Cost of living comparison
compared to
Dubai vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary
Dubai is 27.8% more expensive than Abu Dhabi.
- Restaurants
-
pay 48.6% more in Dubai
- Groceries
-
pay 4.6% less in Dubai
- Transportation
-
pay 52.1% more in Dubai
- Housing
-
pay 32.8% more in Dubai
- Childcare
-
pay 24.1% more in Dubai
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 12.2% more in Dubai
- Clothing
-
pay 29.5% more in Dubai
The cost of transportation, restaurants, housing, clothing, childcare, and entertainment and sports in Dubai are more expensive than in Abu Dhabi.
Dubai vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Dubai instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:
pay 48.6% more for restaurants
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$10.89
AED40.00
|
$10.89
AED40.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.29
AED4.74
|
$1.19
AED4.37
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.44
AED1.61
|
$0.90
AED3.31
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Dubai - Cost of restaurants
pay 4.6% less for groceries
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.60
AED5.89
|
$1.41
AED5.18
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.28
AED19.39
|
$5.45
AED20.01
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.50
AED27.54
|
$7.12
AED26.15
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.64
AED13.37
|
$3.39
AED12.43
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.12
AED15.11
|
$4.21
AED15.45
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.15
AED4.21
|
$1.05
AED3.86
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.82
AED3.00
|
$0.86
AED3.16
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.83
AED3.05
|
$0.78
AED2.88
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.67
AED2.46
|
$0.65
AED2.40
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
AED1.96
|
$0.53
AED1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.65
AED2.39
|
$0.52
AED1.92
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Dubai - Cost of groceries
pay 52.1% more for transportation
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.94
AED10.80
|
$2.82
AED10.37
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$25.87
AED95.00
|
$87.13
AED320.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$44,639.07
AED163,937.00
|
$27,229.41
AED100,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$7.62
AED28.00
|
$8.71
AED32.00
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Dubai - Cost of transportation
pay 32.8% more for housing
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$100.96
AED370.79
|
$98.23
AED360.76
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,490.68
AED5,474.52
|
$2,362.29
AED8,675.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,109.19
AED4,073.48
|
$1,533.56
AED5,632.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$115.93
AED425.75
|
$159.06
AED584.17
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Dubai - Cost of housing
pay 24.1% more for childcare
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$625.43
AED2,296.88
|
$823.12
AED3,022.92
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,786.81
AED46,959.57
|
$14,907.17
AED54,746.58
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Dubai - Cost of childcare
pay 12.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$11.29
AED41.45
|
$13.61
AED50.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.77
AED21.18
|
$5.65
AED20.75
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.26
AED23.00
|
$6.13
AED22.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$62.90
AED230.98
|
$84.61
AED310.71
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.61
AED50.00
|
$14.98
AED55.00
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Dubai - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 29.5% more for clothing
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.62
AED222.62
|
$81.30
AED298.59
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$51.93
AED190.71
|
$63.28
AED232.39
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.09
AED360.23
|
$129.71
AED476.35
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$96.21
AED353.33
|
$124.75
AED458.15
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Dubai - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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