Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Byblos and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Byblos: $1,026 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $21,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Byblos
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Byblos Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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Byblos

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$1,026

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,026 in Byblos versus $2,854 in Dubai.

Byblos $1,026
Dubai $2,854

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,629 in Byblos versus $4,321 in Dubai.

Byblos $1,629
Dubai $4,321

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,231 in Byblos versus $5,788 in Dubai.

Byblos $2,231
Dubai $5,788

Living in Byblos costs roughly 64% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Byblos is 23% below, Dubai is 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.17 LBP 820.3K

$13.04 AED 47.89

-29.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.55 LBP 3.8M

$81.4 AED 299

-47.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.19 LBP 643.6K

$9.32 AED 34.25

-22.85%

Cappuccino

$2.94 LBP 262.9K

$5.97 AED 21.93

-50.75%

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

$0.98 LBP 88.0K

$1.63 AED 5.98

-39.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.01 LBP 90.5K

$0.81 AED 2.99

24.69%

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)

$1.26 LBP 113.2K

$1.81 AED 6.64

-30.39%

White Bread (500g)

$0.66 LBP 59.4K

$1.57 AED 5.78

-57.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 LBP 137.9K

$2.49 AED 9.16

-38.15%

Eggs

$2.15 LBP 192.3K

$3.28 AED 12.04

-34.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.16 LBP 820.2K

$12.67 AED 46.53

-27.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.09 LBP 724.5K

$9.75 AED 35.80

-17.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 LBP 1.1M

$13.18 AED 48.40

-7.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 LBP 271.0K

$2.61 AED 9.57

16.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 LBP 174.7K

$1.93 AED 7.09

1.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.01 LBP 90.6K

$1.92 AED 7.05

-47.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 LBP 184.1K

$1.36 AED 5.00

51.47%

Potato (1kg)

$0.98 LBP 88.0K

$1.17 AED 4.29

-16.24%

Onion (1kg)

$0.98 LBP 87.3K

$1.01 AED 3.71

-2.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 LBP 91.9K

$1.51 AED 5.56

-31.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 LBP 90.9K

$0.62 AED 2.29

64.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

Wine (Bottle)

$3.98 LBP 356.3K

$16.14 AED 59.3

-75.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 LBP 137.2K

$2.65 AED 9.74

-42.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 LBP 177.4K

$2.95 AED 10.82

-32.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 LBP 87.2K

$1.64 AED 6.03

-40.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 LBP 87.5K

$0.71 AED 2.63

38.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.93 LBP 82.8K

$0.99 AED 3.64

-6.06%

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

$22.2K LBP 2.0B

$27.4K AED 100.5K

-18.85%

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

$22.6K LBP 2.0B

$22.5K AED 82.8K

0.13%

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

$101 LBP 9.0M

$250 AED 920

-59.65%

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

$22.81 LBP 2.0M

$54.2 AED 199

-57.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.64 LBP 2.2M

$91.8 AED 337

-73.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.96 LBP 3.4M

$98.6 AED 362

-61.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.26 LBP 3.6M

$42.61 AED 156

-5.52%

Cinema Ticket

$10.17 LBP 910.4K

$16.03 AED 58.9

-36.56%

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

$392 LBP 35.1M

$843 AED 3,098

-53.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,053 LBP 273.2M

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-83.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$98.2 LBP 8.8M

$68.0 AED 250

44.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$101 LBP 9.0M

$57.9 AED 213

74.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 LBP 10.6M

$101 AED 370

17.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 LBP 13.5M

$101 AED 371

49.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$304 LBP 27.2M

$2,380 AED 8,741

-87.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$223 LBP 20.0M

$1,506 AED 5,531

-85.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$792 LBP 70.9M

$4,437 AED 16.3K

-82.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$403 LBP 36.0M

$3,010 AED 11.1K

-86.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,360 LBP 121.7M

$7,121 AED 26.2K

-80.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$841 LBP 75.2M

$4,135 AED 15.2K

-79.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,005 LBP 89.9M

$3,391 AED 12.5K

-70.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

76.21%

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

Last update for Byblos: 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

Byblos

$223 22.1%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5% 575% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Byblos

$221 21.9%

Dubai

$293 10.2% 32.7% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Byblos

$211 20.9%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 30% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Byblos

$148 14.7%

Dubai

$396 13.8% 167% $248

Eating Out

Byblos

$138 * 13.7%

Dubai

$309 10.8% 124% $171

Sport & Entertainment

Byblos

$58 5.8%

Dubai

$131 4.6% 124% $72

Getting Around

Byblos

$8.8 * 0.9%

Dubai

$87 3% 889% $78

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $304 in Byblos and $2,380 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 237% 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: $43.00 in Byblos vs $81.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $221 vs $293 per month, with Byblos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇧 Byblos

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

08:26 8:26 AM

09:26 9:26 AM

1 h ahead of Byblos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,784

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1,000,000 LBP = 11.17 USD

1,000,000 LBP = 9.96 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to LBP – Lebanese Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇧 Lebanese Pound (ل.ل)

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 100,381 LBP (1,000,000 LBP = 9.96 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 LBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Byblos Dubai 2,130 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Byblos
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

Byblos vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Byblos is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 178% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 237% lower in Dubai. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $304 in Byblos versus $2,380 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $392 in Byblos versus $843 in Dubai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Byblos – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $81.0 in Dubai. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,026 in Byblos versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Byblos but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Byblos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Byblos is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Dubai, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Byblos 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 Byblos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 178% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.