Cost of living comparison

compared to

Dubai vs. Tokyo Cost of Living Summary

Dubai is 40.0% more expensive than Tokyo.

Restaurants
pay 33.9% more in Dubai
Groceries
pay 27.1% less in Dubai
Transportation
pay 17.0% less in Dubai
Housing
pay 2.2 times more in Dubai
Childcare
pay 28.4% more in Dubai
Entertainment and Sports
pay 79.8% more in Dubai
Clothing
pay 61.1% more in Dubai

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

Dubai vs. Tokyo Cost Breakdown

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

pay 33.9% more for restaurants

 
Tokyo
Dubai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $8.02
¥1,265
$10.89
AED40.00
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.01
¥791
$9.53
AED35.00
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.16
¥183
$1.19
AED4.37

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pay 27.1% less for groceries

 
Tokyo
Dubai
Bread
1 loaf
$1.55
¥245
$1.41
AED5.18
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.21
¥1,137
$5.45
AED20.01
Milk (1 gallon) $5.71
¥901
$7.12
AED26.15

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pay 17.0% less for transportation

 
Tokyo
Dubai
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.50
¥710
$2.82
AED10.37
Monthly public transit pass $73.51
¥11,595
$87.13
AED320.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $22,332.63
¥3,522,894
$27,229.41
AED100,000.00

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

 
Tokyo
Dubai
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$33.44
¥5,276
$98.23
AED360.76
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,071.65
¥169,050
$2,362.29
AED8,675.50
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $642.24
¥101,311
$1,533.56
AED5,632.00

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pay 28.4% more for childcare

 
Tokyo
Dubai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $519.69
¥81,979
$823.12
AED3,022.92
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $15,131.74
¥2,386,979
$14,907.17
AED54,746.58

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pay 79.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
Tokyo
Dubai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.01
¥632
$13.61
AED50.00
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.43
¥541
$5.65
AED20.75
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.01
¥632
$6.13
AED22.50

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pay 61.1% more for clothing

 
Tokyo
Dubai
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$56.84
¥8,966
$81.30
AED298.59
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$40.48
¥6,386
$63.28
AED232.39
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$62.67
¥9,886
$129.71
AED476.35

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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