Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Kingdom vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary
United Kingdom is 31.1% more expensive than Dubai.
- Restaurants
-
pay 67.4% more in United Kingdom
- Groceries
-
pay 24.3% more in United Kingdom
- Transportation
-
pay 89.0% more in United Kingdom
- Housing
-
pay 21.7% less in United Kingdom
- Childcare
-
pay 58.0% more in United Kingdom
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 18.2% more in United Kingdom
- Clothing
-
pay 17.4% less in United Kingdom
The cost of transportation, restaurants, childcare, groceries, and entertainment and sports in United Kingdom are more expensive than in Dubai. Expenses including housing and clothing are lower in United Kingdom. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in United Kingdom.
United Kingdom vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Kingdom instead of Dubai, you would:
pay 67.4% more for restaurants
|
Dubai
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$10.89
AED40.00
|
$20.41
£15.30
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
$9.94
£7.45
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.19
AED4.37
|
$2.32
£1.74
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.90
AED3.31
|
$1.65
£1.23
|
|
Dubai vs. United Kingdom - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.3% more for groceries
|
Dubai
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.41
AED5.18
|
$1.59
£1.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.45
AED20.01
|
$4.71
£3.53
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.12
AED26.15
|
$6.20
£4.65
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.39
AED12.43
|
$3.87
£2.90
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.21
AED15.45
|
$3.87
£2.90
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.05
AED3.86
|
$1.32
£0.99
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.86
AED3.16
|
$0.73
£0.55
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.78
AED2.88
|
$1.28
£0.96
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.65
AED2.40
|
$1.49
£1.12
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
AED1.94
|
$0.72
£0.54
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.52
AED1.92
|
$0.71
£0.53
|
|
Dubai vs. United Kingdom - Cost of groceries
pay 89.0% more for transportation
|
Dubai
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.82
AED10.37
|
$7.22
£5.41
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$87.13
AED320.00
|
$99.05
£74.25
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,229.41
AED100,000.00
|
$36,224.29
£27,154.63
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$8.71
AED32.00
|
$22.08
£16.55
|
|
Dubai vs. United Kingdom - Cost of transportation
pay 21.7% less for housing
|
Dubai
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$98.23
AED360.76
|
$41.90
£31.41
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,362.29
AED8,675.50
|
$1,285.79
£963.86
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,533.56
AED5,632.00
|
$1,062.09
£796.17
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$159.06
AED584.17
|
$233.57
£175.09
|
|
Dubai vs. United Kingdom - Cost of housing
pay 58.0% more for childcare
|
Dubai
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$823.12
AED3,022.92
|
$1,530.71
£1,147.46
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$14,907.17
AED54,746.58
|
$19,375.12
£14,524.07
|
|
Dubai vs. United Kingdom - Cost of childcare
pay 18.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Dubai
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$13.61
AED50.00
|
$6.35
£4.76
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.65
AED20.75
|
$4.54
£3.40
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.13
AED22.50
|
$19.18
£14.38
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$84.61
AED310.71
|
$49.26
£36.92
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.98
AED55.00
|
$13.88
£10.41
|
|
Dubai vs. United Kingdom - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 17.4% less for clothing
|
Dubai
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$81.30
AED298.59
|
$86.00
£64.47
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$63.28
AED232.39
|
$44.20
£33.13
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$129.71
AED476.35
|
$95.21
£71.37
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$124.75
AED458.15
|
$101.36
£75.98
|
|
Dubai vs. United Kingdom - Cost of clothing
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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