Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Benoni

For one person, living is cheaper in Benoni: $1,072 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $21,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Benoni
Learn more

Benoni Living Index

Jump to prices

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Benoni

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,072

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Benoni

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $1,072 in Benoni.

Dubai $2,896
Benoni $1,072

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $1,331 in Benoni.

Dubai $4,384
Benoni $1,331

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $1,589 in Benoni.

Dubai $5,872
Benoni $1,589

Living in Dubai is roughly 170% more expensive than in Benoni, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, Benoni is 21% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$10.19 R 168

24.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$37.46 R 617

118.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$5.86 R 96.5

59.39%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$2.22 R 36.61

165.32%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$1.19 R 19.64

42.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.85 R 14.00

-8.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$2.33 R 38.33

486.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$2.74 R 45.15

392.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$1.22 R 20.16

50.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$1.13 R 18.65

32.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$1.72 R 28.33

49.42%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$2.46 R 40.48

34.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$8.31 R 137

51.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$4.86 R 80.1

98.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$7.12 R 117

79.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$1.73 R 28.55

50.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.63 R 26.81

16.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$1.80 R 29.58

6.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$1.56 R 25.70

-12.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$1.12 R 18.39

0.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.22 R 20.10

-17.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$1.23 R 20.29

17.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$1.27 R 20.97

-47.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$3.37 R 55.5

74.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$5.09 R 83.8

217.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$1.51 R 24.94

80.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$1.95 R 32.14

57.95%

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

$0.29 R 4.72

1017.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$0.89 R 14.67

-20.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$14.73 R 243

-45.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$1.54 R 25.41

-36.36%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$35.1K R 578.8K

-22.04%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$32.5K R 534.9K

-32.15%

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

$249 AED 913

$203 R 3,342

22.50%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$38.42 R 633

41.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$36.63 R 604

149.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$18.06 R 297

472.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$7.10 R 117

129.44%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$246 R 4,051

243.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$5,577 R 91.9K

227.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$53.5 R 882

25.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$32.40 R 534

78.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$91.9 R 1,515

11.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$84.8 R 1,397

16.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$398 R 6,557

501.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$296 R 4,881

417.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$487 R 8,029

842.68%

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

$2,041 R 33.6K

69.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

10.91

-58.39%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Benoni: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Benoni

$296 27.6% 80.7% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Benoni

$278 25.9% 29.5% $117

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Benoni

$151 14.1% 50.5% $154

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Benoni

$192 17.9% 34.2% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Benoni

$118 11% 19.4% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Benoni

$32 3% 76.3% $104

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Benoni

$4.7 * 0.4% 94.7% $84

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 $2,393 in Dubai and $398 in Benoni. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 70% 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 $37.00 in Benoni for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $192 per month, with Benoni cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇿🇦 Benoni

🕒 Local time

11:40 11:40 AM

09:40 9:40 AM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

158,777

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, 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).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Benoni 6,390 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Benoni

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 Benoni: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dubai and Benoni differ by about 170% in total monthly costs ($2,896 vs $1,072 including rent). Benoni is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 70% 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: $2,393 in Dubai versus $398 in Benoni. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 52% 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 $1,072 in Benoni – a 170% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,072 in Benoni versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Benoni but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Benoni 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 Benoni 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 Benoni gentler on the wallet – expenses run 170% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.