Cost of living comparison

Maldives

compared to

United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi vs. Male Cost of Living Summary

Abu Dhabi is 36.3% more expensive than Male.

Restaurants: pay 13.9% more in Abu Dhabi
Groceries: pay 17.4% less in Abu Dhabi
Transportation: pay 14.9% less in Abu Dhabi
Housing: pay 91.6% more in Abu Dhabi
Childcare: pay 4.6 times more in Abu Dhabi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 46.0% more in Abu Dhabi
Clothing: pay 42.6% more in Abu Dhabi

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, and restaurants in Abu Dhabi are more expensive than in Male. Expenses including groceries and transportation are lower in Abu Dhabi. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Abu Dhabi.

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Abu Dhabi vs. Male Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Abu Dhabi instead of Male, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 13.9% more for restaurants

	Male	Abu Dhabi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.00 MVR92.80	$8.17 AED30.00	+36.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.73 MVR150.49	$9.53 AED35.00	-2.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.63 MVR25.14	$1.15 AED4.24	-29.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 MVR4.59	$0.42 AED1.53	+40.0%
Average			+13.9%

Male vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.4% less for groceries

	Male	Abu Dhabi
Bread 1 loaf	$1.65 MVR25.58	$1.62 AED5.94	-2.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.34 MVR82.48	$5.81 AED21.35	+9.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.69 MVR118.88	$7.38 AED27.10	-4.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 MVR29.72	$3.49 AED12.81	+81.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.77 MVR42.75	$4.40 AED16.16	+59.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.80 MVR27.85	$1.12 AED4.13	-37.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 MVR21.42	$0.95 AED3.48	-31.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.85 MVR28.67	$0.84 AED3.09	-54.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 MVR18.85	$0.71 AED2.60	-42.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.93 MVR14.41	$0.55 AED2.03	-40.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.86 MVR13.31	$0.53 AED1.96	-38.1%
Average			-17.4%

Male vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.9% less for transportation

	Male	Abu Dhabi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.81 MVR58.85	$3.63 AED13.32	-4.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.82 MVR476.54	$26.55 AED97.49	-13.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,446.46 MVR502K	$29,949.09 AED110K	-7.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.52 MVR270.88	$7.62 AED28.00	-56.5%
Average			-14.9%

Male vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of transportation

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pay 91.6% more for housing

	Male	Abu Dhabi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$73.00 MVR1,128.65	$88.30 AED324.28	+20.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$951.14 MVR14,704.70	$1,966.33 AED7,221.36	+106.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$699.92 MVR10,820.71	$1,399.56 AED5,139.88	+100.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$90.98 MVR1,406.51	$148.00 AED543.52	+62.7%
Average			+91.6%

Male vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of housing

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pay 4.6 times more for childcare

	Male	Abu Dhabi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$184.98 MVR2,859.75	$790.93 AED2,904.68	+327.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,004.83 MVR46,454.64	$14,819.26 AED54,423.74	+393.2%
Average			+359.2%

Male vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of childcare

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pay 46.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Male	Abu Dhabi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.87 MVR75.24	$11.57 AED42.50	+137.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.55 MVR54.87	$5.96 AED21.87	+67.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.93 MVR230.75	$6.67 AED24.50	-55.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$70.81 MVR1,094.69	$95.29 AED349.96	+34.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.73 MVR150.49	$14.97 AED54.99	+53.8%
Average			+46.0%

Male vs. Abu Dhabi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 42.6% more for clothing

	Male	Abu Dhabi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.51 MVR610.88	$61.46 AED225.73	+55.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.64 MVR767.37	$49.09 AED180.30	-1.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.13 MVR1,346.98	$111.63 AED409.96	+28.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.52 MVR811.92	$110.14 AED404.50	+109.7%
Average			+42.6%

Male vs. Abu Dhabi - 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

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