Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Aqaba

For one person, living is cheaper in Aqaba: $907 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $23,900 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Aqaba
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Aqaba Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Aqaba

🇯🇴 Jordan

$907

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Aqaba

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

A single person spends $2,896 per month in Dubai vs $907 in Aqaba, rent included.

Dubai $2,896
Aqaba $907

A couple spends around $4,384 per month in Dubai vs $1,490 in Aqaba, rent included.

Dubai $4,384
Aqaba $1,490

A family of three spends $5,872 per month in Dubai vs $2,073 in Aqaba, rent included.

Dubai $5,872
Aqaba $2,073

Dubai costs about 219% more than Aqaba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Dubai sits 115% above the global median, while Aqaba is 33% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$2.78 JOD 1.97

355.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$69.4 JOD 49.11

17.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$4.32 JOD 3.06

116.20%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$4.39 JOD 3.11

34.17%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$0.60 JOD 0.43

181.67%

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

$8.25 JOD 5.84

65.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$10.75 JOD 7.61

25.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$1.43 JOD 1.01

28.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$0.51 JOD 0.36

194.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$1.59 JOD 1.12

61.64%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$1.72 JOD 1.22

93.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$5.55 JOD 3.93

127.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$4.32 JOD 3.06

123.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$10.00 JOD 7.08

27.80%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$1.44 JOD 1.02

80.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.40 JOD 0.99

35.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$1.07 JOD 0.76

78.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$0.69 JOD 0.49

98.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$0.68 JOD 0.48

66.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$0.72 JOD 0.51

40.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$0.60 JOD 0.42

140.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.53 JOD 0.38

26.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$3.77 JOD 2.67

55.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$17.23 JOD 12.20

-6.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$2.78 JOD 1.97

-2.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$2.53 JOD 1.79

21.74%

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

$0.50 JOD 0.36

548.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$1.38 JOD 0.98

-48.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$7.14 JOD 5.06

11.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$1.44 JOD 1.02

-31.94%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$30.8K JOD 21.8K

-10.96%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$31.6K JOD 22.3K

-30.19%

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

$249 AED 913

$127 JOD 90.0

95.48%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$15.73 JOD 11.14

246.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$31.46 JOD 22.27

190.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$64.1 JOD 45.41

61.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$11.10 JOD 7.86

46.76%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$486 JOD 344

73.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$2,863 JOD 2,027

537.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$27.70 JOD 19.61

141.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$42.79 JOD 30.29

35.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$42.82 JOD 30.32

138.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$70.0 JOD 49.53

41.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$277 JOD 196

762.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$211 JOD 149

626.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$669 JOD 474

586.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$459 JOD 325

540.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$1,109 JOD 785

535.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$572 JOD 405

638.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$553 JOD 391

525.90%

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 Aqaba: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Aqaba

$211 23.3% 86.2% $1.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Aqaba

$174 19.2% 55.8% $220

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Aqaba

$155 17.1% 49.1% $150

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Aqaba

$190 20.9% 34.9% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Aqaba

$82 9.1% 43.7% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Aqaba

$86 9.5% 36.5% $50

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Aqaba

$7.4 * 0.8% 91.7% $82

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,393 in Dubai versus $277 in Aqaba. 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 526% 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 $69.0 in Aqaba. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $292 vs $190 – making Aqaba the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇯🇴 Aqaba

🕒 Local time

10:40 10:40 AM

09:40 9:40 AM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

140,000

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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 Aqaba 2,050 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Aqaba

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 Aqaba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Dubai is pricier by about 219%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,344 per month in Dubai and $1,360 in Aqaba. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,896 in Dubai and $907 in Aqaba. That's a gap of about 219%.

Kindergarten costs $844 per month in Dubai and $486 in Aqaba. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Aqaba, where all-in costs run around $907, than in Dubai at $2,896. In Aqaba it covers expenses comfortably, while in Dubai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Aqaba – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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 Aqaba. 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.