Cost of living comparison

compared to

London vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary

London is 4.7% more expensive than Dubai.

Restaurants: pay 64.1% more in London
Groceries: pay 45.4% more in London
Transportation: pay 30.4% more in London
Housing: pay 36.2% less in London
Childcare: pay 20.1% less in London
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.2% less in London
Clothing: pay 33.6% less in London

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

London vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 64.1% more for restaurants

	Dubai	London
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.89 AED40.00	$17.99 CA$24.97	+65.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$10.78 CA$14.97	+13.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.19 AED4.37	$1.90 CA$2.63	+59.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.90 AED3.31	$1.97 CA$2.74	+118.7%
Average			+64.1%

Dubai vs. London - Cost of restaurants

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pay 45.4% more for groceries

	Dubai	London
Bread 1 loaf	$1.41 AED5.18	$2.39 CA$3.32	+69.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.45 AED20.01	$4.52 CA$6.27	-17.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.12 AED26.15	$6.18 CA$8.58	-13.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.39 AED12.43	$3.18 CA$4.41	-6.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.21 AED15.45	$5.45 CA$7.57	+29.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.05 AED3.86	$1.83 CA$2.54	+74.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.86 AED3.16	$0.75 CA$1.03	-13.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.78 AED2.88	$1.59 CA$2.21	+102.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.65 AED2.40	$1.61 CA$2.23	+146.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.94	$0.74 CA$1.03	+39.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.52 AED1.92	$0.98 CA$1.36	+87.0%
Average			+45.4%

Dubai vs. London - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.4% more for transportation

	Dubai	London
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.82 AED10.37	$4.05 CA$5.62	+43.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$87.13 AED320.01	$80.58 CA$111.89	-7.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,229.41 AED100K	$24,444.83 CA$33,943.58	-10.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.71 AED32.00	$17.09 CA$23.73	+96.1%
Average			+30.4%

Dubai vs. London - Cost of transportation

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pay 36.2% less for housing

	Dubai	London
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$98.23 AED360.77	$52.29 CA$72.61	-46.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,362.29 AED8,675.81	$1,365.58 CA$1,896.22	-42.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,533.56 AED5,632.20	$1,234.03 CA$1,713.55	-19.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$159.06 AED584.19	$101.34 CA$140.72	-36.3%
Average			-36.2%

Dubai vs. London - Cost of housing

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pay 20.1% less for childcare

	Dubai	London
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$823.12 AED3,023.02	$539.57 CA$749.24	-34.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,907.17 AED54,748.52	$14,028.91 CA$19,480.25	-5.9%
Average			-20.1%

Dubai vs. London - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Dubai	London
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.61 AED50.00	$5.76 CA$7.99	-57.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.65 AED20.75	$3.38 CA$4.69	-40.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.13 AED22.50	$12.23 CA$16.98	+99.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$84.61 AED310.73	$37.20 CA$51.66	-56.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.98 AED55.00	$10.25 CA$14.24	-31.5%
Average			-17.2%

Dubai vs. London - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 33.6% less for clothing

	Dubai	London
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$81.30 AED298.60	$55.27 CA$76.75	-32.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$63.28 AED232.40	$44.96 CA$62.44	-28.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$129.71 AED476.36	$85.13 CA$118.21	-34.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$124.75 AED458.17	$76.14 CA$105.73	-39.0%
Average			-33.6%

Dubai vs. London - Cost of clothing

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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: April 2026

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