Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Dominican Republic

Punta Cana vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary

Punta Cana is 41.8% cheaper than Dubai.

Restaurants: pay 37.3% less in Punta Cana
Groceries: pay 2.2% more in Punta Cana
Transportation: pay 9.0% more in Punta Cana
Housing: pay 60.6% less in Punta Cana
Childcare: pay 77.0% less in Punta Cana
Entertainment and Sports: pay 61.1% less in Punta Cana
Clothing: pay 41.0% less in Punta Cana

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

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Punta Cana vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Punta Cana instead of Dubai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 37.3% less for restaurants

	Dubai	Punta Cana
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.80 AED47.00	$8.14 DOP493.80	-36.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$7.05 DOP427.74	-26.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.67 AED6.12	$0.70 DOP42.27	-58.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 AED2.89	$0.39 DOP23.90	-50.0%
Average			-37.3%

Dubai vs. Punta Cana - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.2% more for groceries

	Dubai	Punta Cana
Bread 1 loaf	$1.54 AED5.66	$1.77 DOP107.35	+14.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.21 AED22.81	$3.15 DOP191.50	-49.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.92 AED25.41	$4.50 DOP273.35	-34.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.34 AED12.26	$1.48 DOP89.57	-55.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.36 AED16.00	$1.63 DOP98.68	-62.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.19 AED4.39	$1.33 DOP80.52	+11.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.88 AED3.24	$0.64 DOP39.00	-27.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.85 AED3.12	$1.49 DOP90.58	+75.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 AED2.34	$0.99 DOP60.39	+56.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 AED1.89	$1.60 DOP97.29	+211.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.45 AED1.67	$1.33 DOP80.52	+192.2%
Average			+2.2%

Dubai vs. Punta Cana - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.0% more for transportation

	Dubai	Punta Cana
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.66 AED13.44	$5.25 DOP318.77	+43.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.87 AED275.01	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,226.44 AED100K	$14,922.51 DOP906K	-45.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.86 AED32.56	$29.02 DOP1,761.27	+227.3%
Average			+9.0%

Dubai vs. Punta Cana - Cost of transportation

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pay 60.6% less for housing

	Dubai	Punta Cana
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$92.93 AED341.33	$38.69 DOP2,348.36	-58.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,407.39 AED8,842.35	$947.15 DOP57,491.96	-60.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,513.73 AED5,559.92	??
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$187.87 AED690.05	$72.69 DOP4,412.27	-61.3%
Average			-60.6%

Dubai vs. Punta Cana - Cost of housing

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pay 77.0% less for childcare

	Dubai	Punta Cana
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$859.15 AED3,155.64	$149.23 DOP9,057.96	-82.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,941.05 AED65,897.48	$5,471.59 DOP332K	-69.5%
Average			-77.0%

Dubai vs. Punta Cana - Cost of childcare

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pay 61.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Dubai	Punta Cana
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.61 AED50.00	$2.49 DOP150.97	-81.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.89	$1.80 DOP109.03	-69.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.99 AED22.00	$4.81 DOP291.87	-19.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$99.96 AED367.15	$83.13 DOP5,046.08	-16.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.34 AED60.00	$4.97 DOP301.93	-69.6%
Average			-61.1%

Dubai vs. Punta Cana - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 41.0% less for clothing

	Dubai	Punta Cana
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.92 AED249.49	$26.53 DOP1,610.30	-60.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.98 AED209.27	$45.60 DOP2,767.71	-20.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.70 AED377.23	$59.69 DOP3,623.18	-41.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$99.57 AED365.72	$66.32 DOP4,025.76	-33.4%
Average			-41.0%

Dubai vs. Punta Cana - 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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