Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Arab Emirates vs. Thailand Cost of Living Summary
United Arab Emirates is 75.2% more expensive than Thailand overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 83.9% more in United Arab Emirates
- Groceries
-
pay 3.5% less in United Arab Emirates
- Transportation
-
pay 2.9% less in United Arab Emirates
- Housing
-
pay 3.5 times more in United Arab Emirates
- Childcare
-
pay 18.5% less in United Arab Emirates
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.3 times more in United Arab Emirates
- Clothing
-
pay 27.8% more in United Arab Emirates
The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and clothing in United Arab Emirates are more expensive than in Thailand. Expenses including childcare, groceries, and transportation are lower in United Arab Emirates. Notably, housing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in United Arab Emirates.
United Arab Emirates vs. Thailand Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of Thailand, you would:
pay 83.9% more for restaurants
|
Thailand
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$2.89
THB96.05
|
$8.43
AED30.94
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.99
THB232.42
|
$8.55
AED31.39
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.75
THB24.81
|
$1.07
AED3.94
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.37
THB12.19
|
$0.45
AED1.66
|
|
Thailand vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants
pay 3.5% less for groceries
|
Thailand
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.34
THB44.43
|
$1.46
AED5.38
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.95
THB264.36
|
$4.94
AED18.13
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.12
THB236.74
|
$6.75
AED24.78
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.06
THB68.55
|
$2.80
AED10.28
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.37
THB45.52
|
$3.68
AED13.51
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.35
THB44.98
|
$0.97
AED3.58
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.57
THB18.99
|
$0.76
AED2.80
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.93
THB31.07
|
$0.72
AED2.65
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.82
THB27.38
|
$0.58
AED2.13
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.72
THB24.01
|
$0.48
AED1.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.57
THB18.88
|
$0.47
AED1.74
|
|
Thailand vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries
pay 2.9% less for transportation
|
Thailand
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.07
THB168.49
|
$3.40
AED12.50
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$32.87
THB1,093.53
|
$49.01
AED179.98
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$29,201.01
THB971K
|
$33,745.09
AED124K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.77
THB358.41
|
$7.71
AED28.30
|
|
Thailand vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation
pay 3.5 times more for housing
|
Thailand
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$19.17
THB637.71
|
$87.46
AED321.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$407.64
THB13,560.34
|
$1,419.61
AED5,213.52
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$268.13
THB8,919.39
|
$1,087.32
AED3,993.18
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$60.86
THB2,024.59
|
$131.39
AED482.53
|
|
Thailand vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing
pay 18.5% less for childcare
|
Thailand
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$515.68
THB17,154.28
|
$481.84
AED1,769.57
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,528.28
THB383K
|
$8,191.72
AED30,084.11
|
|
Thailand vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare
pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Thailand
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.10
THB69.86
|
$10.81
AED39.72
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.00
THB66.47
|
$4.99
AED18.33
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.15
THB138.07
|
$6.20
AED22.77
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$50.07
THB1,665.52
|
$69.98
AED256.99
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.05
THB201.30
|
$13.30
AED48.83
|
|
Thailand vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 27.8% more for clothing
|
Thailand
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$44.30
THB1,473.73
|
$53.49
AED196.43
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.84
THB1,092.57
|
$52.36
AED192.30
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$83.65
THB2,782.57
|
$95.31
AED350.04
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$77.91
THB2,591.55
|
$94.82
AED348.22
|
|
Thailand 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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Compare further: Thailand vs. United Arab Emirates
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Size Comparison · See true size
Thailand is about 6 times bigger than United Arab Emirates.
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Moving from Thailand to United Arab Emirates · UN DESA 2020
12,819 people born in Thailand live in United Arab Emirates.
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