Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al-hawiyah and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-hawiyah: $1,081 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $21,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Al-hawiyah
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Al-hawiyah Living Index
140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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Al-hawiyah

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,081

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Al-hawiyah 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 Al-hawiyah and in Dubai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,081 in Al-hawiyah versus $2,896 in Dubai.

Al-hawiyah $1,081
Dubai $2,896

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,603 in Al-hawiyah versus $4,384 in Dubai.

Al-hawiyah $1,603
Dubai $4,384

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,125 in Al-hawiyah versus $5,872 in Dubai.

Al-hawiyah $2,125
Dubai $5,872

Living in Al-hawiyah costs roughly 63% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Al-hawiyah is 20% below, Dubai is 115% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.44 SAR 16.67

$12.67 AED 46.55

-64.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.52 SAR 99.5

$81.7 AED 300

-67.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.91 SAR 25.93

$9.34 AED 34.30

-26.02%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.58 SAR 5.91

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 SAR 5.64

Cappuccino

$2.63 SAR 9.88

$5.89 AED 21.62

-55.35%

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

$0.70 SAR 2.63

$1.69 AED 6.20

-58.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 SAR 0.94

$0.78 AED 2.86

-67.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

Milk (1 liter)

$1.83 SAR 6.85

$1.84 AED 6.78

-0.54%

White Bread (500g)

$0.96 SAR 3.60

$1.50 AED 5.50

-36.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 SAR 8.25

$2.57 AED 9.45

-14.40%

Eggs

$2.68 SAR 10.04

$3.32 AED 12.18

-19.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.85 SAR 21.94

$12.60 AED 46.28

-53.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.70 SAR 43.90

$9.66 AED 35.46

21.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.12 SAR 49.22

$12.78 AED 46.93

2.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.04 SAR 7.64

$2.60 AED 9.54

-21.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 SAR 5.92

$1.90 AED 6.99

-16.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 SAR 6.88

$1.91 AED 7.02

-4.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 SAR 5.60

$1.37 AED 5.02

8.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.30 SAR 4.87

$1.13 AED 4.14

15.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 SAR 5.63

$1.01 AED 3.71

48.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 SAR 4.09

$1.44 AED 5.30

-24.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 SAR 2.77

$0.67 AED 2.48

10.45%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.99 SAR 11.21

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.10 SAR 7.87

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.57 SAR 5.88

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.00 SAR 30.02

$5.88 AED 21.59

36.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.10 SAR 4.13

$1.60 AED 5.87

-31.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.82 SAR 138

$76.0 AED 279

-51.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.44 SAR 9.15

$3.24 AED 11.91

-24.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.69 SAR 10.10

$0.71 AED 2.61

278.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.24 SAR 49.67

$7.96 AED 29.22

66.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.59 SAR 2.23

$0.98 AED 3.62

-39.80%

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

$43.9K SAR 164.7K

$27.4K AED 100.6K

60.23%

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

$21.5K SAR 80.8K

$22.0K AED 80.9K

-2.23%

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

$67.1 SAR 252

$249 AED 913

-73.00%

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

$35.32 SAR 133

$54.4 AED 200

-35.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$62.5 SAR 235

$91.5 AED 336

-31.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$80.6 SAR 302

$103 AED 380

-22.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

Cinema Ticket

$15.09 SAR 56.6

$16.29 AED 59.8

-7.37%

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

$423 SAR 1,586

$844 AED 3,098

-49.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,864 SAR 29.5K

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-56.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.09 SAR 49.11

$67.0 AED 246

-80.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.8 SAR 209

$57.9 AED 213

-3.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$40.45 SAR 152

$102 AED 375

-60.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$52.5 SAR 197

$98.7 AED 363

-46.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$576 SAR 2,162

$2,393 AED 8,788

-75.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$366 SAR 1,375

$1,533 AED 5,630

-76.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$826 SAR 3,098

$4,594 AED 16.9K

-82.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$577 SAR 2,166

$2,939 AED 10.8K

-80.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,404 SAR 9,023

$7,046 AED 25.9K

-65.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,375 SAR 5,158

$4,222 AED 15.5K

-67.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

4.54

15.64%

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

Last update for Al-hawiyah: October 10, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Al-hawiyah

$366 33.9%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9% 318% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Al-hawiyah

$217 20.1%

Dubai

$292 10.1% 34.2% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al-hawiyah

$165 15.3%

Dubai

$394 13.6% 139% $229

Sport & Entertainment

Al-hawiyah

$111 10.2%

Dubai

$136 4.7% 22.8% $25

Eating Out

Al-hawiyah

$92 8.5%

Dubai

$305 10.5% 233% $214

Clothing & Footwear

Al-hawiyah

$73 6.7%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 101% $74

Getting Around

Al-hawiyah

$57 5.3%

Dubai

$89 3.1% 56.1% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $576 in Al-hawiyah and $2,393 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $27.00 in Al-hawiyah vs $82.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $217 vs $292 per month, with Al-hawiyah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Al-hawiyah

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

04:30 4:30 AM

05:30 5:30 AM

1 h ahead of Al-hawiyah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

148,151

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Al-hawiyah Dubai 1,550 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Al-hawiyah
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

Al-hawiyah vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al-hawiyah and Dubai differ by about 168% in total monthly costs ($1,081 vs $2,896 including rent). Al-hawiyah is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,621 in Al-hawiyah and $4,344 in Dubai to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $576 in Al-hawiyah versus $2,393 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Al-hawiyah – a meal for two runs $27.00 versus $82.0 in Dubai. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,081 per month in Al-hawiyah versus $2,896 in Dubai – a 168% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,081 in Al-hawiyah versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Al-hawiyah but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Al-hawiyah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Al-hawiyah and Dubai 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 Al-hawiyah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 168% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.