Cost of living comparison
compared to
Sharjah vs. United Arab Emirates Cost of Living Summary
Sharjah is 8.8% cheaper than United Arab Emirates overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 17.3% less in Sharjah
- Groceries
-
pay 7.0% less in Sharjah
- Transportation
-
pay 7.0% more in Sharjah
- Housing
-
pay 5.2% less in Sharjah
- Childcare
-
pay 31.8% less in Sharjah
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 8.2% less in Sharjah
- Clothing
-
pay 0.9% more in Sharjah
The cost of transportation and clothing in Sharjah are more expensive than in United Arab Emirates. Expenses including childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and housing are lower in Sharjah.
Sharjah vs. United Arab Emirates Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Sharjah instead of United Arab Emirates, you would:
pay 17.3% less for restaurants
|
United Arab Emirates
|
Sharjah
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$7.91
AED29.06
|
$5.45
AED20.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.65
AED31.75
|
$8.99
AED33.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.04
AED3.83
|
$0.92
AED3.37
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.50
AED1.85
|
$0.35
AED1.30
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. Sharjah - Cost of restaurants
pay 7.0% less for groceries
|
United Arab Emirates
|
Sharjah
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.47
AED5.39
|
$1.13
AED4.14
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.36
AED19.68
|
$5.15
AED18.93
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.96
AED25.56
|
$6.35
AED23.33
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.81
AED10.34
|
$2.71
AED9.96
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.68
AED13.51
|
$3.15
AED11.57
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.98
AED3.59
|
$0.88
AED3.23
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.75
AED2.75
|
$0.68
AED2.51
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.73
AED2.69
|
$0.67
AED2.44
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.59
AED2.15
|
$0.57
AED2.08
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.48
AED1.76
|
$0.47
AED1.73
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.53
AED1.93
|
$0.58
AED2.12
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. Sharjah - Cost of groceries
pay 7.0% more for transportation
|
United Arab Emirates
|
Sharjah
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.91
AED10.69
|
$2.97
AED10.92
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$53.10
AED195.00
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$40,680.12
AED149,397.75
|
$45,426.00
AED166,827.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$8.50
AED31.21
|
$9.12
AED33.50
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. Sharjah - Cost of transportation
pay 5.2% less for housing
|
United Arab Emirates
|
Sharjah
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$101.41
AED372.42
|
$108.07
AED396.88
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,438.18
AED5,281.71
|
$755.62
AED2,775.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$990.79
AED3,638.67
|
$638.07
AED2,343.30
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$122.67
AED450.49
|
$191.23
AED702.29
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. Sharjah - Cost of housing
pay 31.8% less for childcare
|
United Arab Emirates
|
Sharjah
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$497.28
AED1,826.25
|
$261.40
AED960.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$8,164.49
AED29,984.10
|
$6,852.73
AED25,166.67
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. Sharjah - Cost of childcare
pay 8.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
United Arab Emirates
|
Sharjah
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$10.43
AED38.31
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.99
AED18.32
|
$4.31
AED15.83
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.23
AED22.88
|
$6.13
AED22.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$75.55
AED277.45
|
$68.07
AED250.00
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.19
AED48.44
|
$12.25
AED45.00
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. Sharjah - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 0.9% more for clothing
|
United Arab Emirates
|
Sharjah
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$75.04
AED275.58
|
$49.24
AED180.83
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$59.50
AED218.51
|
$100.75
AED370.00
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.66
AED388.03
|
$103.88
AED381.50
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$106.53
AED391.23
|
$74.88
AED275.00
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. Sharjah - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Sharjah or United Arab Emirates. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.