Cost of living comparison

compared to

United Arab Emirates vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary

United Arab Emirates is 7.7% cheaper than Ottawa.

Restaurants: pay 48.2% less in United Arab Emirates
Groceries: pay 35.9% less in United Arab Emirates
Transportation: pay 12.4% less in United Arab Emirates
Housing: pay 21.4% more in United Arab Emirates
Childcare: pay 42.5% less in United Arab Emirates
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.8% more in United Arab Emirates
Clothing: pay 32.8% more in United Arab Emirates

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

United Arab Emirates vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 48.2% less for restaurants

	Ottawa	United Arab Emirates
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.99 CA$24.87	$7.91 AED29.06	-56.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.01 CA$15.22	$8.65 AED31.75	-21.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CA$2.77	$1.04 AED3.83	-47.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.56 CA$2.15	$0.50 AED1.85	-67.6%
Average			-48.2%

Ottawa vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants

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pay 35.9% less for groceries

	Ottawa	United Arab Emirates
Bread 1 loaf	$2.73 CA$3.77	$1.47 AED5.39	-46.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.85 CA$8.09	$5.36 AED19.68	-8.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.65 CA$11.97	$6.96 AED25.56	-19.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.52 CA$4.86	$2.81 AED10.34	-20.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.74 CA$7.94	$3.68 AED13.51	-35.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.91 CA$2.64	$0.98 AED3.59	-48.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 CA$0.83	$0.75 AED2.75	+24.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.63 CA$2.25	$0.73 AED2.69	-55.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 CA$2.30	$0.59 AED2.15	-64.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 CA$1.53	$0.48 AED1.76	-56.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.46 CA$2.02	$0.53 AED1.93	-63.9%
Average			-35.9%

Ottawa vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.4% less for transportation

	Ottawa	United Arab Emirates
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.05 CA$5.60	$2.91 AED10.69	-28.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$97.12 CA$134.31	$53.10 AED195.00	-45.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,444.83 CA$33,803.54	$40,680.12 AED149,397.75	+66.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.82 CA$20.49	$8.50 AED31.21	-42.6%
Average			-12.4%

Ottawa vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation

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pay 21.4% more for housing

	Ottawa	United Arab Emirates
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.93 CA$69.04	$101.41 AED372.42	+103.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,452.55 CA$2,008.67	$1,438.18 AED5,281.71	-1.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,228.71 CA$1,699.13	$990.79 AED3,638.67	-19.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.93 CA$164.46	$122.67 AED450.49	+3.1%
Average			+21.4%

Ottawa vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing

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pay 42.5% less for childcare

	Ottawa	United Arab Emirates
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$788.18 CA$1,089.93	$497.28 AED1,826.25	-36.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,753.32 CA$21,784.48	$8,164.49 AED29,984.10	-48.2%
Average			-42.5%

Ottawa vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare

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pay 30.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Ottawa	United Arab Emirates
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.76 CA$7.96	$10.43 AED38.31	+81.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.74 CA$5.18	$4.99 AED18.32	+33.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.95 CA$17.91	$6.23 AED22.88	-51.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.60 CA$61.68	$75.55 AED277.45	+69.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.79 CA$14.92	$13.19 AED48.44	+22.2%
Average			+30.8%

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

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pay 32.8% more for clothing

	Ottawa	United Arab Emirates
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.82 CA$73.05	$75.04 AED275.58	+42.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.91 CA$53.81	$59.50 AED218.51	+52.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.10 CA$120.44	$105.66 AED388.03	+21.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.91 CA$128.48	$106.53 AED391.23	+14.7%
Average			+32.8%

Ottawa vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of clothing

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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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