Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Buriram

For one person, living is cheaper in Buriram: $901 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 Buriram
Learn more

Buriram Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Buriram

🇹🇭 Thailand

$901

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Buriram

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

A single person spends $2,896 per month in Dubai vs $901 in Buriram, rent included.

Dubai $2,896
Buriram $901

A couple spends around $4,384 per month in Dubai vs $1,531 in Buriram, rent included.

Dubai $4,384
Buriram $1,531

A family of three spends $5,872 per month in Dubai vs $2,162 in Buriram, rent included.

Dubai $5,872
Buriram $2,162

Dubai costs about 221% more than Buriram, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$1.45 ฿48.36

773.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$22.19 ฿742

268.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$8.52 ฿285

9.62%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$1.36 ฿45.50

333.09%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$0.44 ฿14.68

284.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.24 ฿7.98

225.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$1.82 ฿61.0

650.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$4.28 ฿143

215.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$1.48 ฿49.35

24.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$1.29 ฿43.09

16.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$1.34 ฿44.85

91.79%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$1.87 ฿62.4

77.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$18.13 ฿606

-30.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$2.77 ฿92.5

248.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$9.87 ฿330

29.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$2.71 ฿90.7

-4.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.21 ฿40.43

57.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$2.15 ฿71.9

-11.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$1.68 ฿56.3

-18.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$1.52 ฿50.7

-25.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.24 ฿41.43

-18.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$1.11 ฿37.02

29.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.50 ฿16.56

34.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$4.29 ฿143

37.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$17.10 ฿572

-5.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$1.51 ฿50.5

80.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$3.09 ฿103

-0.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$0.90 ฿30.13

77.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$1.45 ฿48.53

123.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$0.96 ฿31.97

-26.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$4.69 ฿157

69.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$1.32 ฿44.20

-25.76%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$28.2K ฿942.6K

-2.90%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$27.8K ฿929.3K

-20.77%

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

$249 AED 913

$79.7 ฿2,664

211.72%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$12.12 ฿405

349.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$20.19 ฿675

353.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$52.8 ฿1,765

95.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

$13.47 ฿450

214.18%

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$6.03 ฿201

170.15%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$552 ฿18.5K

52.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$12.0K ฿401.1K

52.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$50.9 ฿1,700

31.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$27.33 ฿913

112.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$75.8 ฿2,532

34.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$86.3 ฿2,882

14.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$448 ฿15.0K

434.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$291 ฿9,713

427.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$1,311 ฿43.8K

250.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$841 ฿28.1K

249.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$2,225 ฿74.4K

216.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$1,476 ฿49.3K

185.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

5.57

-18.49%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Buriram: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Buriram

$291 32.3% 81% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Buriram

$112 12.4% 71.6% $282

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Buriram

$74 8.2% 75.8% $231

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Buriram

$242 26.8% 17.2% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Buriram

$108 12% 26.3% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Buriram

$65 7.2% 52.3% $71

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Buriram

$9.8 * 1.1% 89% $79

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 $448 in Buriram. 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 $22.00 in Buriram. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $292 vs $242 – making Buriram the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇹🇭 Buriram

🕒 Local time

23:51 11:51 PM

02:51 2:51 AM

3 h ahead of Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

28,333

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, 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).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Buriram 5,100 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Buriram

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 Buriram: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Dubai is pricier by about 221%, 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 $1,351 in Buriram. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Buriram, 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 $901 in Buriram. That's a gap of about 221%.

Kindergarten costs $844 per month in Dubai and $552 in Buriram. 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 Buriram, where all-in costs run around $901, than in Dubai at $2,896. In Buriram it covers expenses comfortably, while in Dubai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Buriram – 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 Buriram. 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.