Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Kingdom vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary
United Kingdom is 0.8% more expensive than Dubai.
- Restaurants
-
pay 46.1% more in United Kingdom
- Groceries
-
pay 16.6% more in United Kingdom
- Transportation
-
pay 68.2% more in United Kingdom
- Housing
-
pay 32.3% less in United Kingdom
- Childcare
-
pay 54.1% more in United Kingdom
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 24.2% less in United Kingdom
- Clothing
-
pay 2.4% less in United Kingdom
United Kingdom vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Kingdom instead of Dubai, you would:
pay 46.1% more for restaurants
|
Dubai
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$12.80
AED46.99
|
$21.32
£15.99
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
$10.25
£7.69
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.67
AED6.12
|
$2.54
£1.91
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.79
AED2.89
|
$1.79
£1.35
|
|
Dubai vs. United Kingdom - Cost of restaurants
pay 16.6% more for groceries
|
Dubai
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.54
AED5.66
|
$1.67
£1.26
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.21
AED22.81
|
$4.62
£3.47
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.92
AED25.40
|
$6.01
£4.51
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.34
AED12.26
|
$3.96
£2.97
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.36
AED16.00
|
$3.93
£2.95
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.19
AED4.39
|
$1.32
£0.99
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.88
AED3.23
|
$0.73
£0.54
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.85
AED3.12
|
$1.21
£0.90
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.64
AED2.34
|
$1.51
£1.13
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.51
AED1.89
|
$0.76
£0.57
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.45
AED1.67
|
$0.72
£0.54
|
|
Dubai vs. United Kingdom - Cost of groceries
pay 68.2% more for transportation
|
Dubai
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.66
AED13.44
|
$7.59
£5.69
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$74.87
AED274.97
|
$99.20
£74.43
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$27,226.44
AED99,989.11
|
$37,629.43
£28,233.36
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$8.86
AED32.56
|
$23.43
£17.58
|
|
Dubai vs. United Kingdom - Cost of transportation
pay 32.3% less for housing
|
Dubai
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$92.93
AED341.28
|
$41.42
£31.08
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,407.39
AED8,841.14
|
$1,299.59
£975.08
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,513.73
AED5,559.16
|
$1,069.01
£802.08
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$187.87
AED689.96
|
$239.96
£180.04
|
|
Dubai vs. United Kingdom - Cost of housing
pay 54.1% more for childcare
|
Dubai
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$859.15
AED3,155.21
|
$1,589.10
£1,192.30
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$17,941.05
AED65,888.51
|
$23,025.39
£17,275.95
|
|
Dubai vs. United Kingdom - Cost of childcare
pay 24.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Dubai
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$13.61
AED49.99
|
$6.50
£4.88
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.96
AED21.89
|
$4.66
£3.50
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$5.99
AED22.00
|
$22.34
£16.76
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$99.96
AED367.10
|
$49.72
£37.30
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.34
AED59.99
|
$14.11
£10.58
|
|
Dubai vs. United Kingdom - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.4% less for clothing
|
Dubai
|
United Kingdom
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$67.92
AED249.45
|
$85.37
£64.05
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$56.98
AED209.24
|
$44.93
£33.71
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$102.70
AED377.18
|
$95.35
£71.54
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$99.57
AED365.67
|
$98.21
£73.68
|
|
Dubai vs. United Kingdom - Cost of clothing
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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Compare further: Dubai vs. United Kingdom
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cost of living in United Arab Emirates vs. United Kingdom.
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