Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Bergen

For one person, living costs are similar in Dubai and in Bergen: $2,854 and $2,844 a month, rent and utilities included.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Bergen
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Bergen Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Bergen

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,844

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Bergen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $2,844 in Bergen.

Dubai $2,854
Bergen $2,844

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $4,282 in Bergen.

Dubai $4,321
Bergen $4,282

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $5,719 in Bergen.

Dubai $5,788
Bergen $5,719

Monthly costs are close between Dubai and Bergen; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 113% above, Bergen 112% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$22.98 NOK 219

-43.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$135 NOK 1,292

-39.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$15.52 NOK 148

-39.95%

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$5.42 NOK 51.8

10.15%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$5.10 NOK 48.71

-68.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$4.47 NOK 42.65

-81.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

$12.57 NOK 120

8.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

$10.41 NOK 99.4

28.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$2.15 NOK 20.57

-15.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$3.78 NOK 36.13

-58.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$3.51 NOK 33.54

-29.06%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$6.41 NOK 61.3

-48.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$14.32 NOK 137

-11.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$17.21 NOK 164

-43.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$36.16 NOK 345

-63.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$4.12 NOK 39.38

-36.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$2.72 NOK 25.95

-29.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$3.61 NOK 34.44

-46.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$5.39 NOK 51.4

-74.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$2.52 NOK 24.02

-53.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$3.35 NOK 31.97

-69.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$2.86 NOK 27.34

-47.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$1.78 NOK 17.03

-65.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$17.10 NOK 163

-65.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

$17.97 NOK 172

-10.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

$3.59 NOK 34.31

-26.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

$4.21 NOK 40.20

-29.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$5.15 NOK 49.21

-68.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$86.4 NOK 825

-14.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$12.39 NOK 118

-74.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$1.84 NOK 17.61

-61.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$70.5 NOK 674

-88.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$2.35 NOK 22.42

-57.87%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$48.6K NOK 463.7K

-43.62%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$43.3K NOK 413.9K

-47.99%

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

$250 AED 920

$275 NOK 2,623

-8.82%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$32.93 NOK 314

64.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$82.9 NOK 791

10.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$45.61 NOK 436

116.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$41.77 NOK 399

2.01%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$18.87 NOK 180

-15.05%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$238 NOK 2,272

254.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$12.0K NOK 114.9K

51.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$107 NOK 1,022

-36.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$54.6 NOK 522

5.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$118 NOK 1,128

-14.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$162 NOK 1,545

-37.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$1,414 NOK 13.5K

68.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$1,083 NOK 10.3K

38.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$2,348 NOK 22.4K

88.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$1,696 NOK 16.2K

77.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$7,822 NOK 74.7K

-8.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$4,769 NOK 45.5K

-13.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$4,527 NOK 43.2K

-25.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

5.27

-13.85%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Bergen: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Bergen

$1.1K 38.3% 28.1% $422

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Bergen

$390 13.8% 1.5% $6

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Bergen

$417 14.8% 35.2% $109

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Bergen

$524 18.6% 79.1% $232

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Bergen

$199 7% 34.8% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Bergen

$83 3% 36.2% $47

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Bergen

$129 4.6% 48% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,380 in Dubai and $1,414 in Bergen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bergen pays 34% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $81.0 in Dubai vs $135 in Bergen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $524 per month, with Dubai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇳🇴 Bergen

🕒 Local time

14:05 2:05 PM

12:05 12:05 PM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

292,482

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

100 NOK = 10.47 USD

100 NOK = 9.34 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.55 NOK (1 NOK = 0.105 USD). 1 EUR = 10.7 NOK (100 NOK = 9.34 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Bergen 5,440 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Bergen

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 Bergen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

On paper, salaries run 34% lower in Bergen. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,380 in Dubai versus $1,414 in Bergen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $843 in Dubai versus $238 in Bergen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Bergen – a meal for two runs $135 versus $81.0 in Dubai. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,500. Bergen is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Bergen is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Dubai, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Dubai and Bergen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

It comes down to priorities – Bergen wins on affordability, Dubai on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.