Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aden and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Aden: $1,399 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $17,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Aden
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Aden Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index

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Aden

🇾🇪 Yemen

$1,399

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Aden and in Dubai

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

A single person spends $1,399 per month in Aden vs $2,854 in Dubai, rent included.

Aden $1,399
Dubai $2,854

A couple spends around $2,375 per month in Aden vs $4,321 in Dubai, rent included.

Aden $2,375
Dubai $4,321

A family of three spends $3,352 per month in Aden vs $5,788 in Dubai, rent included.

Aden $3,352
Dubai $5,788

Aden is about 51% cheaper than Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Aden and Dubai sit above the global median – Aden by 4%, Dubai by 113%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.51 YER 2,949

$13.04 AED 47.89

-4.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.00 YER 8,489

$81.4 AED 299

-55.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 YER 2,440

$9.32 AED 34.25

11.05%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.63 YER 857

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.50 YER 1,060

Cappuccino

$3.98 YER 938

$5.97 AED 21.93

-33.33%

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

$3.31 YER 779

$1.63 AED 5.98

103.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 YER 434

$0.81 AED 2.99

127.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

Milk (1 liter)

$5.23 YER 1,232

$1.81 AED 6.64

188.95%

White Bread (500g)

$2.41 YER 569

$1.57 AED 5.78

53.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$9.31 YER 2,196

$2.49 AED 9.16

273.90%

Eggs

$10.62 YER 2,505

$3.28 AED 12.04

223.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.49 YER 2,002

$12.67 AED 46.53

-32.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.75 YER 3,715

$9.75 AED 35.80

61.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$55.8 YER 13.1K

$13.18 AED 48.40

322.99%

Apples (1kg)

$13.49 YER 3,180

$2.61 AED 9.57

416.86%

Banana (1kg)

$3.67 YER 865

$1.93 AED 7.09

90.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$10.39 YER 2,450

$1.92 AED 7.05

441.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.69 YER 1,106

$1.36 AED 5.00

244.85%

Potato (1kg)

$4.43 YER 1,044

$1.17 AED 4.29

278.63%

Onion (1kg)

$4.12 YER 971

$1.01 AED 3.71

307.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 YER 308

$1.51 AED 5.56

-13.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 YER 332

$0.62 AED 2.29

127.42%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$6.34 YER 1,494

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.24 YER 1,000

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.17 YER 1,220

$5.85 AED 21.50

-11.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.32 YER 75.3

$1.64 AED 6.03

-80.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.73 YER 643

$0.99 AED 3.64

175.76%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

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

$49.54 YER 11.7K

$250 AED 920

-80.22%

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

$10.08 YER 2,378

$54.2 AED 199

-81.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.65 YER 5,813

$98.6 AED 362

-75.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.04 YER 2,367

$42.61 AED 156

-76.44%

Cinema Ticket

$6.00 YER 1,414

$16.03 AED 58.9

-62.57%

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

$32.98 YER 7,776

$843 AED 3,098

-96.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,351 YER 1.3M

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-70.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 YER 24.9K

$68.0 AED 250

55.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$83.9 YER 19.8K

$57.9 AED 213

45.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 YER 26.4K

$101 AED 370

11.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$161 YER 38.0K

$101 AED 371

59.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$235 YER 55.4K

$2,380 AED 8,741

-90.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$257 YER 60.5K

$1,506 AED 5,531

-82.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$842 YER 198.5K

$4,437 AED 16.3K

-81.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$543 YER 127.9K

$3,010 AED 11.1K

-81.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$590 YER 139.2K

$7,121 AED 26.2K

-91.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$451 YER 106.3K

$4,135 AED 15.2K

-89.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$388 YER 91.6K

$3,391 AED 12.5K

-88.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

142.29%

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

Last update for Aden: October 5, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Aden

$626 45.1%

Dubai

$293 10.2% 53.2% $333

Accommodation & Living

Aden

$257 18.5%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5% 487% $1.2K

Clothing & Footwear

Aden

$208 15%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 29.2% $61

Eating Out

Aden

$199 14.4%

Dubai

$309 10.8% 54.8% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aden

$60 * 4.3%

Dubai

$396 13.8% 565% $337

Sport & Entertainment

Aden

$37 2.6%

Dubai

$131 4.6% 257% $94

Getting Around

Aden

$1.3 * 0.1%

Dubai

$87 3% 6691% $86

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $235 in Aden versus $2,380 in Dubai. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 773% higher in Dubai, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $36.00 in Aden versus $81.0 in Dubai. Groceries tell a different story – $626 in Aden vs $293 in Dubai – so Dubai wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇾🇪 Aden

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

10:10 10:10 AM

11:10 11:10 AM

1 h ahead of Aden

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

508,489

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to YER – Yemeni Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇾🇪 Yemeni Rial (﷼)

Yemeni Rial exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 236 YER (1,000 YER = 4.24 USD). 1 EUR = 264 YER (1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

USD to YER in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Aden Dubai 1,730 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Aden
Dubai

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

Aden vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dubai costs about 104% more than Aden, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,098 per month in Aden and $4,281 in Dubai. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Aden, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,399 in Aden and $2,854 in Dubai. That's a gap of about 104%.

Kindergarten costs $32.98 per month in Aden and $843 in Dubai. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Aden, where all-in costs run around $1,399, than in Dubai at $2,854. In Aden it covers expenses comfortably, while in Dubai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Aden costs $1,399 versus $2,854 in Dubai. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Aden. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Dubai makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.