Cost of living comparison
compared to
Abu Dhabi vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary
Abu Dhabi is 13.3% cheaper than Dubai.
- Restaurants
-
pay 21.4% less in Abu Dhabi
- Groceries
-
pay 5.4% more in Abu Dhabi
- Transportation
-
pay 3.7% less in Abu Dhabi
- Housing
-
pay 22.2% less in Abu Dhabi
- Childcare
-
pay 19.1% less in Abu Dhabi
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 9.5% less in Abu Dhabi
- Clothing
-
pay 22.6% less in Abu Dhabi
Expenses including clothing, housing, restaurants, childcare, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Abu Dhabi instead of Dubai, you would:
pay 21.4% less for restaurants
|
Dubai
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$10.89
AED40.00
|
$10.89
AED40.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.19
AED4.37
|
$1.29
AED4.74
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.90
AED3.31
|
$0.44
AED1.61
|
|
Dubai vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of restaurants
pay 5.4% more for groceries
|
Dubai
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.41
AED5.18
|
$1.60
AED5.89
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.45
AED20.01
|
$5.28
AED19.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.12
AED26.15
|
$7.50
AED27.54
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.39
AED12.43
|
$3.64
AED13.37
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.21
AED15.45
|
$4.12
AED15.11
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.05
AED3.86
|
$1.15
AED4.21
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.86
AED3.16
|
$0.82
AED3.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.78
AED2.88
|
$0.83
AED3.05
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.65
AED2.40
|
$0.67
AED2.46
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
AED1.94
|
$0.53
AED1.96
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.52
AED1.92
|
$0.65
AED2.39
|
|
Dubai vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of groceries
pay 3.7% less for transportation
|
Dubai
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.82
AED10.37
|
$2.94
AED10.80
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$87.13
AED320.00
|
$25.87
AED95.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,229.41
AED100,000.00
|
$44,639.07
AED163,937.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$8.71
AED32.00
|
$7.62
AED28.00
|
|
Dubai vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of transportation
pay 22.2% less for housing
|
Dubai
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$98.23
AED360.76
|
$100.96
AED370.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,362.29
AED8,675.50
|
$1,490.68
AED5,474.52
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,533.56
AED5,632.00
|
$1,109.19
AED4,073.48
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$159.06
AED584.17
|
$115.93
AED425.75
|
|
Dubai vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of housing
pay 19.1% less for childcare
|
Dubai
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$823.12
AED3,022.92
|
$625.43
AED2,296.88
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$14,907.17
AED54,746.58
|
$12,786.81
AED46,959.57
|
|
Dubai vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of childcare
pay 9.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Dubai
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$13.61
AED50.00
|
$11.29
AED41.45
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.65
AED20.75
|
$5.77
AED21.18
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.13
AED22.50
|
$6.26
AED23.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$84.61
AED310.71
|
$62.90
AED230.98
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.98
AED55.00
|
$13.61
AED50.00
|
|
Dubai vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 22.6% less for clothing
|
Dubai
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$81.30
AED298.59
|
$60.62
AED222.62
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$63.28
AED232.39
|
$51.93
AED190.71
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$129.71
AED476.35
|
$98.09
AED360.23
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$124.75
AED458.15
|
$96.21
AED353.33
|
|
Dubai vs. Abu Dhabi - 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: December 2025
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