Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Arusha

For one person, living is cheaper in Arusha: $549 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $28,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index
10

Cost of Living Index in Arusha
Learn more

Arusha Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Arusha

🇹🇿 Tanzania

$549

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Arusha

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

A single person spends $2,896 per month in Dubai vs $549 in Arusha, rent included.

Dubai $2,896
Arusha $549

A couple spends around $4,384 per month in Dubai vs $888 in Arusha, rent included.

Dubai $4,384
Arusha $888

A family of three spends $5,872 per month in Dubai vs $1,228 in Arusha, rent included.

Dubai $5,872
Arusha $1,228

Dubai costs about 428% more than Arusha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Dubai sits 115% above the global median, while Arusha is 59% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$3.33 TZS 8,723

280.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$27.39 TZS 71.7K

198.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$9.12 TZS 23.9K

2.41%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$1.70 TZS 4,443

246.47%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$0.92 TZS 2,421

83.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.32 TZS 851

143.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$1.01 TZS 2,653

1252.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$2.80 TZS 7,336

381.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$0.96 TZS 2,522

91.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$0.69 TZS 1,798

117.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$1.74 TZS 4,554

47.70%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$1.75 TZS 4,573

89.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$2.22 TZS 5,802

17.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$0.77 TZS 2,021

77.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$0.49 TZS 1,272

130.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.03 TZS 2,686

-1.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.85 TZS 2,229

-21.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$1.53 TZS 4,015

284.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$0.93 TZS 2,444

192.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$0.92 TZS 2,417

234.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$0.19 TZS 503

742.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$7.64 TZS 20.0K

4.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$1.24 TZS 3,259

-20.97%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

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

$249 AED 913

$28.61 TZS 74.9K

768.58%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$8.60 TZS 22.5K

532.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$46.62 TZS 122.1K

96.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$65.4 TZS 171.4K

58.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$4.69 TZS 12.3K

247.33%

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

$844 AED 3,098

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$7,710 TZS 20.2M

136.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$285 TZS 747.5K

738.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$234 TZS 611.7K

556.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$491 TZS 1.3M

835.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$525 TZS 1.4M

459.68%

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

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Arusha: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Arusha

$234 42.6% 84.8% $1.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Arusha

$84 15.3% 78.7% $311

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Arusha

$90 16.4% 70.5% $215

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Arusha

$66 * 12% 77.5% $226

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Arusha

- * 0% 100%

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Arusha

$75 13.6% 45% $61

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Arusha

$0.8 * 0.1% 99.1% $88

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 $285 in Arusha. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $82.0 in Dubai versus $27.00 in Arusha. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $292 vs $66.0 – making Arusha the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇹🇿 Arusha

🕒 Local time

19:36 7:36 PM

18:36 6:36 PM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

617,631

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Tanzanian Shilling TZS Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

10,000 TZS = 3.82 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TZS, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Tanzanian Shilling exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 2,619 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.82 USD). 1 EUR = 2,945 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Arusha 3,740 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Arusha

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 Arusha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,896 in Dubai, $549 in Arusha – roughly 428% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,344 per month in Dubai and $823 in Arusha. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $82.0 in Dubai and $27.00 in Arusha. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,896 in Dubai and $549 in Arusha. That's a gap of about 428%.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Arusha, where all-in costs run around $549, than in Dubai at $2,896. In Arusha it covers expenses comfortably, while in Dubai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Dubai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $549 in Arusha to $2,896 in Dubai. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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 Arusha. 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.