Cost of living comparison

compared to

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:

pay 20.7% less for restaurants

 
Dubai
Tokyo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $10.89
AED40.00
$8.02
¥1,265
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.53
AED35.00
$5.01
¥791
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.19
AED4.37
$1.16
¥183

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pay 92.1% more for groceries

 
Dubai
Tokyo
Bread
1 loaf
$1.41
AED5.18
$1.55
¥245
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.45
AED20.01
$7.21
¥1,137
Milk (1 gallon) $7.12
AED26.15
$5.71
¥901

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pay 67.7% more for transportation

 
Dubai
Tokyo
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.82
AED10.37
$4.50
¥710
Monthly public transit pass $87.13
AED320.00
$73.51
¥11,595
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $27,229.41
AED100,000.00
$22,332.63
¥3,522,894

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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
¥5,276
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $2,362.29
AED8,675.50
$1,071.65
¥169,050
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,533.56
AED5,632.00
$642.24
¥101,311

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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
¥81,979
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $14,907.17
AED54,746.58
$15,131.74
¥2,386,979

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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
¥632
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.65
AED20.75
$3.43
¥541
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.13
AED22.50
$4.01
¥632

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pay 36.4% less for clothing

 
Dubai
Tokyo
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$81.30
AED298.59
$56.84
¥8,966
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$63.28
AED232.39
$40.48
¥6,386
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$129.71
AED476.35
$62.67
¥9,886

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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: December 2025
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