Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Switzerland

Geneva vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary

Geneva is 55.8% more expensive than Dubai.

Restaurants: pay 2.4 times more in Geneva
Groceries: pay 78.9% more in Geneva
Transportation: pay 83.6% more in Geneva
Housing: pay 20.6% more in Geneva
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Geneva
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.5% more in Geneva
Clothing: pay 69.3% more in Geneva

The cost of restaurants, childcare, transportation, groceries, clothing, and housing in Geneva are more expensive than in Dubai. Notably, restaurants, childcare, and transportation are significantly more expensive in Geneva.

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Geneva vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

	Dubai	Geneva
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.80 AED46.99	$30.00 CHF24.71	+134.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$18.60 CHF15.32	+95.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.67 AED6.12	$4.96 CHF4.09	+197.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 AED2.89	$4.11 CHF3.38	+421.2%
Average			+143.9%

Dubai vs. Geneva - Cost of restaurants

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pay 78.9% more for groceries

	Dubai	Geneva
Bread 1 loaf	$1.54 AED5.66	$3.36 CHF2.77	+118.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.21 AED22.81	$12.36 CHF10.18	+99.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.92 AED25.40	$8.65 CHF7.13	+25.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.34 AED12.26	$7.93 CHF6.53	+137.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.36 AED16.00	$13.02 CHF10.72	+198.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.19 AED4.39	$1.57 CHF1.30	+31.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.88 AED3.23	$0.76 CHF0.62	-14.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.85 AED3.12	$1.21 CHF1.00	+42.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 AED2.34	$2.13 CHF1.75	+234.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 AED1.89	$0.72 CHF0.59	+39.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.45 AED1.67	$0.95 CHF0.78	+108.2%
Average			+78.9%

Dubai vs. Geneva - Cost of groceries

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pay 83.6% more for transportation

	Dubai	Geneva
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.66 AED13.44	$8.88 CHF7.32	+142.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.87 AED274.97	$90.00 CHF74.14	+20.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,226.44 AED99,989.11	$38,639.00 CHF31,832.39	+41.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.86 AED32.56	$38.17 CHF31.45	+330.6%
Average			+83.6%

Dubai vs. Geneva - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.6% more for housing

	Dubai	Geneva
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$92.93 AED341.28	$58.13 CHF47.89	-37.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,407.39 AED8,841.14	$2,784.93 CHF2,294.34	+15.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,513.73 AED5,559.16	$2,102.35 CHF1,732.00	+38.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$187.87 AED689.96	$216.29 CHF178.19	+15.1%
Average			+20.6%

Dubai vs. Geneva - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Dubai	Geneva
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$859.15 AED3,155.21	$2,378.34 CHF1,959.37	+176.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,941.05 AED65,888.51	$35,161.67 CHF28,967.63	+96.0%
Average			+132.9%

Dubai vs. Geneva - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Dubai	Geneva
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.61 AED49.99	$9.60 CHF7.91	-29.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.89	$6.32 CHF5.21	+6.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.99 AED22.00	$10.80 CHF8.90	+80.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$99.96 AED367.10	$74.88 CHF61.69	-25.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.34 AED59.99	$24.00 CHF19.77	+46.9%
Average			+2.5%

Dubai vs. Geneva - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 69.3% more for clothing

	Dubai	Geneva
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.92 AED249.45	$134.83 CHF111.08	+98.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.98 AED209.24	$79.32 CHF65.35	+39.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.70 AED377.18	$164.24 CHF135.31	+59.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$99.57 AED365.67	$185.30 CHF152.66	+86.1%
Average			+69.3%

Dubai vs. Geneva - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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