Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Brunei

Brunei vs. United Arab Emirates Cost of Living Summary

Brunei is 33.1% cheaper than United Arab Emirates overall.

Restaurants: pay 21.2% less in Brunei
Groceries: pay 47.1% more in Brunei
Transportation: pay 68.7% less in Brunei
Housing: pay 49.6% less in Brunei
Childcare: pay 27.7% less in Brunei
Entertainment and Sports: pay 41.1% less in Brunei
Clothing: pay 28.4% more in Brunei

The cost of groceries and clothing in Brunei are more expensive than in United Arab Emirates. Expenses including transportation, housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, and restaurants are lower in Brunei.

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Brunei vs. United Arab Emirates Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Brunei instead of United Arab Emirates, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 21.2% less for restaurants

	United Arab Emirates	Brunei
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.43 AED30.95	$5.86 BND7.55	-30.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.55 AED31.39	$6.92 BND8.91	-19.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.07 AED3.94	$0.92 BND1.19	-13.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.45 AED1.66	$0.52 BND0.66	+14.4%
Average			-21.2%

United Arab Emirates vs. Brunei - Cost of restaurants

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pay 47.1% more for groceries

	United Arab Emirates	Brunei
Bread 1 loaf	$1.46 AED5.38	$2.10 BND2.70	+43.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.94 AED18.13	$7.08 BND9.11	+43.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.75 AED24.79	$7.05 BND9.08	+4.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.80 AED10.28	$2.35 BND3.03	-16.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.68 AED13.51	$3.23 BND4.15	-12.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.97 AED3.58	$1.79 BND2.30	+83.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.76 AED2.80	$0.99 BND1.28	+30.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 AED2.65	$1.78 BND2.29	+146.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 AED2.13	$1.15 BND1.48	+99.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 AED1.75	$0.77 BND0.99	+62.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 AED1.74	$1.11 BND1.43	+133.3%
Average			+47.1%

United Arab Emirates vs. Brunei - Cost of groceries

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pay 68.7% less for transportation

	United Arab Emirates	Brunei
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.40 AED12.50	$1.47 BND1.90	-56.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$49.01 AED180.00	$0.78 BND1.01	-98.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,745.09 AED124K	$37,115.17 BND47,803.75	+10.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.71 AED28.31	$30.47 BND39.25	+295.4%
Average			-68.7%

United Arab Emirates vs. Brunei - Cost of transportation

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pay 49.6% less for housing

	United Arab Emirates	Brunei
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$87.46 AED321.23	$65.11 BND83.86	-25.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,419.61 AED5,214.23	$731.42 BND942.05	-48.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,087.32 AED3,993.73	$627.34 BND808.00	-42.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$131.39 AED482.60	$38.39 BND49.44	-70.8%
Average			-49.6%

United Arab Emirates vs. Brunei - Cost of housing

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pay 27.7% less for childcare

	United Arab Emirates	Brunei
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$481.84 AED1,769.81	$216.82 BND279.26	-55.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,191.72 AED30,088.20	$9,524.22 BND12,267.04	+16.3%
Average			-27.7%

United Arab Emirates vs. Brunei - Cost of childcare

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pay 41.1% less for entertainment and sports

	United Arab Emirates	Brunei
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.81 AED39.72	$1.95 BND2.52	-81.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.99 AED18.34	$4.22 BND5.43	-15.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.20 AED22.77	$11.72 BND15.09	+89.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.98 AED257.02	$71.62 BND92.24	+2.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.30 AED48.83	$5.47 BND7.04	-58.9%
Average			-41.1%

United Arab Emirates vs. Brunei - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 28.4% more for clothing

	United Arab Emirates	Brunei
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.49 AED196.45	$76.18 BND98.12	+42.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$52.36 AED192.32	$97.53 BND125.62	+86.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$95.31 AED350.08	$128.15 BND165.05	+34.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.82 AED348.27	$72.27 BND93.09	-23.8%
Average			+28.4%

United Arab Emirates vs. Brunei - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: United Arab Emirates vs. Brunei

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Size Comparison · See true size

United Arab Emirates is about 14 times bigger than Brunei.

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