Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Israel

Jerusalem vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Jerusalem is 42.7% more expensive than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 2.8 times more in Jerusalem
Groceries: pay 52.6% more in Jerusalem
Transportation: pay 2.3 times more in Jerusalem
Housing: pay 3.5% less in Jerusalem
Childcare: pay 86.6% more in Jerusalem
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.4% less in Jerusalem
Clothing: pay 55.6% more in Jerusalem

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

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Jerusalem vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Jerusalem
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$23.11 ₪74.34	+183.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$19.53 ₪62.83	+105.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$3.52 ₪11.32	+205.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$2.86 ₪9.19	+586.9%
Average			+178.3%

Abu Dhabi vs. Jerusalem - Cost of restaurants

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pay 52.6% more for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Jerusalem
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$3.32 ₪10.66	+105.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$8.64 ₪27.78	+48.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.11	$9.02 ₪29.02	+22.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$4.85 ₪15.60	+39.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.17	$6.59 ₪21.19	+49.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$1.96 ₪6.32	+74.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$1.51 ₪4.85	+59.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$1.20 ₪3.85	+42.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$1.09 ₪3.51	+54.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$0.86 ₪2.76	+55.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.76 ₪2.45	+42.7%
Average			+52.6%

Abu Dhabi vs. Jerusalem - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.3 times more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Jerusalem
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.33	$9.96 ₪32.05	+174.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.50	$69.33 ₪223.03	+161.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$57,582.76 ₪185K	+92.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$14.19 ₪45.65	+86.2%
Average			+134.4%

Abu Dhabi vs. Jerusalem - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.5% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Jerusalem
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.32	$41.92 ₪134.85	-52.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,222.34	$1,862.84 ₪5,992.28	-5.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,140.58	$1,279.70 ₪4,116.46	-8.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.60	$219.72 ₪706.80	+48.5%
Average			-3.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Jerusalem - Cost of housing

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pay 86.6% more for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Jerusalem
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,905.08	$1,411.37 ₪4,540.00	+78.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,431.15	$28,921.58 ₪93,033.36	+95.2%
Average			+86.6%

Abu Dhabi vs. Jerusalem - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Jerusalem
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$8.14 ₪26.18	-29.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.88	$4.89 ₪15.74	-17.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$13.54 ₪43.56	+103.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED350.01	$73.40 ₪236.12	-23.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED55.00	$14.65 ₪47.12	-2.2%
Average			-10.4%

Abu Dhabi vs. Jerusalem - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 55.6% more for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Jerusalem
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.76	$117.06 ₪376.54	+90.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.32	$75.86 ₪244.03	+54.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED410.01	$151.21 ₪486.41	+35.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.56	$161.99 ₪521.08	+47.1%
Average			+55.6%

Abu Dhabi vs. Jerusalem - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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