Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Arab Emirates vs. Spain Cost of Living Summary
United Arab Emirates is 4.7% more expensive than Spain overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 44.8% less in United Arab Emirates
- Groceries
-
pay 22.4% less in United Arab Emirates
- Transportation
-
pay 18.2% less in United Arab Emirates
- Housing
-
pay 51.1% more in United Arab Emirates
- Childcare
-
pay 4.7% less in United Arab Emirates
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 78.5% more in United Arab Emirates
- Clothing
-
pay 2.9% less in United Arab Emirates
The cost of entertainment and sports and housing in United Arab Emirates are more expensive than in Spain. Expenses including restaurants, groceries, transportation, 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. Spain Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of Spain, you would:
pay 44.8% less for restaurants
|
Spain
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.08
€14.31
|
$8.43
AED30.94
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.79
€9.61
|
$8.55
AED31.39
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.54
€2.26
|
$1.07
AED3.94
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.76
€1.57
|
$0.45
AED1.66
|
|
Spain vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.4% less for groceries
|
Spain
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.49
€1.33
|
$1.46
AED5.38
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.20
€6.40
|
$4.94
AED18.13
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.49
€4.00
|
$6.75
AED24.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.29
€2.93
|
$2.80
AED10.28
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.74
€3.33
|
$3.68
AED13.51
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.16
€1.03
|
$0.97
AED3.58
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.93
€0.83
|
$0.76
AED2.80
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.96
€0.85
|
$0.72
AED2.65
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.24
€1.10
|
$0.58
AED2.13
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.84
€0.75
|
$0.48
AED1.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.89
€0.79
|
$0.47
AED1.74
|
|
Spain vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries
pay 18.2% less for transportation
|
Spain
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.62
€5.89
|
$3.40
AED12.50
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$31.07
€27.66
|
$49.01
AED179.98
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,519.36
€30,723.47
|
$33,745.09
AED124K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.43
€14.62
|
$7.71
AED28.30
|
|
Spain vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation
pay 51.1% more for housing
|
Spain
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$29.92
€26.63
|
$87.46
AED321.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$925.54
€823.76
|
$1,419.61
AED5,213.52
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$728.71
€648.57
|
$1,087.32
AED3,993.18
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$109.11
€97.11
|
$131.39
AED482.53
|
|
Spain vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing
pay 4.7% less for childcare
|
Spain
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$480.60
€427.75
|
$481.84
AED1,769.57
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,049.60
€8,054.47
|
$8,191.72
AED30,084.11
|
|
Spain vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare
pay 78.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
Spain
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.31
€2.94
|
$10.81
AED39.72
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.30
€2.04
|
$4.99
AED18.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.23
€5.54
|
$6.20
AED22.77
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$47.01
€41.84
|
$69.98
AED256.99
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.34
€8.32
|
$13.30
AED48.83
|
|
Spain vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.9% less for clothing
|
Spain
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$80.62
€71.76
|
$53.49
AED196.43
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$36.25
€32.27
|
$52.36
AED192.30
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$90.09
€80.18
|
$95.31
AED350.04
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$108.00
€96.12
|
$94.82
AED348.22
|
|
Spain 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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