Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Abu Dhabi and Palma de Mallorca

For one person, living is cheaper in Palma de Mallorca: $2,216 a month against $2,594 in Abu Dhabi, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Abu Dhabi
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Abu Dhabi Living Index
108

Cost of Living Index in Palma de Mallorca
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Palma de Mallorca Living Index

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Abu Dhabi

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,594

/mo nomad

Palma de Mallorca

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,216

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Abu Dhabi and in Palma de Mallorca

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Abu Dhabi and in Palma de Mallorca actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,594 in Abu Dhabi versus $2,216 in Palma de Mallorca.

Abu Dhabi $2,594
Palma de Mallorca $2,216

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,892 in Abu Dhabi versus $3,278 in Palma de Mallorca.

Abu Dhabi $3,892
Palma de Mallorca $3,278

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,191 in Abu Dhabi versus $4,341 in Palma de Mallorca.

Abu Dhabi $5,191
Palma de Mallorca $4,341

Living in Abu Dhabi is roughly 17% more expensive than in Palma de Mallorca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Abu Dhabi 92% above, Palma de Mallorca 64% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.24 AED 30.27

$18.70 €16.63

-55.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.2 AED 203

$66.8 €59.4

-17.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.79 AED 35.94

$13.49 €12.00

-27.43%

Cappuccino

$6.01 AED 22.06

$3.16 €2.81

90.19%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.16 AED 4.27

$2.59 €2.31

-55.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.44 AED 1.61

$2.64 €2.34

-83.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.64 AED 42.76

$4.58 €4.07

154.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$11.69 AED 42.93

$3.86 €3.43

202.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.00 AED 7.33

$1.36 €1.21

47.06%

White Bread (500g)

$1.59 AED 5.85

$1.13 €1.00

40.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.37 AED 8.71

$1.61 €1.43

47.20%

Eggs

$3.52 AED 12.93

$3.42 €3.04

2.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.75 AED 43.17

$14.75 €13.12

-20.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.54 AED 35.05

$8.66 €7.71

10.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.31 AED 37.88

$16.05 €14.28

-35.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.45 AED 9.01

$2.52 €2.24

-2.78%

Banana (1kg)

$2.06 AED 7.56

$2.02 €1.80

1.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 AED 6.67

$1.67 €1.49

8.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.58 AED 5.79

$2.81 €2.50

-43.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.19 AED 4.38

$1.91 €1.69

-37.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.20 AED 4.40

$2.15 €1.92

-44.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 AED 5.98

$1.29 €1.15

26.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 AED 2.13

$0.69 €0.61

-15.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.47 AED 23.77

$6.75 €6.00

-4.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.79 AED 50.7

$5.66 €5.04

143.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.75

$1.37 €1.22

93.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 AED 9.08

$1.95 €1.73

26.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.65 AED 2.40

$2.20 €1.95

-70.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.37 AED 96.9

$41.00 €36.47

-35.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.22 AED 11.82

$5.02 €4.47

-35.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 AED 2.08

$1.31 €1.16

-56.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.00 AED 29.38

$24.14 €21.47

-66.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.97 AED 3.57

$1.80 €1.60

-46.11%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$30.3K AED 111.4K

$34.9K €31.1K

-13.16%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$21.9K AED 80.4K

$31.0K €27.6K

-29.42%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$192 AED 704

$250 €222

-23.17%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$55.6 AED 204

$23.67 €21.05

134.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$89.2 AED 327

$42.21 €37.54

111.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$95.0 AED 349

$61.1 €54.4

55.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$44.34 AED 163

$27.31 €24.30

62.36%

Cinema Ticket

$14.90 AED 54.7

$9.56 €8.50

55.86%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$787 AED 2,889

$604 €537

30.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K AED 53.5K

$10.3K €9,180

41.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.0 AED 228

$72.1 €64.1

-14.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.77 AED 183

$54.1 €48.11

-7.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 AED 413

$97.3 €86.6

15.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 AED 399

$131 €117

-17.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,947 AED 7,152

$1,494 €1,329

30.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,414 AED 5,193

$1,048 €932

34.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,923 AED 14.4K

$2,340 €2,082

67.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,700 AED 9,917

$1,787 €1,590

51.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,045 AED 18.5K

$6,823 €6,069

-26.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,868 AED 10.5K

$3,787 €3,368

-24.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,823 AED 10.4K

$2,046 €1,820

37.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.55

3.07

48.21%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Abu Dhabi: October 12, 2026

Last update for Palma de Mallorca: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Abu Dhabi

$1.4K 54.5%

Palma de Mallorca

$1K 47.3% 25.9% $366

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Abu Dhabi

$337 13%

Palma de Mallorca

$316 14.2% 6.2% $21

Groceries & Markets

Abu Dhabi

$278 10.7%

Palma de Mallorca

$272 12.3% 2.4% $6.8

Eating Out

Abu Dhabi

$255 9.8%

Palma de Mallorca

$280 12.6% 9.5% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Abu Dhabi

$150 5.8%

Palma de Mallorca

$160 7.2% 6.6% $9.9

Sport & Entertainment

Abu Dhabi

$125 4.8%

Palma de Mallorca

$80 3.6% 35.7% $45

Getting Around

Abu Dhabi

$35 1.4%

Palma de Mallorca

$61 2.8% 75.1% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,947 in Abu Dhabi and $1,494 in Palma de Mallorca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Abu Dhabi pays 38% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $55.0 in Abu Dhabi vs $67.0 in Palma de Mallorca. Groceries flip the comparison at $278 vs $272, with Palma de Mallorca cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Abu Dhabi

🇪🇸 Palma de Mallorca

🕒 Local time

21:27 9:27 PM

19:27 7:27 PM

2 h behind Abu Dhabi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

921,000 Capital

423,350

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Abu Dhabi Palma de Mallorca 5,080 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Abu Dhabi
Palma de Mallorca

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Abu Dhabi vs Palma de Mallorca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Palma de Mallorca wins on cost – living expenses run 17% lower than in Abu Dhabi. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Palma de Mallorca the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 38% higher in Abu Dhabi, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,947 in Abu Dhabi versus $1,494 in Palma de Mallorca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Palma de Mallorca runs roughly 55% less than in Abu Dhabi. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $787 in Abu Dhabi versus $604 in Palma de Mallorca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $2,216 in Palma de Mallorca versus $2,594 in Abu Dhabi, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Palma de Mallorca but tight or insufficient in Abu Dhabi. The gap between the two cities makes Palma de Mallorca the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Palma de Mallorca delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $2,216 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Palma de Mallorca hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Abu Dhabi and Palma de Mallorca are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Palma de Mallorca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 17% less than in Abu Dhabi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.