Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Al-Qusayr

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-Qusayr: $639 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $27,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Al-Qusayr
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Al-Qusayr Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Al-Qusayr

🇸🇾 Syria

$639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Al-Qusayr

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $639 in Al-Qusayr.

Dubai $2,896
Al-Qusayr $639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $1,012 in Al-Qusayr.

Dubai $4,384
Al-Qusayr $1,012

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $1,385 in Al-Qusayr.

Dubai $5,872
Al-Qusayr $1,385

Living in Dubai is roughly 353% more expensive than in Al-Qusayr, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, Al-Qusayr is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$9.84 SYP 1,196

28.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$42.27 SYP 5,137

93.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$7.12 SYP 866

31.18%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$3.64 SYP 442

61.81%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$2.22 SYP 269

-23.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.83 SYP 101

-6.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$1.96 SYP 238

596.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$3.96 SYP 481

240.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$1.10 SYP 134

67.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$0.41 SYP 49.91

265.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$1.50 SYP 183

71.33%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$1.61 SYP 196

106.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$3.94 SYP 478

219.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$5.66 SYP 688

70.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$13.54 SYP 1,646

-5.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$1.03 SYP 125

152.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.42 SYP 173

33.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$1.14 SYP 139

67.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$1.05 SYP 128

30.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$0.80 SYP 97.1

41.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$0.74 SYP 90.1

36.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$0.44 SYP 53.0

227.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.66 SYP 79.6

1.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$2.71 SYP 330

116.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$6.06 SYP 737

166.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$1.09 SYP 132

149.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$2.82 SYP 343

9.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$0.98 SYP 119

230.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$1.50 SYP 182

-52.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$7.60 SYP 924

4.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$3.58 SYP 435

-72.63%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$15.1K SYP 1.8M

80.80%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$19.0K SYP 2.3M

15.95%

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

$249 AED 913

$138 SYP 16.7K

80.33%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$9.90 SYP 1,203

449.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$45.56 SYP 5,536

100.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$5.61 SYP 682

190.37%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$65.6 SYP 7,973

1185.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$1,800 SYP 218.7K

914.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$28.15 SYP 3,420

137.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$39.64 SYP 4,817

46.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$60.5 SYP 7,356

68.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$58.8 SYP 7,139

68.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

14.25

-68.14%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Al-Qusayr: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Al-Qusayr

- * 0% 100%

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Al-Qusayr

$193 30.2% 51% $201

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Al-Qusayr

$174 27.2% 43.1% $132

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Al-Qusayr

$169 26.4% 42.2% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Al-Qusayr

$84 13.2% 42.6% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Al-Qusayr

$11 * 1.8% 91.7% $125

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Al-Qusayr

$8.5 * 1.3% 90.5% $81

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $82.0 in Dubai vs $42.00 in Al-Qusayr for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $169 per month, with Al-Qusayr cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇸🇾 Al-Qusayr

🕒 Local time

06:03 6:03 AM

05:03 5:03 AM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

29,818

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Syrian Pound SYP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD

1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SYP, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Syrian Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 122 SYP (1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 137 SYP (1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Al-Qusayr 2,070 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Al-Qusayr

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

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

Al-Qusayr is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 353% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $4,344 in Dubai and $959 in Al-Qusayr 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 73% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,896 per month in Dubai versus $639 in Al-Qusayr – a 353% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $639 in Al-Qusayr versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Al-Qusayr but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Al-Qusayr the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Al-Qusayr 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, Dubai and Al-Qusayr 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-Qusayr gentler on the wallet – expenses run 353% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.