Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Australia

Sydney vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary

Sydney is 28.6% more expensive than Dubai.

Restaurants: pay 44.8% more in Sydney
Groceries: pay 65.8% more in Sydney
Transportation: pay 47.8% more in Sydney
Housing: pay 3.3% more in Sydney
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in Sydney
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.9% less in Sydney
Clothing: pay 19.7% more in Sydney

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

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Sydney vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 44.8% more for restaurants

	Dubai	Sydney
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.80 AED46.99	$17.41 A$25.04	+36.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$11.84 A$17.03	+24.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.67 AED6.12	$2.81 A$4.04	+68.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 AED2.89	$2.22 A$3.19	+181.1%
Average			+44.8%

Dubai vs. Sydney - Cost of restaurants

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pay 65.8% more for groceries

	Dubai	Sydney
Bread 1 loaf	$1.54 AED5.66	$2.85 A$4.09	+84.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.21 AED22.81	$5.93 A$8.54	-4.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.92 AED25.40	$6.42 A$9.24	-7.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.34 AED12.26	$5.56 A$7.99	+66.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.36 AED16.00	$4.34 A$6.24	-0.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.19 AED4.39	$1.81 A$2.60	+51.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.88 AED3.23	$1.45 A$2.09	+65.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.85 AED3.12	$1.56 A$2.24	+83.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 AED2.34	$1.98 A$2.85	+211.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 AED1.89	$1.48 A$2.12	+186.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.45 AED1.67	$1.07 A$1.54	+135.7%
Average			+65.8%

Dubai vs. Sydney - Cost of groceries

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pay 47.8% more for transportation

	Dubai	Sydney
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.66 AED13.44	$5.40 A$7.77	+47.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.87 AED274.97	$151.36 A$217.75	+102.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,226.44 AED99,989.11	$28,893.97 A$41,568.07	+6.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.86 AED32.56	$16.24 A$23.36	+83.2%
Average			+47.8%

Dubai vs. Sydney - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.3% more for housing

	Dubai	Sydney
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$92.93 AED341.28	$56.21 A$80.87	-39.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,407.39 AED8,841.14	$2,517.32 A$3,621.52	+4.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,513.73 AED5,559.16	$1,743.66 A$2,508.51	+15.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$187.87 AED689.96	$168.46 A$242.35	-10.3%
Average			+3.3%

Dubai vs. Sydney - Cost of housing

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pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	Dubai	Sydney
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$859.15 AED3,155.21	$2,195.71 A$3,158.84	+155.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,941.05 AED65,888.51	$28,441.13 A$40,916.61	+58.5%
Average			+101.3%

Dubai vs. Sydney - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Dubai	Sydney
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.61 AED49.99	$7.66 A$11.02	-43.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.89	$3.97 A$5.72	-33.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.99 AED22.00	$44.55 A$64.09	+643.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$99.96 AED367.10	$75.28 A$108.30	-24.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$16.34 AED59.99	$17.41 A$25.04	+6.6%
Average			-4.9%

Dubai vs. Sydney - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 19.7% more for clothing

	Dubai	Sydney
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.92 AED249.45	$78.68 A$113.19	+15.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.98 AED209.24	$69.62 A$100.16	+22.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$102.70 AED377.18	$111.40 A$160.26	+8.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$99.57 AED365.67	$133.24 A$191.68	+33.8%
Average			+19.7%

Dubai vs. Sydney - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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