Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

South Africa

Stellenbosch vs. Al Ain Cost of Living Summary

Stellenbosch is 9.5% cheaper than Al Ain.

Restaurants: pay 23.9% more in Stellenbosch
Groceries: pay 13.8% less in Stellenbosch
Transportation: pay 55.0% more in Stellenbosch
Housing: pay 29.3% less in Stellenbosch
Childcare: pay 61.6% less in Stellenbosch
Entertainment and Sports: pay 50.3% less in Stellenbosch
Clothing: pay 9.5% more in Stellenbosch

The cost of transportation, restaurants, and clothing in Stellenbosch are more expensive than in Al Ain. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, and groceries are lower in Stellenbosch.

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Stellenbosch vs. Al Ain Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Stellenbosch instead of Al Ain, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 23.9% more for restaurants

	Al Ain	Stellenbosch
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$7.21 ZAR120.09	-11.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.58 AED31.50	$4.81 ZAR80.06	-43.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 AED2.65	$0.96 ZAR16.01	+33.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 AED1.25	$0.74 ZAR12.34	+117.8%
Average			+23.9%

Al Ain vs. Stellenbosch - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.8% less for groceries

	Al Ain	Stellenbosch
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$1.13 ZAR18.76	-30.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.76 AED17.50	$4.39 ZAR73.12	-7.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.79 AED24.92	$4.99 ZAR83.16	-26.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.83 AED10.39	$2.88 ZAR47.90	+1.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.16	$2.63 ZAR43.88	-40.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$0.79 ZAR13.16	-29.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.92 AED3.38	$0.65 ZAR10.89	-28.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$0.77 ZAR12.84	-8.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$0.71 ZAR11.80	+0.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.52 AED1.93	$0.48 ZAR7.94	-9.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.68 ZAR11.35	+27.7%
Average			-13.8%

Al Ain vs. Stellenbosch - Cost of groceries

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pay 55.0% more for transportation

	Al Ain	Stellenbosch
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.37 AED12.37	$5.30 ZAR88.35	+57.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.50 AED89.99	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$35,391.94 ZAR589K	+18.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.67 AED24.50	$12.62 ZAR210.16	+89.2%
Average			+55.0%

Al Ain vs. Stellenbosch - Cost of transportation

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pay 29.3% less for housing

	Al Ain	Stellenbosch
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.28	$34.05 ZAR567.19	-61.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$707.89 AED2,599.72	$681.00 ZAR11,342.11	-3.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$816.48 AED2,998.51	$480.71 ZAR8,006.20	-41.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$86.71 AED318.46	$77.26 ZAR1,286.71	-10.9%
Average			-29.3%

Al Ain vs. Stellenbosch - Cost of housing

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pay 61.6% less for childcare

	Al Ain	Stellenbosch
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$571.30 AED2,098.11	$261.38 ZAR4,353.37	-54.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,532.65 AED27,663.65	$2,343.44 ZAR39,030.21	-68.9%
Average			-61.6%

Al Ain vs. Stellenbosch - Cost of childcare

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pay 50.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Al Ain	Stellenbosch
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.17 AED30.00	$2.70 ZAR45.03	-66.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.67 AED17.16	$2.06 ZAR34.28	-56.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.26 AED23.00	$3.61 ZAR60.05	-42.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.29 AED210.39	$28.54 ZAR475.37	-50.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.61 AED49.99	$8.71 ZAR145.11	-36.0%
Average			-50.3%

Al Ain vs. Stellenbosch - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.5% more for clothing

	Al Ain	Stellenbosch
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$44.24 AED162.48	$52.84 ZAR880.03	+19.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.30	$29.04 ZAR483.71	-40.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$70.11 AED257.47	$119.84 ZAR1,995.99	+70.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.10 AED374.96	$90.13 ZAR1,501.16	-11.7%
Average			+9.5%

Al Ain vs. Stellenbosch - Cost of clothing

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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: October 2026

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