Cost of living comparison

compared to

United Arab Emirates vs. Al Ain Cost of Living Summary

United Arab Emirates is 25.5% more expensive than Al Ain.

Restaurants: pay 23.1% more in United Arab Emirates
Groceries: pay 9.0% less in United Arab Emirates
Transportation: pay 39.8% more in United Arab Emirates
Housing: pay 42.4% more in United Arab Emirates
Childcare: pay 14.7% more in United Arab Emirates
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.1% more in United Arab Emirates
Clothing: pay 47.7% more in United Arab Emirates

The cost of clothing, housing, transportation, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and childcare in United Arab Emirates are more expensive than in Al Ain.

United Arab Emirates vs. Al Ain Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of Al Ain, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 23.1% more for restaurants

	Al Ain	United Arab Emirates
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.49 AED27.50	$7.91 AED29.06	+5.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.44 AED31.00	$8.65 AED31.75	+2.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.77 AED2.81	$1.04 AED3.83	+36.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 AED1.25	$0.50 AED1.85	+48.1%
Average			+23.1%

Al Ain vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.0% less for groceries

	Al Ain	United Arab Emirates
Bread 1 loaf	$1.60 AED5.89	$1.47 AED5.39	-8.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 AED19.39	$5.36 AED19.68	+1.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.96 AED25.55	$6.96 AED25.56
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.64 AED13.37	$2.81 AED10.34	-22.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.12 AED15.11	$3.68 AED13.51	-10.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 AED4.21	$0.98 AED3.59	-14.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 AED3.00	$0.75 AED2.75	-8.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 AED3.05	$0.73 AED2.69	-11.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.67 AED2.46	$0.59 AED2.15	-12.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.52 AED1.93	$0.48 AED1.76	-8.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 AED1.81	$0.53 AED1.93	+6.6%
Average			-9.0%

Al Ain vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.8% more for transportation

	Al Ain	United Arab Emirates
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.91 AED10.69	$2.91 AED10.69
Monthly public transit pass	$24.51 AED90.00	$53.10 AED195.00	+116.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,639.07 AED163,937.00	$40,680.12 AED149,397.75	-8.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$8.50 AED31.21	+11.5%
Average			+39.8%

Al Ain vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation

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pay 42.4% more for housing

	Al Ain	United Arab Emirates
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$100.96 AED370.79	$101.41 AED372.42	+0.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$717.04 AED2,633.33	$1,438.18 AED5,281.71	+100.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$778.22 AED2,858.00	$990.79 AED3,638.67	+27.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$86.72 AED318.49	$122.67 AED450.49	+41.4%
Average			+42.4%

Al Ain vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing

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pay 14.7% more for childcare

	Al Ain	United Arab Emirates
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$625.43 AED2,296.88	$497.28 AED1,826.25	-20.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,445.88 AED20,000.00	$8,164.49 AED29,984.10	+49.9%
Average			+14.7%

Al Ain vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Al Ain	United Arab Emirates
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.17 AED30.00	$10.43 AED38.31	+27.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.77 AED17.50	$4.99 AED18.32	+4.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.31 AED19.50	$6.23 AED22.88	+17.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.16 AED180.56	$75.55 AED277.45	+53.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.61 AED50.00	$13.19 AED48.44	-3.1%
Average			+20.1%

Al Ain vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 47.7% more for clothing

	Al Ain	United Arab Emirates
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.62 AED222.62	$75.04 AED275.58	+23.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.59 AED105.00	$59.50 AED218.51	+108.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.25 AED261.67	$105.66 AED388.03	+48.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.21 AED353.33	$106.53 AED391.23	+10.7%
Average			+47.7%

Al Ain vs. United Arab Emirates - 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: December 2025

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