Cost of living comparison

Germany

compared to

United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates vs. Germany Cost of Living Summary

United Arab Emirates is 10.0% cheaper than Germany overall.

Restaurants: pay 51.5% less in United Arab Emirates
Groceries: pay 28.4% less in United Arab Emirates
Transportation: pay 38.5% less in United Arab Emirates
Housing: pay 39.7% more in United Arab Emirates
Childcare: pay 33.6% less in United Arab Emirates
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.0% more in United Arab Emirates
Clothing: pay 16.9% less in United Arab Emirates

The cost of housing and entertainment and sports in United Arab Emirates are more expensive than in Germany. Expenses including restaurants, transportation, childcare, groceries, and clothing are lower in United Arab Emirates.

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United Arab Emirates vs. Germany Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of Germany, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 51.5% less for restaurants

	Germany	United Arab Emirates
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.14 €14.37	$8.43 AED30.94	-47.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.34 €10.98	$8.55 AED31.39	-30.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.38 €3.00	$1.07 AED3.94	-68.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.93 €2.61	$0.45 AED1.66	-84.6%
Average			-51.5%

Germany vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants

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pay 28.4% less for groceries

	Germany	United Arab Emirates
Bread 1 loaf	$2.14 €1.91	$1.46 AED5.38	-31.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.24 €6.44	$4.94 AED18.13	-31.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.98 €4.43	$6.75 AED24.78	+35.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.69 €3.29	$2.80 AED10.28	-24.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.17 €4.60	$3.68 AED13.51	-28.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.44 €1.28	$0.97 AED3.58	-32.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.91 €0.81	$0.76 AED2.80	-16.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.01 €0.90	$0.72 AED2.65	-28.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.87 €1.67	$0.58 AED2.13	-69.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 €0.56	$0.48 AED1.75	-24.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 €0.53	$0.47 AED1.74	-21.0%
Average			-28.4%

Germany vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries

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pay 38.5% less for transportation

	Germany	United Arab Emirates
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.07 €7.19	$3.40 AED12.50	-57.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.73 €58.50	$49.01 AED179.98	-25.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,242.72 €28,697.18	$33,745.09 AED124K	+4.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.60 €23.68	$7.71 AED28.30	-71.0%
Average			-38.5%

Germany vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation

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pay 39.7% more for housing

	Germany	United Arab Emirates
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$45.10 €40.14	$87.46 AED321.19	+93.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$839.53 €747.21	$1,419.61 AED5,213.52	+69.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$674.34 €600.19	$1,087.32 AED3,993.18	+61.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$256.19 €228.02	$131.39 AED482.53	-48.7%
Average			+39.7%

Germany vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing

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pay 33.6% less for childcare

	Germany	United Arab Emirates
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$525.85 €468.02	$481.84 AED1,769.57	-8.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,045.97 €15,171.52	$8,191.72 AED30,084.11	-51.9%
Average			-33.6%

Germany vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Germany	United Arab Emirates
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.03 €4.48	$10.81 AED39.72	+115.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.91 €3.48	$4.99 AED18.33	+27.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.66 €8.60	$6.20 AED22.77	-35.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.74 €35.37	$69.98 AED256.99	+76.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.03 €12.49	$13.30 AED48.83	-5.2%
Average			+33.0%

Germany vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.9% less for clothing

	Germany	United Arab Emirates
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$89.23 €79.42	$53.49 AED196.43	-40.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.05 €39.20	$52.36 AED192.30	+18.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$100.05 €89.05	$95.31 AED350.04	-4.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$134.94 €120.10	$94.82 AED348.22	-29.7%
Average			-16.9%

Germany vs. United Arab Emirates - 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

Compare further: Germany vs. United Arab Emirates

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in United Arab Emirates?

Quality of Life Comparison · 20 statistics

Be 41.5% less likely to be unemployed in United Arab Emirates

Size Comparison · See true size

Germany is about 4.3 times bigger than United Arab Emirates.

Moving from Germany to United Arab Emirates · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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