Cost of living comparison

Italy

compared to

United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi vs. Bologna Cost of Living Summary

Abu Dhabi is 5.0% cheaper than Bologna.

Restaurants: pay 56.6% less in Abu Dhabi
Groceries: pay 25.9% less in Abu Dhabi
Transportation: pay 42.2% less in Abu Dhabi
Housing: pay 52.7% more in Abu Dhabi
Childcare: pay 3.5% less in Abu Dhabi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 65.1% more in Abu Dhabi
Clothing: pay 16.3% less in Abu Dhabi

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

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Abu Dhabi vs. Bologna Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 56.6% less for restaurants

	Bologna	Abu Dhabi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$22.39 €19.93	$8.17 AED30.00	-63.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$13.44 €11.96	$9.53 AED35.00	-29.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.63 €3.23	$1.15 AED4.24	-68.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.77 €1.58	$0.42 AED1.53	-76.5%
Average			-56.6%

Bologna vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.9% less for groceries

	Bologna	Abu Dhabi
Bread 1 loaf	$3.09 €2.75	$1.62 AED5.94	-47.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.33 €9.20	$5.81 AED21.35	-43.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.19 €4.62	$7.38 AED27.10	+42.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.95 €3.52	$3.49 AED12.81	-11.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.59 €4.97	$4.40 AED16.16	-21.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.10 €0.98	$1.12 AED4.13	+1.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.08 €0.96	$0.95 AED3.48	-12.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.17 €1.04	$0.84 AED3.09	-28.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.54 €1.37	$0.71 AED2.60	-54.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.86 €0.77	$0.55 AED2.03	-36.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.80 €0.71	$0.53 AED1.96	-32.9%
Average			-25.9%

Bologna vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of groceries

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pay 42.2% less for transportation

	Bologna	Abu Dhabi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.06 €7.17	$3.63 AED13.32	-55.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$43.67 €38.87	$26.55 AED97.49	-39.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,317.50 €32,323.89	$29,949.09 AED110K	-17.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.03 €16.05	$7.62 AED28.00	-57.7%
Average			-42.2%

Bologna vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of transportation

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pay 52.7% more for housing

	Bologna	Abu Dhabi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$31.17 €27.74	$88.30 AED324.28	+183.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,136.62 €1,011.63	$1,966.33 AED7,221.36	+73.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$872.70 €776.74	$1,399.56 AED5,139.88	+60.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$189.21 €168.41	$148.00 AED543.52	-21.8%
Average			+52.7%

Bologna vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of housing

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pay 3.5% less for childcare

	Bologna	Abu Dhabi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$771.78 €686.91	$790.93 AED2,904.68	+2.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,312.31 €14,518.54	$14,819.26 AED54,423.74	-9.2%
Average			-3.5%

Bologna vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of childcare

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pay 65.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Bologna	Abu Dhabi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.72 €5.98	$11.57 AED42.50	+72.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.23 €1.98	$5.96 AED21.87	+167.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.96 €6.20	$6.67 AED24.50	-4.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$63.58 €56.59	$95.29 AED349.96	+49.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.08 €8.97	$14.97 AED54.99	+48.6%
Average			+65.1%

Bologna vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.3% less for clothing

	Bologna	Abu Dhabi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$92.07 €81.94	$61.46 AED225.73	-33.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.99 €40.93	$49.09 AED180.30	+6.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$120.58 €107.32	$111.63 AED409.96	-7.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$147.99 €131.71	$110.14 AED404.50	-25.6%
Average			-16.3%

Bologna vs. Abu Dhabi - 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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