Cost of living comparison

compared to

El Salvador vs. United Arab Emirates Cost of Living Summary

El Salvador is 11.1% cheaper than United Arab Emirates overall.

Restaurants: pay 0.5% less in El Salvador
Groceries: pay 36.5% more in El Salvador
Transportation: pay 42.0% more in El Salvador
Housing: pay 52.1% less in El Salvador
Childcare: pay 44.3% less in El Salvador
Entertainment and Sports: pay 56.1% less in El Salvador
Clothing: pay 3.1% less in El Salvador

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

El Salvador vs. United Arab Emirates Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 0.5% less for restaurants

	United Arab Emirates	El Salvador
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.91 AED29.06	$5.50 SVC47.99	-30.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.65 AED31.75	$6.33 SVC55.23	-26.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.04 AED3.83	$0.99 SVC8.64	-5.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 AED1.85	$0.81 SVC7.05	+60.2%
Average			-0.5%

United Arab Emirates vs. El Salvador - Cost of restaurants

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pay 36.5% more for groceries

	United Arab Emirates	El Salvador
Bread 1 loaf	$1.47 AED5.39	$1.95 SVC17.01	+33.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.36 AED19.68	$3.77 SVC32.86	-29.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.96 AED25.56	$6.72 SVC58.61	-3.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.81 AED10.34	$2.78 SVC24.25	-1.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.68 AED13.51	$2.82 SVC24.64	-23.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 AED3.59	$1.67 SVC14.60	+71.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 AED2.75	$0.76 SVC6.60	+1.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 AED2.69	$1.17 SVC10.17	+59.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 AED2.15	$1.22 SVC10.61	+107.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 AED1.76	$0.97 SVC8.44	+101.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.93	$0.98 SVC8.51	+85.3%
Average			+36.5%

United Arab Emirates vs. El Salvador - Cost of groceries

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pay 42.0% more for transportation

	United Arab Emirates	El Salvador
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.91 AED10.69	$3.75 SVC32.69	+28.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$53.10 AED195.00	$15.00 SVC130.88	-71.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,680.12 AED149,397.75	$24,666.67 SVC215,223.23	-39.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.50 AED31.21	$29.78 SVC259.88	+250.4%
Average			+42.0%

United Arab Emirates vs. El Salvador - Cost of transportation

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pay 52.1% less for housing

	United Arab Emirates	El Salvador
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$101.41 AED372.42	$41.89 SVC365.49	-58.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,438.18 AED5,281.71	$666.67 SVC5,816.84	-53.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$990.79 AED3,638.67	$502.78 SVC4,386.87	-49.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$122.67 AED450.49	$64.97 SVC566.86	-47.0%
Average			-52.1%

United Arab Emirates vs. El Salvador - Cost of housing

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pay 44.3% less for childcare

	United Arab Emirates	El Salvador
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$497.28 AED1,826.25	$162.67 SVC1,419.31	-67.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,164.49 AED29,984.10	$6,420.00 SVC56,016.21	-21.4%
Average			-44.3%

United Arab Emirates vs. El Salvador - Cost of childcare

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pay 56.1% less for entertainment and sports

	United Arab Emirates	El Salvador
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.43 AED38.31	$2.00 SVC17.45	-80.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.99 AED18.32	$2.83 SVC24.69	-43.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.23 AED22.88	$4.00 SVC34.90	-35.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$75.55 AED277.45	$30.27 SVC264.08	-59.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.19 AED48.44	$5.17 SVC45.08	-60.8%
Average			-56.1%

United Arab Emirates vs. El Salvador - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.1% less for clothing

	United Arab Emirates	El Salvador
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$75.04 AED275.58	$62.60 SVC546.20	-16.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$59.50 AED218.51	$45.83 SVC399.91	-23.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.66 AED388.03	$131.80 SVC1,149.99	+24.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$106.53 AED391.23	$109.17 SVC952.51	+2.5%
Average			-3.1%

United Arab Emirates vs. El Salvador - Cost of clothing

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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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