.

Paris

Abu Dhabi vs.

Shanghai

Abu Dhabi vs.

Cairo

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in United Arab Emirates vs. Moldova. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United Arab Emirates and Moldova.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Abu Dhabi

Add prices for Chisinau

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Chisinau or Abu Dhabi. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.