Cost of living comparison

Italy

compared to

United Arab Emirates

Dubai vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary

Dubai is 16.1% more expensive than Rome.

Restaurants: pay 25.9% less in Dubai
Groceries: pay 21.7% less in Dubai
Transportation: pay 24.1% less in Dubai
Housing: pay 77.9% more in Dubai
Childcare: pay 37.0% more in Dubai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 76.9% more in Dubai
Clothing: pay 10.4% more in Dubai

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

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Dubai vs. Rome Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Dubai instead of Rome, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 25.9% less for restaurants

	Rome	Dubai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.80 €14.95	$12.80 AED46.99	-23.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.20 €9.97	$9.53 AED35.00	-14.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.96 €2.63	$1.67 AED6.12	-43.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.48 €1.32	$0.79 AED2.89	-46.8%
Average			-25.9%

Rome vs. Dubai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.7% less for groceries

	Rome	Dubai
Bread 1 loaf	$2.22 €1.98	$1.54 AED5.66	-30.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.42 €6.61	$6.21 AED22.81	-16.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.49 €5.77	$6.92 AED25.40	+6.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.66 €4.15	$3.34 AED12.26	-28.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.66 €5.03	$4.36 AED16.00	-23.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.17 €1.04	$1.19 AED4.39	+1.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.05 €0.94	$0.88 AED3.23	-16.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.09 €0.97	$0.85 AED3.12	-21.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.07 €0.96	$0.64 AED2.34	-40.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 €0.57	$0.51 AED1.89	-19.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.72 €0.64	$0.45 AED1.67	-36.7%
Average			-21.7%

Rome vs. Dubai - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.1% less for transportation

	Rome	Dubai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.04 €7.16	$3.66 AED13.44	-54.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$39.19 €34.88	$74.87 AED274.97	+91.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,551.60 €31,642.21	$27,226.44 AED99,989.11	-23.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.16 €17.94	$8.86 AED32.56	-56.0%
Average			-24.1%

Rome vs. Dubai - Cost of transportation

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pay 77.9% more for housing

	Rome	Dubai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$31.87 €28.36	$92.93 AED341.28	+191.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,208.81 €1,075.88	$2,407.39 AED8,841.14	+99.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$873.39 €777.35	$1,513.73 AED5,559.16	+73.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$157.13 €139.85	$187.87 AED689.96	+19.6%
Average			+77.9%

Rome vs. Dubai - Cost of housing

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pay 37.0% more for childcare

	Rome	Dubai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$487.21 €433.63	$859.15 AED3,155.21	+76.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,862.20 €15,007.96	$17,941.05 AED65,888.51	+6.4%
Average			+37.0%

Rome vs. Dubai - Cost of childcare

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pay 76.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Rome	Dubai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.60 €4.98	$13.61 AED49.99	+143.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.07 €1.84	$5.96 AED21.89	+188.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.28 €6.48	$5.99 AED22.00	-17.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.43 €58.24	$99.96 AED367.10	+52.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 €9.97	$16.34 AED59.99	+45.9%
Average			+76.9%

Rome vs. Dubai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.4% more for clothing

	Rome	Dubai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.31 €63.47	$67.92 AED249.45	-4.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.31 €32.32	$56.98 AED209.24	+56.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.63 €74.43	$102.70 AED377.18	+22.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$123.17 €109.63	$99.57 AED365.67	-19.2%
Average			+10.4%

Rome vs. Dubai - 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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