Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Japan

Tokyo vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary

Tokyo is 0.2% cheaper than Dubai.

Restaurants: pay 20.7% less in Tokyo
Groceries: pay 92.1% more in Tokyo
Transportation: pay 67.7% more in Tokyo
Housing: pay 50.5% less in Tokyo
Childcare: pay 17.7% less in Tokyo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.8% less in Tokyo
Clothing: pay 36.4% less in Tokyo

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

Tokyo vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 20.7% less for restaurants

	Dubai	Tokyo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.89 AED40.00	$8.02 ¥1,280	-26.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$5.01 ¥800	-47.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.19 AED4.37	$1.16 ¥185	-2.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.90 AED3.31	$0.84 ¥134	-6.6%
Average			-20.7%

Dubai vs. Tokyo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 92.1% more for groceries

	Dubai	Tokyo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.41 AED5.18	$1.55 ¥248	+10.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.45 AED20.01	$7.21 ¥1,151	+32.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.12 AED26.15	$5.71 ¥912	-19.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.39 AED12.43	$2.33 ¥372	-31.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.21 AED15.45	$3.52 ¥562	-16.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.05 AED3.86	$2.38 ¥380	+126.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.86 AED3.16	$1.18 ¥188	+37.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.78 AED2.88	$2.48 ¥395	+216.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.65 AED2.40	$2.64 ¥422	+304.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.94	$1.43 ¥228	+170.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.52 AED1.92	$1.48 ¥237	+183.9%
Average			+92.1%

Dubai vs. Tokyo - Cost of groceries

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pay 67.7% more for transportation

	Dubai	Tokyo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.82 AED10.37	$4.50 ¥718	+59.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$87.13 AED320.00	$73.51 ¥11,736	-15.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,229.41 AED100K	$22,332.63 ¥4M	-18.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.71 AED32.00	$30.07 ¥4,801	+245.1%
Average			+67.7%

Dubai vs. Tokyo - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.5% less for housing

	Dubai	Tokyo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$98.23 AED360.76	$33.44 ¥5,339	-66.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,362.29 AED8,675.50	$1,071.65 ¥171K	-54.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,533.56 AED5,632.00	$642.24 ¥103K	-58.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$159.06 AED584.17	$122.16 ¥19,504	-23.2%
Average			-50.5%

Dubai vs. Tokyo - Cost of housing

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pay 17.7% less for childcare

	Dubai	Tokyo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$823.12 AED3,022.92	$519.69 ¥82,970	-36.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,907.17 AED54,746.58	$15,131.74 ¥2M	+1.5%
Average			-17.7%

Dubai vs. Tokyo - Cost of childcare

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pay 35.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Dubai	Tokyo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.61 AED50.00	$4.01 ¥640	-70.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.65 AED20.75	$3.43 ¥548	-39.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.13 AED22.50	$4.01 ¥640	-34.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$84.61 AED310.71	$68.19 ¥10,886	-19.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.98 AED55.00	$12.70 ¥2,027	-15.2%
Average			-35.8%

Dubai vs. Tokyo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 36.4% less for clothing

	Dubai	Tokyo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$81.30 AED298.59	$56.84 ¥9,074	-30.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$63.28 AED232.39	$40.48 ¥6,463	-36.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$129.71 AED476.35	$62.67 ¥10,006	-51.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$124.75 AED458.15	$90.37 ¥14,428	-27.6%
Average			-36.4%

Dubai vs. Tokyo - 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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