Cost of living comparison
compared to
Dubai vs. Amsterdam Cost of Living Summary
Dubai is 25.4% cheaper than Amsterdam.
- Restaurants
-
pay 58.9% less in Dubai
- Groceries
-
pay 33.1% less in Dubai
- Transportation
-
pay 51.3% less in Dubai
- Housing
-
pay 6.1% more in Dubai
- Childcare
-
pay 48.8% less in Dubai
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 12.5% more in Dubai
- Clothing
-
pay 4.3% less in Dubai
The cost of entertainment and sports and housing in Dubai are more expensive than in Amsterdam. Expenses including restaurants, transportation, childcare, groceries, and clothing are lower in Dubai.
Dubai vs. Amsterdam Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Dubai instead of Amsterdam, you would:
pay 58.9% less for restaurants
|
Amsterdam
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$23.36
€20.14
|
$10.89
AED40.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$16.35
€14.10
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.72
€3.21
|
$1.19
AED4.37
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$3.28
€2.83
|
$0.90
AED3.31
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Dubai - Cost of restaurants
pay 33.1% less for groceries
|
Amsterdam
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.71
€2.34
|
$1.41
AED5.18
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.72
€6.65
|
$5.45
AED20.01
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.24
€5.38
|
$7.12
AED26.15
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.27
€4.55
|
$3.39
AED12.43
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.35
€5.48
|
$4.21
AED15.45
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.42
€1.22
|
$1.05
AED3.86
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.02
|
$0.86
AED3.16
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.04
€0.90
|
$0.78
AED2.88
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
€1.80
|
$0.65
AED2.40
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$0.53
AED1.94
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.88
€0.76
|
$0.52
AED1.92
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Dubai - Cost of groceries
pay 51.3% less for transportation
|
Amsterdam
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.77
€7.57
|
$2.82
AED10.37
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$116.79
€100.71
|
$87.13
AED320.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$44,381.38
€38,271.26
|
$27,229.41
AED100,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$32.69
€28.19
|
$8.71
AED32.00
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Dubai - Cost of transportation
pay 6.1% more for housing
|
Amsterdam
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$52.20
€45.01
|
$98.23
AED360.76
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,488.65
€2,146.03
|
$2,362.29
AED8,675.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,040.62
€1,759.68
|
$1,533.56
AED5,632.00
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$241.43
€208.19
|
$159.06
AED584.17
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Dubai - Cost of housing
pay 48.8% less for childcare
|
Amsterdam
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,924.24
€2,521.66
|
$823.12
AED3,022.92
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$20,029.43
€17,271.92
|
$14,907.17
AED54,746.58
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Dubai - Cost of childcare
pay 12.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Amsterdam
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.59
€6.55
|
$13.61
AED50.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.05
€4.35
|
$5.65
AED20.75
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.60
€12.59
|
$6.13
AED22.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$58.91
€50.80
|
$84.61
AED310.71
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.52
€15.11
|
$14.98
AED55.00
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Dubai - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.3% less for clothing
|
Amsterdam
|
Dubai
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.80
€85.20
|
$81.30
AED298.59
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$53.66
€46.27
|
$63.28
AED232.39
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$127.18
€109.67
|
$129.71
AED476.35
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$154.92
€133.59
|
$124.75
AED458.15
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Dubai - Cost of clothing
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: November 2025
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Netherlands vs. United Arab Emirates.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Netherlands and United Arab Emirates.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Dubai or Amsterdam. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.