Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

French Polynesia

Papeete vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Papeete is 4.7% more expensive than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in Papeete
Groceries: pay 93.3% more in Papeete
Transportation: pay 2.2% more in Papeete
Housing: pay 28.6% less in Papeete
Childcare: pay 38.7% less in Papeete
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.1% less in Papeete
Clothing: pay 1.8% less in Papeete

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

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Papeete vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Papeete
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$18.77 CFPF2,032	+129.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$14.78 CFPF1,600	+55.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$2.67 CFPF289	+131.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$3.28 CFPF356	+689.5%
Average			+126.7%

Abu Dhabi vs. Papeete - Cost of restaurants

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pay 93.3% more for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Papeete
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$2.67 CFPF289	+65.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$13.92 CFPF1,507	+139.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.11	$5.55 CFPF601	-24.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$6.27 CFPF679	+79.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.17	$6.92 CFPF749	+57.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$2.13 CFPF230	+89.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$1.12 CFPF121	+18.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$2.98 CFPF323	+254.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$3.56 CFPF386	+404.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$1.22 CFPF132	+121.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$1.01 CFPF109	+89.6%
Average			+93.3%

Abu Dhabi vs. Papeete - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.2% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Papeete
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.33	$5.64 CFPF610	+55.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.50	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$18,766.76 CFPF2M	-37.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	??
Average			+2.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Papeete - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.6% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Papeete
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.32	$69.67 CFPF7,542	-21.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,222.34	$1,337.13 CFPF145K	-32.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,140.58	$938.34 CFPF102K	-33.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.60	$138.13 CFPF14,953	-6.7%
Average			-28.6%

Abu Dhabi vs. Papeete - Cost of housing

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pay 38.7% less for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Papeete
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,905.08	$469.17 CFPF50,788	-40.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,431.15	$9,383.38 CFPF1M	-36.7%
Average			-38.7%

Abu Dhabi vs. Papeete - Cost of childcare

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pay 29.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Papeete
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$3.28 CFPF356	-71.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.88	$3.40 CFPF368	-42.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$12.86 CFPF1,392	+92.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED350.01	$84.45 CFPF9,142	-11.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED55.00	$14.08 CFPF1,524	-6.0%
Average			-29.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Papeete - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.8% less for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Papeete
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.76	$68.78 CFPF7,446	+11.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.32	$71.91 CFPF7,784	+46.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED410.01	$78.16 CFPF8,461	-30.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.56	$89.14 CFPF9,650	-19.1%
Average			-1.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Papeete - 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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