Cost of living comparison
compared to
Abu Dhabi vs. London Cost of Living Summary
Abu Dhabi is 33.6% cheaper than London.
- Restaurants
-
pay 52.2% less in Abu Dhabi
- Groceries
-
pay 19.9% less in Abu Dhabi
- Transportation
-
pay 51.5% less in Abu Dhabi
- Housing
-
pay 5.8% less in Abu Dhabi
- Childcare
-
pay 65.0% less in Abu Dhabi
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 13.4% less in Abu Dhabi
- Clothing
-
pay 27.6% less in Abu Dhabi
Expenses including childcare, restaurants, transportation, clothing, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi vs. London Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Abu Dhabi instead of London, you would:
pay 52.2% less for restaurants
|
London
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$26.73
£20.04
|
$10.89
AED40.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.02
£8.26
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.12
£2.34
|
$1.29
AED4.74
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.93
£1.44
|
$0.44
AED1.61
|
|
London vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of restaurants
pay 19.9% less for groceries
|
London
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.16
£1.62
|
$1.60
AED5.89
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.54
£4.15
|
$5.28
AED19.39
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.58
£4.93
|
$7.50
AED27.54
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.02
£3.76
|
$3.64
AED13.37
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.95
£2.96
|
$4.12
AED15.11
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.53
£1.14
|
$1.15
AED4.21
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.83
£0.63
|
$0.82
AED3.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.44
£1.08
|
$0.83
AED3.05
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.64
£1.23
|
$0.67
AED2.46
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.76
£0.57
|
$0.53
AED1.96
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.83
£0.62
|
$0.65
AED2.39
|
|
London vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of groceries
pay 51.5% less for transportation
|
London
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.12
£5.34
|
$2.94
AED10.80
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$240.54
£180.32
|
$25.87
AED95.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$37,798.76
£28,334.89
|
$44,639.07
AED163,937.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$31.75
£23.80
|
$7.62
AED28.00
|
|
London vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of transportation
pay 5.8% less for housing
|
London
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$42.83
£32.11
|
$100.96
AED370.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,083.09
£2,311.16
|
$1,490.68
AED5,474.52
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,340.14
£1,754.23
|
$1,109.19
AED4,073.48
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$255.85
£191.79
|
$115.93
AED425.75
|
|
London vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of housing
pay 65.0% less for childcare
|
London
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,480.84
£1,859.70
|
$625.43
AED2,296.88
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$28,512.27
£21,373.51
|
$12,786.81
AED46,959.57
|
|
London vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of childcare
pay 13.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
London
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.69
£6.51
|
$11.29
AED41.45
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.21
£3.90
|
$5.77
AED21.18
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$22.72
£17.03
|
$6.26
AED23.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$64.95
£48.69
|
$62.90
AED230.98
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.05
£15.03
|
$13.61
AED50.00
|
|
London vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 27.6% less for clothing
|
London
|
Abu Dhabi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$116.11
£87.04
|
$60.62
AED222.62
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$52.02
£39.00
|
$51.93
AED190.71
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$125.96
£94.43
|
$98.09
AED360.23
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$160.88
£120.60
|
$96.21
AED353.33
|
|
London vs. Abu Dhabi - 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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