Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Tonga

Tonga vs. United Arab Emirates Cost of Living Summary

Tonga is 28.4% cheaper than United Arab Emirates overall.

Restaurants: pay 38.9% more in Tonga
Groceries: pay 46.2% more in Tonga
Transportation: pay 26.8% less in Tonga
Housing: pay 39.3% less in Tonga
Childcare: pay 90.0% less in Tonga
Entertainment and Sports: pay 19.1% less in Tonga
Clothing: pay 72.0% less in Tonga

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

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Tonga vs. United Arab Emirates Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 38.9% more for restaurants

	United Arab Emirates	Tonga
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.43 AED30.95	$8.31 TOP20.00	-1.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.55 AED31.39	$10.38 TOP25.00	+21.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.07 AED3.94	$2.84 TOP6.83	+164.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.45 AED1.66	$2.46 TOP5.92	+445.3%
Average			+38.9%

United Arab Emirates vs. Tonga - Cost of restaurants

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pay 46.2% more for groceries

	United Arab Emirates	Tonga
Bread 1 loaf	$1.46 AED5.38	$1.04 TOP2.50	-29.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.94 AED18.13	$4.50 TOP10.83	-8.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.75 AED24.79	$5.92 TOP14.26	-12.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.80 AED10.28	$5.09 TOP12.27	+82.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.68 AED13.51	$2.67 TOP6.43	-27.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.97 AED3.58	$1.26 TOP3.02	+29.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.76 AED2.80	$1.26 TOP3.02	+64.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 AED2.65	$1.32 TOP3.18	+83.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 AED2.13	$1.70 TOP4.08	+193.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 AED1.75	$1.44 TOP3.48	+203.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 AED1.74	$1.19 TOP2.87	+151.4%
Average			+46.2%

United Arab Emirates vs. Tonga - Cost of groceries

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pay 26.8% less for transportation

	United Arab Emirates	Tonga
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.40 AED12.50	$5.50 TOP13.25	+61.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$49.01 AED180.00	$41.53 TOP100.00	-15.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,745.09 AED124K	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	-82.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.71 AED28.31	$18.69 TOP45.00	+142.5%
Average			-26.8%

United Arab Emirates vs. Tonga - Cost of transportation

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pay 39.3% less for housing

	United Arab Emirates	Tonga
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$87.46 AED321.23	$124.60 TOP300.00	+42.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,419.61 AED5,214.23	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	-56.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,087.32 AED3,993.73	??
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$131.39 AED482.60	$142.92 TOP344.12	+8.8%
Average			-39.3%

United Arab Emirates vs. Tonga - Cost of housing

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pay 90.0% less for childcare

	United Arab Emirates	Tonga
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$481.84 AED1,769.81	$157.82 TOP380.00	-67.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,191.72 AED30,088.20	$249.19 TOP600.00	-97.0%
Average			-90.0%

United Arab Emirates vs. Tonga - Cost of childcare

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pay 19.1% less for entertainment and sports

	United Arab Emirates	Tonga
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.81 AED39.72	$3.32 TOP8.00	-69.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.99 AED18.34	$2.91 TOP7.00	-41.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.20 AED22.77	$10.18 TOP24.50	+64.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.98 AED257.02	$31.15 TOP75.00	-55.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.30 AED48.83	$41.53 TOP100.00	+212.4%
Average			-19.1%

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

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pay 72.0% less for clothing

	United Arab Emirates	Tonga
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.49 AED196.45	$14.54 TOP35.00	-72.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$52.36 AED192.32	$17.65 TOP42.50	-66.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$95.31 AED350.08	$20.77 TOP50.00	-78.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.82 AED348.27	$29.07 TOP70.00	-69.3%
Average			-72.0%

United Arab Emirates vs. Tonga - 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. Tonga

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

Make 87.0% less money in Tonga

Size Comparison · See true size

United Arab Emirates is about 112 times bigger than Tonga.

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

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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