Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Bursa

For one person, living is cheaper in Bursa: $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
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Dubai Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Bursa
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Bursa Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Bursa

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,072

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Bursa

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

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

Dubai $2,896
Bursa $1,072

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $1,689 in Bursa.

Dubai $4,384
Bursa $1,689

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $2,305 in Bursa.

Dubai $5,872
Bursa $2,305

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$9.88 ₺489

28.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$30.06 ₺1,488

171.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$7.76 ₺384

20.36%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$3.76 ₺186

56.65%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$1.09 ₺54.1

55.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.39 ₺19.24

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$2.39 ₺118

471.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$3.05 ₺151

342.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$1.03 ₺51.2

78.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$0.82 ₺40.38

82.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$2.22 ₺110

15.77%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$2.42 ₺120

37.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$10.51 ₺521

19.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$5.03 ₺249

92.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$19.75 ₺978

-35.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$1.71 ₺84.9

52.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.99 ₺98.4

-4.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$1.11 ₺55.0

72.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$1.27 ₺62.7

7.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$0.57 ₺28.17

98.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$0.40 ₺19.75

152.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$0.77 ₺38.02

87.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.68 ₺33.65

-1.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$2.12 ₺105

177.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$14.38 ₺712

12.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$2.09 ₺103

30.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$2.19 ₺108

40.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$1.08 ₺53.6

48.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

$34.85 ₺1,726

117.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$1.03 ₺50.8

214.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$0.89 ₺44.08

-20.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$6.91 ₺342

15.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$1.41 ₺69.8

-30.50%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$42.1K ₺2.1M

-34.96%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$41.0K ₺2.0M

-46.33%

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

$249 AED 913

$77.7 ₺3,845

219.94%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$11.00 ₺545

394.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$14.66 ₺726

523.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$61.0 ₺3,019

69.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

$23.61 ₺1,169

79.25%

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$6.00 ₺297

171.50%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$561 ₺27.8K

50.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$11.3K ₺557.2K

62.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$44.77 ₺2,216

49.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$35.37 ₺1,751

63.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$81.2 ₺4,019

25.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$94.6 ₺4,683

4.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$404 ₺20.0K

492.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$323 ₺16.0K

374.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$748 ₺37.0K

514.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$625 ₺30.9K

370.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$1,194 ₺59.1K

490.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$1,218 ₺60.3K

246.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$1,050 ₺52.0K

229.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

42.67

-89.36%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Bursa: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Bursa

$323 30.1% 78.9% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Bursa

$103 9.6% 73.8% $291

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Bursa

$171 16% 43.8% $134

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Bursa

$242 22.5% 17.2% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Bursa

$115 10.7% 21.4% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Bursa

$73 6.8% 46.3% $63

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Bursa

$45 4.2% 49.9% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,393 in Dubai and $404 in Bursa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 230% 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 $30.00 in Bursa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $242 per month, with Bursa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇹🇷 Bursa

🕒 Local time

19:54 7:54 PM

18:54 6:54 PM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

3,238,618

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

100 TRY = 2.02 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, 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).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 49.51 TRY (100 TRY = 2.02 USD). 1 EUR = 55.66 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Bursa 2,950 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Bursa

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 Bursa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bursa is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 170% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 230% 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 $404 in Bursa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Bursa – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $82.0 in Dubai. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,072 in Bursa versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bursa but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Bursa the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Bursa 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 Bursa 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 Bursa 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.