Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

China

China vs. United Arab Emirates Cost of Living Summary

China is 53.2% cheaper than United Arab Emirates overall.

Restaurants: pay 53.1% less in China
Groceries: pay 17.3% less in China
Transportation: pay 28.2% less in China
Housing: pay 77.7% less in China
Childcare: pay 54.8% more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 60.7% less in China
Clothing: pay 22.4% less in China

Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, transportation, clothing, and groceries are lower in China.

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China vs. United Arab Emirates Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 53.1% less for restaurants

	United Arab Emirates	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.43 AED30.94	$3.02 CN¥20.18	-64.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.55 AED31.39	$5.16 CN¥34.52	-39.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.07 AED3.94	$0.51 CN¥3.39	-52.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.45 AED1.66	$0.29 CN¥1.97	-34.6%
Average			-53.1%

United Arab Emirates vs. China - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.3% less for groceries

	United Arab Emirates	China
Bread 1 loaf	$1.46 AED5.38	$1.66 CN¥11.09	+13.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.94 AED18.13	$6.71 CN¥44.88	+35.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.75 AED24.78	$6.65 CN¥44.53	-1.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.80 AED10.28	$1.57 CN¥10.47	-44.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.68 AED13.51	$1.52 CN¥10.14	-58.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.97 AED3.58	$0.83 CN¥5.55	-14.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.76 AED2.80	$0.59 CN¥3.92	-23.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 AED2.65	$0.67 CN¥4.46	-7.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 AED2.13	$0.58 CN¥3.90	+0.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 AED1.75	$0.33 CN¥2.18	-31.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 AED1.74	$0.40 CN¥2.67	-15.8%
Average			-17.3%

United Arab Emirates vs. China - Cost of groceries

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pay 28.2% less for transportation

	United Arab Emirates	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.40 AED12.50	$4.77 CN¥31.92	+40.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$49.01 AED179.98	$20.77 CN¥138.99	-57.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,745.09 AED124K	$18,838.53 CN¥126K	-44.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.71 AED28.30	$4.24 CN¥28.39	-44.9%
Average			-28.2%

United Arab Emirates vs. China - Cost of transportation

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pay 77.7% less for housing

	United Arab Emirates	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$87.46 AED321.19	$11.27 CN¥75.42	-87.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,419.61 AED5,213.52	$336.09 CN¥2,248.74	-76.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,087.32 AED3,993.18	$212.64 CN¥1,422.74	-80.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$131.39 AED482.53	$42.92 CN¥287.14	-67.3%
Average			-77.7%

United Arab Emirates vs. China - Cost of housing

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pay 54.8% more for childcare

	United Arab Emirates	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$481.84 AED1,769.57	$500.54 CN¥3,348.99	+3.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,191.72 AED30,084.11	$18,908.16 CN¥127K	+130.8%
Average			+54.8%

United Arab Emirates vs. China - Cost of childcare

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pay 60.7% less for entertainment and sports

	United Arab Emirates	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.81 AED39.72	$1.12 CN¥7.52	-89.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.99 AED18.33	$2.84 CN¥19.00	-43.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.20 AED22.77	$3.71 CN¥24.79	-40.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.98 AED256.99	$41.75 CN¥279.37	-40.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.30 AED48.83	$6.28 CN¥41.99	-52.8%
Average			-60.7%

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

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pay 22.4% less for clothing

	United Arab Emirates	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.49 AED196.43	$46.40 CN¥310.43	-13.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$52.36 AED192.30	$33.97 CN¥227.29	-35.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$95.31 AED350.04	$73.79 CN¥493.72	-22.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.82 AED348.22	$78.93 CN¥528.10	-16.8%
Average			-22.4%

United Arab Emirates vs. China - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: United Arab Emirates vs. China

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Quality of Life Comparison · 16 statistics

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Size Comparison · See true size

United Arab Emirates is about 115 times smaller than China.

Moving from United Arab Emirates to China · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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