Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Arkhangelsk

For one person, living is cheaper in Arkhangelsk: $1,168 a month against $2,883 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $20,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Arkhangelsk
Learn more

Arkhangelsk Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,883

/mo nomad

Arkhangelsk

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,168

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Arkhangelsk

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,883 in Dubai versus $1,168 in Arkhangelsk.

Dubai $2,883
Arkhangelsk $1,168

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,403 in Dubai versus $1,801 in Arkhangelsk.

Dubai $4,403
Arkhangelsk $1,801

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,923 in Dubai versus $2,434 in Arkhangelsk.

Dubai $5,923
Arkhangelsk $2,434

Living in Dubai is roughly 147% more expensive than in Arkhangelsk, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 113% above, Arkhangelsk is 14% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.99 AED 47.72

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.9 AED 301

$49.21 ₽4,107

66.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.64 AED 35.40

$9.90 ₽826

-2.63%

Cappuccino

$6.09 AED 22.38

$3.67 ₽306

65.94%

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

$1.61 AED 5.93

$2.36 ₽197

-31.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 AED 2.76

$2.41 ₽201

-68.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.79 AED 50.6

$3.65 ₽304

277.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.41 AED 49.25

$6.03 ₽503

122.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 AED 6.83

$1.07 ₽88.9

73.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 AED 5.62

$0.94 ₽78.2

62.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.38

$1.78 ₽148

43.26%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.06

$1.76 ₽147

86.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.14 AED 44.57

$8.36 ₽698

45.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.15 AED 33.62

$6.12 ₽511

49.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 AED 47.00

$13.38 ₽1,116

-4.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.56 AED 9.39

$2.45 ₽204

4.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.03

$1.79 ₽149

6.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 AED 6.69

$1.18 ₽98.3

54.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 AED 5.26

$2.49 ₽208

-42.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 AED 4.04

$0.88 ₽73.2

25.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 AED 3.40

$0.50 ₽41.38

84.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 AED 5.58

$0.47 ₽38.99

223.40%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 AED 2.54

$0.63 ₽52.5

9.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 AED 23.55

$2.98 ₽249

115.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.52 AED 60.7

$8.53 ₽712

93.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 AED 9.41

$0.89 ₽74.4

187.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$3.09 ₽258

-0.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.58 AED 5.82

$0.59 ₽49.65

167.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.9 AED 279

$51.6 ₽4,307

47.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.19 AED 11.72

$4.97 ₽414

-35.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.62

$0.18 ₽15.17

294.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.21 AED 30.13

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.01 AED 3.73

$0.79 ₽65.7

27.85%

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

$26.1K AED 96.0K

$52.5K ₽4.4M

-50.24%

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

$21.8K AED 80.2K

$40.1K ₽3.3M

-45.48%

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

$245 AED 900

$114 ₽9,507

115.13%

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

$57.5 AED 211

$9.53 ₽796

503.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.3 AED 335

$17.79 ₽1,485

412.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$105 AED 385

$54.6 ₽4,557

91.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.58 AED 171

$48.61 ₽4,057

-4.18%

Cinema Ticket

$16.04 AED 58.9

$9.73 ₽812

64.85%

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

$873 AED 3,206

$183 ₽15.2K

378.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.0K AED 66.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 AED 260

$85.4 ₽7,127

-17.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.3 AED 229

$36.31 ₽3,030

71.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 AED 390

$72.6 ₽6,059

46.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 AED 376

$95.5 ₽7,968

7.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,454 AED 9,014

$600 ₽50.1K

309.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,510 AED 5,545

$428 ₽35.7K

252.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,640 AED 17.0K

$846 ₽70.6K

448.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,961 AED 10.9K

$719 ₽60.0K

312.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,219 AED 26.5K

$1,367 ₽114.1K

428.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,232 AED 15.5K

$859 ₽71.7K

392.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,584 AED 13.2K

$554 ₽46.3K

546.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

-80.26%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 18, 2026

Last update for Arkhangelsk: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.4%

Arkhangelsk

$428 36.7% 71.6% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.7%

Arkhangelsk

$141 12.1% 64.1% $253

Eating Out

Dubai

$311 10.8%

Arkhangelsk

$123 * 10.5% 60.4% $188

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$288 10%

Arkhangelsk

$211 18.1% 26.8% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$154 5.3%

Arkhangelsk

$130 11.2% 15.2% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$137 4.8%

Arkhangelsk

$74 6.3% 45.9% $63

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Arkhangelsk

$60 5.1% 32.8% $29

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 $2,454 in Dubai and $600 in Arkhangelsk. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 547% 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: $82.0 in Dubai vs $49.00 in Arkhangelsk for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $211 per month, with Arkhangelsk cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇷🇺 Arkhangelsk

🕒 Local time

20:06 8:06 PM

19:06 7:06 PM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

344,927

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

100 RUB = 1.2 USD

100 RUB = 1.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RUB, 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).

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 83.46 RUB (100 RUB = 1.2 USD). 1 EUR = 93.83 RUB (100 RUB = 1.07 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Arkhangelsk 4,510 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Arkhangelsk

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 Arkhangelsk: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dubai and Arkhangelsk differ by about 147% in total monthly costs ($2,883 vs $1,168 including rent). Arkhangelsk is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 547% higher in Dubai, 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: $2,454 in Dubai versus $600 in Arkhangelsk. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,883 per month in Dubai versus $1,168 in Arkhangelsk – a 147% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Arkhangelsk runs roughly 47% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,168 in Arkhangelsk versus $2,883 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Arkhangelsk but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Arkhangelsk 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, Dubai and Arkhangelsk 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 Arkhangelsk gentler on the wallet – expenses run 147% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.