Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Canada

Canada vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary

Canada is 12.4% cheaper than Dubai.

Restaurants: pay 28.1% more in Canada
Groceries: pay 46.0% more in Canada
Transportation: pay 9.4% more in Canada
Housing: pay 40.2% less in Canada
Childcare: pay 19.6% less in Canada
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.8% less in Canada
Clothing: pay 17.4% less in Canada

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

Planning a move to Canada? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Canada vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 28.1% more for restaurants

	Dubai	Canada
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.80 AED46.99	$17.02 CA$23.83	+33.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$10.30 CA$14.42	+8.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.67 AED6.12	$2.01 CA$2.81	+20.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 AED2.89	$1.64 CA$2.29	+107.8%
Average			+28.1%

Dubai vs. Canada - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 46.0% more for groceries

	Dubai	Canada
Bread 1 loaf	$1.54 AED5.66	$2.51 CA$3.52	+63.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.21 AED22.81	$5.21 CA$7.29	-16.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.92 AED25.40	$8.08 CA$11.31	+16.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.34 AED12.26	$3.50 CA$4.89	+4.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.36 AED16.00	$5.39 CA$7.54	+23.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.19 AED4.39	$1.80 CA$2.52	+50.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.88 AED3.23	$0.63 CA$0.89	-28.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.85 AED3.12	$1.65 CA$2.31	+94.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 AED2.34	$1.77 CA$2.48	+177.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 AED1.89	$1.15 CA$1.61	+123.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.45 AED1.67	$1.08 CA$1.52	+138.8%
Average			+46.0%

Dubai vs. Canada - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 9.4% more for transportation

	Dubai	Canada
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.66 AED13.44	$4.47 CA$6.26	+22.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.87 AED274.97	$65.05 CA$91.09	-13.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,226.44 AED99,989.11	$27,172.47 CA$38,048.24	-0.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.86 AED32.56	$15.38 CA$21.54	+73.5%
Average			+9.4%

Dubai vs. Canada - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.2% less for housing

	Dubai	Canada
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$92.93 AED341.28	$57.08 CA$79.92	-38.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,407.39 AED8,841.14	$1,206.12 CA$1,688.87	-49.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,513.73 AED5,559.16	$1,084.12 CA$1,518.03	-28.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$187.87 AED689.96	$109.92 CA$153.92	-41.5%
Average			-40.2%

Dubai vs. Canada - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 19.6% less for childcare

	Dubai	Canada
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$859.15 AED3,155.21	$708.00 CA$991.38	-17.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,941.05 AED65,888.51	$14,065.57 CA$19,695.31	-21.6%
Average			-19.6%

Dubai vs. Canada - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Dubai	Canada
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.61 AED49.99	$5.10 CA$7.14	-62.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.89	$3.67 CA$5.14	-38.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.99 AED22.00	$13.41 CA$18.77	+123.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$99.96 AED367.10	$42.22 CA$59.11	-57.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.34 AED59.99	$11.12 CA$15.57	-31.9%
Average			-40.8%

Dubai vs. Canada - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.4% less for clothing

	Dubai	Canada
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.92 AED249.45	$53.28 CA$74.60	-21.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.98 AED209.24	$40.15 CA$56.22	-29.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.70 AED377.18	$86.30 CA$120.84	-16.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$99.57 AED365.67	$99.70 CA$139.61	+0.1%
Average			-17.4%

Dubai vs. Canada - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Dubai vs. Canada

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Canada?

More cost comparisons

Dubai vs.

Australia

Dubai vs.

Warsaw

Dubai vs.

Madrid

Dubai vs.

Paris

Dubai vs.

Bangkok

Dubai vs.

Berlin

Dubai vs.

Toronto

Dubai vs.

London

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in United Arab Emirates vs. Canada. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within United Arab Emirates and Canada.

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

Add prices for Dubai

Add prices for Canada

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Canada or Dubai. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.