Cost of living comparison

Sweden

compared to

United Arab Emirates

Dubai vs. Stockholm Cost of Living Summary

Dubai is 4.6% cheaper than Stockholm.

Restaurants: pay 36.0% less in Dubai
Groceries: pay 36.3% less in Dubai
Transportation: pay 34.8% less in Dubai
Housing: pay 37.8% more in Dubai
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in Dubai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.0% more in Dubai
Clothing: pay 29.9% less in Dubai

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

Planning a move to United Arab Emirates? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Dubai vs. Stockholm Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 36.0% less for restaurants

	Stockholm	Dubai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.99 SEK176.82	$12.80 AED46.99	-28.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.90 SEK116.90	$9.53 AED35.00	-19.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.66 SEK36.00	$1.67 AED6.12	-54.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.09 SEK30.34	$0.79 AED2.89	-74.5%
Average			-36.0%

Stockholm vs. Dubai - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 36.3% less for groceries

	Stockholm	Dubai
Bread 1 loaf	$3.97 SEK39.01	$1.54 AED5.66	-61.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.37 SEK62.56	$6.21 AED22.81	-2.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.67 SEK65.51	$6.92 AED25.40	+3.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.11 SEK50.24	$3.34 AED12.26	-34.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.83 SEK57.24	$4.36 AED16.00	-25.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.60 SEK15.71	$1.19 AED4.39	-25.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.26 SEK12.39	$0.88 AED3.23	-30.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.44 SEK14.11	$0.85 AED3.12	-40.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.02 SEK19.85	$0.64 AED2.34	-68.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.79 SEK7.71	$0.51 AED1.89	-34.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.80 SEK7.87	$0.45 AED1.67	-43.3%
Average			-36.3%

Stockholm vs. Dubai - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 34.8% less for transportation

	Stockholm	Dubai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.72 SEK66.01	$3.66 AED13.44	-45.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$105.97 SEK1,041.28	$74.87 AED274.97	-29.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,980.57 SEK324K	$27,226.44 AED99,989.11	-17.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.85 SEK175.45	$8.86 AED32.56	-50.4%
Average			-34.8%

Stockholm vs. Dubai - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 37.8% more for housing

	Stockholm	Dubai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.70 SEK390.05	$92.93 AED341.28	+134.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,674.52 SEK16,454.18	$2,407.39 AED8,841.14	+43.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,080.50 SEK10,617.16	$1,513.73 AED5,559.16	+40.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$190.15 SEK1,868.43	$187.87 AED689.96	-1.2%
Average			+37.8%

Stockholm vs. Dubai - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Stockholm	Dubai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$157.47 SEK1,547.29	$859.15 AED3,155.21	+445.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,395.31 SEK161K	$17,941.05 AED65,888.51	+9.4%
Average			+144.3%

Stockholm vs. Dubai - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 29.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Stockholm	Dubai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.95 SEK78.10	$13.61 AED49.99	+71.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.05 SEK49.61	$5.96 AED21.89	+18.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$8.70 SEK85.46	$5.99 AED22.00	-31.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.98 SEK461.61	$99.96 AED367.10	+112.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$18.99 SEK186.64	$16.34 AED59.99	-14.0%
Average			+29.0%

Stockholm vs. Dubai - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 29.9% less for clothing

	Stockholm	Dubai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$111.49 SEK1,095.51	$67.92 AED249.45	-39.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$58.75 SEK577.25	$56.98 AED209.24	-3.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$135.62 SEK1,332.63	$102.70 AED377.18	-24.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$184.97 SEK1,817.59	$99.57 AED365.67	-46.2%
Average			-29.9%

Stockholm vs. Dubai - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Stockholm vs. Dubai

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Dubai?

More cost comparisons

Stockholm vs.

Copenhagen

Stockholm vs.

London

Stockholm vs.

Amsterdam

Stockholm vs.

Paris

Stockholm vs.

Helsinki

Stockholm vs.

Rome

Stockholm vs.

Dublin

Stockholm vs.

Quito

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Sweden vs. United Arab Emirates. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Sweden and United Arab Emirates.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Stockholm

Add prices for Dubai

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Dubai or Stockholm. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.