Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Maldives

Male vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Male is 26.6% cheaper than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 12.2% less in Male
Groceries: pay 21.1% more in Male
Transportation: pay 17.5% more in Male
Housing: pay 47.8% less in Male
Childcare: pay 78.2% less in Male
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.5% less in Male
Clothing: pay 29.9% less in Male

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

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Male vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 12.2% less for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Male
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$6.00 MVR92.80	-26.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$9.73 MVR150.49	+2.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$1.63 MVR25.14	+40.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$0.30 MVR4.59	-28.6%
Average			-12.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Male - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.1% more for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Male
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$1.65 MVR25.58	+2.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$5.34 MVR82.48	-8.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.10	$7.69 MVR118.88	+4.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$1.92 MVR29.72	-44.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.16	$2.77 MVR42.75	-37.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$1.80 MVR27.85	+60.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$1.39 MVR21.42	+46.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$1.85 MVR28.67	+120.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$1.22 MVR18.85	+72.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$0.93 MVR14.41	+68.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.86 MVR13.31	+61.4%
Average			+21.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Male - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.5% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Male
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.32	$3.81 MVR58.85	+4.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.49	$30.82 MVR476.54	+16.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$32,446.46 MVR502K	+8.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$17.52 MVR270.88	+129.8%
Average			+17.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Male - Cost of transportation

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pay 47.8% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Male
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.28	$73.00 MVR1,128.65	-17.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,221.36	$951.14 MVR14,704.70	-51.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,139.88	$699.92 MVR10,820.71	-50.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.52	$90.98 MVR1,406.51	-38.5%
Average			-47.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Male - Cost of housing

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pay 78.2% less for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Male
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,904.68	$184.98 MVR2,859.75	-76.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,423.74	$3,004.83 MVR46,454.64	-79.7%
Average			-78.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Male - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Male
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$4.87 MVR75.24	-57.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.87	$3.55 MVR54.87	-40.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$14.93 MVR230.75	+123.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED349.96	$70.81 MVR1,094.69	-25.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED54.99	$9.73 MVR150.49	-35.0%
Average			-31.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Male - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 29.9% less for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Male
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.73	$39.51 MVR610.88	-35.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.30	$49.64 MVR767.37	+1.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED409.96	$87.13 MVR1,346.98	-21.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.50	$52.52 MVR811.92	-52.3%
Average			-29.9%

Abu Dhabi vs. Male - 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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