Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arnhem and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Arnhem: $2,578 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Arnhem
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Arnhem Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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Arnhem

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$2,578

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,578 in Arnhem versus $2,854 in Dubai.

Arnhem $2,578
Dubai $2,854

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,771 in Arnhem versus $4,321 in Dubai.

Arnhem $3,771
Dubai $4,321

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,963 in Arnhem versus $5,788 in Dubai.

Arnhem $4,963
Dubai $5,788

Living in Arnhem costs roughly 10% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Arnhem 92% above, Dubai 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.70 €20.26

$13.04 AED 47.89

74.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$87.4 €78.0

$81.4 AED 299

7.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.44 €11.99

$9.32 AED 34.25

44.21%

Cappuccino

$4.16 €3.71

$5.97 AED 21.93

-30.32%

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

$3.29 €2.93

$1.63 AED 5.98

101.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 €2.54

$0.81 AED 2.99

251.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.65 €5.04

$13.65 AED 50.1

-58.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.74 €5.12

$13.38 AED 49.15

-57.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 €1.27

$1.81 AED 6.64

-20.99%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.57 AED 5.78

31.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 €2.08

$2.49 AED 9.16

-6.43%

Eggs

$5.39 €4.81

$3.28 AED 12.04

64.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.96 €11.57

$12.67 AED 46.53

2.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.57 €13.01

$9.75 AED 35.80

49.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.70 €14.01

$13.18 AED 48.40

19.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.74 €2.44

$2.61 AED 9.57

4.98%

Banana (1kg)

$2.51 €2.24

$1.93 AED 7.09

30.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 €1.64

$1.92 AED 7.05

-4.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.56 €4.96

$1.36 AED 5.00

308.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.17 AED 4.29

61.54%

Onion (1kg)

$2.36 €2.11

$1.01 AED 3.71

133.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 €1.14

$1.51 AED 5.56

-15.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.64

$0.62 AED 2.29

16.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.29 €12.75

$5.85 AED 21.50

144.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.01 €6.26

$16.14 AED 59.3

-56.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 €1.30

$2.65 AED 9.74

-45.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.65 €2.37

$2.95 AED 10.82

-10.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.50 €4.02

$1.64 AED 6.03

174.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$110 €98.5

$73.6 AED 270

49.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.05 €3.62

$3.17 AED 11.66

27.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.38 €2.12

$0.71 AED 2.63

235.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.37 €29.78

$7.96 AED 29.23

319.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.49 €2.22

$0.99 AED 3.64

151.52%

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

$40.7K €36.3K

$27.4K AED 100.5K

48.75%

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

$38.8K €34.7K

$22.5K AED 82.8K

72.31%

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

$283 €253

$250 AED 920

13.13%

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

$23.28 €20.78

$54.2 AED 199

-57.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.42 €37.86

$91.8 AED 337

-53.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.76 €37.27

$98.6 AED 362

-57.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.05 €9.86

$42.61 AED 156

-74.07%

Cinema Ticket

$14.48 €12.92

$16.03 AED 58.9

-9.67%

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

$1,233 €1,100

$843 AED 3,098

46.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,877 €5,245

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-67.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$97.6 €87.1

$68.0 AED 250

43.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.21 €26.06

$57.9 AED 213

-49.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €93.7

$101 AED 370

4.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 €138

$101 AED 371

52.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,431 €1,277

$2,380 AED 8,741

-39.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,181 €1,054

$1,506 AED 5,531

-21.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,217 €1,979

$4,437 AED 16.3K

-50.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,793 €1,600

$3,010 AED 11.1K

-40.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,196 €4,637

$7,121 AED 26.2K

-27.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,230 €3,775

$4,135 AED 15.2K

2.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,648 €3,255

$3,391 AED 12.5K

7.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.95

4.54

-13.00%

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

Last update for Arnhem: October 3, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Arnhem

$1.2K 45.5%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5% 27.5% $325

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arnhem

$349 13.5%

Dubai

$396 13.8% 13.6% $47

Groceries & Markets

Arnhem

$339 13.1%

Dubai

$293 10.2% 13.7% $47

Eating Out

Arnhem

$336 13%

Dubai

$309 10.8% 8.1% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Arnhem

$174 6.7%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 15.2% $26

Getting Around

Arnhem

$144 5.6%

Dubai

$87 3% 39.8% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Arnhem

$71 2.7%

Dubai

$131 4.6% 84.8% $60

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,431 in Arnhem and $2,380 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Arnhem pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $87.0 in Arnhem vs $81.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $339 vs $293 per month, with Dubai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇱 Arnhem

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

05:08 5:08 AM

07:08 7:08 AM

2 h ahead of Arnhem

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

165,770

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Arnhem Dubai 5,090 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

Arnhem vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Arnhem and Dubai differ by about 11% in total monthly costs ($2,578 vs $2,854 including rent). Arnhem is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 8% higher in Arnhem, 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: $1,431 in Arnhem versus $2,380 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Dubai pay roughly 16% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Arnhem – a meal for two runs $87.0 versus $81.0 in Dubai. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $2,578 in Arnhem versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Arnhem but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Arnhem 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, Arnhem 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 Arnhem gentler on the wallet – expenses run 11% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.