Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Arab Emirates vs. Portugal Cost of Living Summary
United Arab Emirates is 7.3% more expensive than Portugal overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 33.5% less in United Arab Emirates
- Groceries
-
pay 13.1% less in United Arab Emirates
- Transportation
-
pay 24.4% less in United Arab Emirates
- Housing
-
pay 46.7% more in United Arab Emirates
- Childcare
-
pay 12.1% less in United Arab Emirates
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 98.8% more in United Arab Emirates
- Clothing
-
pay 2.1% less in United Arab Emirates
The cost of entertainment and sports and housing in United Arab Emirates are more expensive than in Portugal. Expenses including restaurants, transportation, groceries, childcare, and clothing are lower in United Arab Emirates. Notably, entertainment and sports is significantly more expensive in United Arab Emirates.
United Arab Emirates vs. Portugal Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of Portugal, you would:
pay 33.5% less for restaurants
|
Portugal
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$13.01
€11.58
|
$8.43
AED30.94
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.54
€8.49
|
$8.55
AED31.39
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.90
€1.69
|
$1.07
AED3.94
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.44
€1.28
|
$0.45
AED1.66
|
|
Portugal vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants
pay 13.1% less for groceries
|
Portugal
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.56
€1.39
|
$1.46
AED5.38
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.65
€5.03
|
$4.94
AED18.13
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.09
€3.64
|
$6.75
AED24.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.28
€2.92
|
$2.80
AED10.28
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.42
€3.04
|
$3.68
AED13.51
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.02
€0.91
|
$0.97
AED3.58
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
€0.58
|
$0.76
AED2.80
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.83
€0.74
|
$0.72
AED2.65
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.09
€0.97
|
$0.58
AED2.13
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.79
€0.70
|
$0.48
AED1.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.87
€0.77
|
$0.47
AED1.74
|
|
Portugal vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries
pay 24.4% less for transportation
|
Portugal
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.95
€7.08
|
$3.40
AED12.50
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$37.81
€33.65
|
$49.01
AED179.98
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,409.36
€29,735.53
|
$33,745.09
AED124K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$12.87
€11.46
|
$7.71
AED28.30
|
|
Portugal vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation
pay 46.7% more for housing
|
Portugal
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$39.38
€35.05
|
$87.46
AED321.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$962.54
€856.70
|
$1,419.61
AED5,213.52
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$770.06
€685.38
|
$1,087.32
AED3,993.18
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$94.27
€83.91
|
$131.39
AED482.53
|
|
Portugal vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing
pay 12.1% less for childcare
|
Portugal
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$491.62
€437.56
|
$481.84
AED1,769.57
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$10,398.72
€9,255.23
|
$8,191.72
AED30,084.11
|
|
Portugal vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare
pay 98.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Portugal
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.77
€2.46
|
$10.81
AED39.72
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.05
€1.83
|
$4.99
AED18.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.15
€5.47
|
$6.20
AED22.77
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$43.95
€39.11
|
$69.98
AED256.99
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.25
€7.34
|
$13.30
AED48.83
|
|
Portugal vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.1% less for clothing
|
Portugal
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$80.47
€71.62
|
$53.49
AED196.43
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$37.54
€33.41
|
$52.36
AED192.30
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$86.61
€77.08
|
$95.31
AED350.04
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$105.16
€93.60
|
$94.82
AED348.22
|
|
Portugal vs. United Arab Emirates - 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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