Cost of living comparison

compared to

Australia vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary

Australia is 28.7% more expensive than Dubai.

Restaurants
pay 79.3% more in Australia
Groceries
pay 54.2% more in Australia
Transportation
pay 40.9% more in Australia
Housing
pay 36.7% less in Australia
Childcare
pay 36.1% more in Australia
Entertainment and Sports
pay 45.6% more in Australia
Clothing
pay 18.6% less in Australia

The cost of restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, transportation, and childcare in Australia are more expensive than in Dubai. Expenses including housing and clothing are lower in Australia. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Australia.

Australia vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown

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

pay 79.3% more for restaurants

 
Dubai
Australia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $10.89
AED40.00
$17.15
A$25.78
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.53
AED35.00
$9.64
A$14.49
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.19
AED4.37
$2.63
A$3.96

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pay 54.2% more for groceries

 
Dubai
Australia
Bread
1 loaf
$1.41
AED5.18
$2.39
A$3.59
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.45
AED20.01
$4.21
A$6.33
Milk (1 gallon) $7.12
AED26.15
$5.84
A$8.78

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pay 40.9% more for transportation

 
Dubai
Australia
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.82
AED10.37
$4.48
A$6.73
Monthly public transit pass $87.13
AED320.00
$86.18
A$129.55
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $27,229.41
AED100,000.00
$27,666.22
A$41,590.82

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pay 36.7% less for housing

 
Dubai
Australia
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$98.23
AED360.76
$54.93
A$82.58
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,362.29
AED8,675.50
$1,188.50
A$1,786.68
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,533.56
AED5,632.00
$962.42
A$1,446.81

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pay 36.1% more for childcare

 
Dubai
Australia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $823.12
AED3,022.92
$1,475.00
A$2,217.37
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $14,907.17
AED54,746.58
$13,848.50
A$20,818.54

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pay 45.6% more for entertainment and sports

 
Dubai
Australia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $13.61
AED50.00
$6.47
A$9.73
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.65
AED20.75
$3.56
A$5.36
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.13
AED22.50
$28.78
A$43.26

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pay 18.6% less for clothing

 
Dubai
Australia
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$81.30
AED298.59
$69.65
A$104.70
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$63.28
AED232.39
$48.53
A$72.96
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$129.71
AED476.35
$99.22
A$149.15

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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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