Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Amman

For one person, living is cheaper in Amman: $1,179 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $20,600 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Amman
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Amman Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Amman

🇯🇴 Jordan

$1,179

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Amman

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 Amman actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,896 per month in Dubai vs $1,179 in Amman, rent included.

Dubai $2,896
Amman $1,179

A couple spends around $4,384 per month in Dubai vs $1,877 in Amman, rent included.

Dubai $4,384
Amman $1,877

A family of three spends $5,872 per month in Dubai vs $2,575 in Amman, rent included.

Dubai $5,872
Amman $2,575

Dubai costs about 146% more than Amman, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Dubai sits 115% above the global median, while Amman is 13% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$7.14 JOD 5.05

77.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$69.6 JOD 49.25

17.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$6.86 JOD 4.86

36.15%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$4.37 JOD 3.09

34.78%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$0.61 JOD 0.43

177.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.60 JOD 0.42

30.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$8.32 JOD 5.89

64.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$11.05 JOD 7.83

22.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$1.66 JOD 1.17

10.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$0.68 JOD 0.48

120.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$1.57 JOD 1.11

63.69%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$2.32 JOD 1.64

43.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$9.50 JOD 6.73

32.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$6.39 JOD 4.52

51.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$12.41 JOD 8.79

2.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$2.54 JOD 1.80

2.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.99 JOD 1.41

-4.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$1.78 JOD 1.26

7.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$0.84 JOD 0.59

63.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$0.95 JOD 0.67

18.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$0.82 JOD 0.58

23.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$0.64 JOD 0.45

125.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.70 JOD 0.50

-4.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$3.85 JOD 2.73

52.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$21.04 JOD 14.90

-23.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$5.04 JOD 3.57

-46.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$4.95 JOD 3.50

-37.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$0.75 JOD 0.53

113.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

$42.28 JOD 29.94

79.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$0.64 JOD 0.45

406.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$1.39 JOD 0.99

-48.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$6.85 JOD 4.85

16.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$1.69 JOD 1.20

-42.01%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$36.0K JOD 25.5K

-23.83%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$35.3K JOD 25.0K

-37.55%

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

$249 AED 913

$129 JOD 91.0

93.36%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$15.71 JOD 11.12

246.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$32.12 JOD 22.74

184.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$52.2 JOD 36.96

98.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

$35.02 JOD 24.80

20.85%

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$11.21 JOD 7.94

45.32%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$493 JOD 349

71.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$9,733 JOD 6,891

87.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$64.4 JOD 45.62

3.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$83.9 JOD 59.4

-30.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$126 JOD 89.5

-19.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$86.1 JOD 60.9

14.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$469 JOD 332

410.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$249 JOD 176

516.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$775 JOD 549

492.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$421 JOD 298

597.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$1,642 JOD 1,163

329.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$1,008 JOD 714

318.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$756 JOD 535

357.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

6.81

-33.33%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Amman: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Amman

$249 21.1% 83.8% $1.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Amman

$176 15% 55.3% $218

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Amman

$199 16.9% 34.9% $107

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Amman

$265 22.5% 9.1% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Amman

$162 13.8% 10.8% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Amman

$75 6.3% 45.1% $61

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Amman

$53 4.5% 40.6% $36

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,393 in Dubai versus $469 in Amman. 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 358% 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 $82.0 in Dubai versus $70.0 in Amman. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $292 vs $265 – making Amman the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇯🇴 Amman

🕒 Local time

12:32 12:32 PM

11:32 11:32 AM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

4,000,000 Capital

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Jordanian Dinar JOD د.ا

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1 JOD = 1.41 USD

1 JOD = 1.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JOD, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Jordanian Dinar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.708 JOD (1 JOD = 1.41 USD). 1 EUR = 0.796 JOD (1 JOD = 1.26 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Amman 2,030 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Amman

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 Amman: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dubai costs about 146% more than Amman, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,344 per month in Dubai and $1,768 in Amman. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 80% less in Amman. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $844 per month in Dubai and $493 in Amman. 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 Amman, where all-in costs run around $1,179, than in Dubai at $2,896. In Amman it covers expenses comfortably, while in Dubai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Amman costs $1,179 versus $2,896 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 Amman. 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.