Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Sweden

Stockholm vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Stockholm is 18.7% more expensive than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Stockholm
Groceries: pay 51.0% more in Stockholm
Transportation: pay 96.5% more in Stockholm
Housing: pay 15.6% less in Stockholm
Childcare: pay 53.1% less in Stockholm
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.0% less in Stockholm
Clothing: pay 45.1% more in Stockholm

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

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Stockholm vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Stockholm
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$17.99 SEK176.82	+120.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$11.90 SEK116.90	+24.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$3.66 SEK36.00	+217.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$3.09 SEK30.34	+642.2%
Average			+111.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Stockholm - Cost of restaurants

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pay 51.0% more for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Stockholm
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$3.97 SEK39.01	+145.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$6.37 SEK62.56	+9.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.10	$6.67 SEK65.51	-9.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$5.11 SEK50.24	+46.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.16	$5.83 SEK57.24	+32.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$1.60 SEK15.71	+42.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$1.26 SEK12.39	+33.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$1.44 SEK14.11	+70.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$2.02 SEK19.85	+185.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$0.79 SEK7.71	+42.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.80 SEK7.87	+50.2%
Average			+51.0%

Abu Dhabi vs. Stockholm - Cost of groceries

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pay 96.5% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Stockholm
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.32	$6.72 SEK66.01	+85.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.49	$105.97 SEK1,041.28	+299.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$32,980.57 SEK324K	+10.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$17.85 SEK175.45	+134.2%
Average			+96.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Stockholm - Cost of transportation

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pay 15.6% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Stockholm
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.28	$39.70 SEK390.05	-55.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,221.36	$1,674.52 SEK16,454.18	-14.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,139.88	$1,080.50 SEK10,617.16	-22.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.52	$190.15 SEK1,868.43	+28.5%
Average			-15.6%

Abu Dhabi vs. Stockholm - Cost of housing

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pay 53.1% less for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Stockholm
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,904.68	$157.47 SEK1,547.29	-80.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,423.74	$16,395.31 SEK161K	+10.6%
Average			-53.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Stockholm - Cost of childcare

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pay 18.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Stockholm
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$7.95 SEK78.10	-31.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.87	$5.05 SEK49.61	-15.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$8.70 SEK85.46	+30.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED349.96	$46.98 SEK461.61	-50.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED54.99	$18.99 SEK186.64	+26.8%
Average			-18.0%

Abu Dhabi vs. Stockholm - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 45.1% more for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Stockholm
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.73	$111.49 SEK1,095.51	+81.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.30	$58.75 SEK577.25	+19.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED409.96	$135.62 SEK1,332.63	+21.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.50	$184.97 SEK1,817.59	+67.9%
Average			+45.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Stockholm - 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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