Cost of living comparison

Kazakhstan

compared to

United Arab Emirates

Dubai vs. Almaty Cost of Living Summary

Dubai is 74.4% more expensive than Almaty.

Restaurants: pay 0.7% more in Dubai
Groceries: pay 9.7% more in Dubai
Transportation: pay 65.7% more in Dubai
Housing: pay 3.0 times more in Dubai
Childcare: pay 66.3% more in Dubai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.2 times more in Dubai
Clothing: pay 18.4% less in Dubai

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, transportation, groceries, and restaurants in Dubai are more expensive than in Almaty. Notably, housing and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Dubai.

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Dubai vs. Almaty Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Dubai instead of Almaty, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 0.7% more for restaurants

	Almaty	Dubai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.42 KZT6,082.92	$12.80 AED46.99	-4.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.95 KZT4,055.28	$9.53 AED35.00	+6.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.36 KZT615.44	$1.67 AED6.12	+22.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.91 KZT410.90	$0.79 AED2.89	-13.1%
Average			+0.7%

Almaty vs. Dubai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.7% more for groceries

	Almaty	Dubai
Bread 1 loaf	$0.94 KZT425.21	$1.54 AED5.66	+64.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.46 KZT2,925.52	$6.21 AED22.81	-3.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.48 KZT2,938.79	$6.92 AED25.40	+6.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.45 KZT1,109.97	$3.34 AED12.26	+36.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.09 KZT1,401.59	$4.36 AED16.00	+40.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.86 KZT387.73	$1.19 AED4.39	+39.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.06 KZT481.68	$0.88 AED3.23	-17.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.37 KZT621.58	$0.85 AED3.12	-38.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.34 KZT605.34	$0.64 AED2.34	-52.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 KZT160.60	$0.51 AED1.89	+45.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.26 KZT119.25	$0.45 AED1.67	+72.5%
Average			+9.7%

Almaty vs. Dubai - Cost of groceries

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pay 65.7% more for transportation

	Almaty	Dubai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.64 KZT1,198.22	$3.66 AED13.44	+38.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.15 KZT10,036.82	$74.87 AED274.97	+238.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,370.46 KZT10M	$27,226.44 AED99,989.11	+21.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.71 KZT3,041.46	$8.86 AED32.56	+32.1%
Average			+65.7%

Almaty vs. Dubai - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.0 times more for housing

	Almaty	Dubai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$18.11 KZT8,207.89	$92.93 AED341.28	+413.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$802.28 KZT364K	$2,407.39 AED8,841.14	+200.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$513.47 KZT233K	$1,513.73 AED5,559.16	+194.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.56 KZT31,526.07	$187.87 AED689.96	+170.1%
Average			+201.3%

Almaty vs. Dubai - Cost of housing

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pay 66.3% more for childcare

	Almaty	Dubai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$456.34 KZT207K	$859.15 AED3,155.21	+88.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,216.13 KZT6M	$17,941.05 AED65,888.51	+46.9%
Average			+66.3%

Almaty vs. Dubai - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.2 times more for entertainment and sports

	Almaty	Dubai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.24 KZT1,470.04	$13.61 AED49.99	+319.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.30 KZT1,497.69	$5.96 AED21.89	+80.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.63 KZT1,191.24	$5.99 AED22.00	+127.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$70.49 KZT31,945.91	$99.96 AED367.10	+41.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.71 KZT3,041.46	$16.34 AED59.99	+143.4%
Average			+121.9%

Almaty vs. Dubai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.4% less for clothing

	Almaty	Dubai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$96.07 KZT43,537.96	$67.92 AED249.45	-29.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.45 KZT21,502.09	$56.98 AED209.24	+20.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$145.68 KZT66,021.45	$102.70 AED377.18	-29.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$134.22 KZT60,829.24	$99.57 AED365.67	-25.8%
Average			-18.4%

Almaty vs. Dubai - 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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