Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Byblos

For one person, living is cheaper in Byblos: $1,026 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $21,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Byblos
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Byblos Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Byblos

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$1,026

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Byblos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $1,026 in Byblos.

Dubai $2,854
Byblos $1,026

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $1,629 in Byblos.

Dubai $4,321
Byblos $1,629

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $2,231 in Byblos.

Dubai $5,788
Byblos $2,231

Living in Dubai is roughly 178% more expensive than in Byblos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 113% above, Byblos is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$9.17 LBP 820.3K

42.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$42.55 LBP 3.8M

91.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$7.19 LBP 643.6K

29.62%

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$2.94 LBP 262.9K

103.06%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$0.98 LBP 88.0K

66.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$1.01 LBP 90.5K

-19.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$1.26 LBP 113.2K

43.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$0.66 LBP 59.4K

137.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$1.54 LBP 137.9K

61.69%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$2.15 LBP 192.3K

52.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$9.16 LBP 820.2K

38.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$8.09 LBP 724.5K

20.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$12.19 LBP 1.1M

8.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$3.03 LBP 271.0K

-13.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$1.95 LBP 174.7K

-1.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$1.01 LBP 90.6K

90.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$2.06 LBP 184.1K

-33.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$0.98 LBP 88.0K

19.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$0.98 LBP 87.3K

3.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$1.03 LBP 91.9K

46.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$1.02 LBP 90.9K

-39.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

$3.98 LBP 356.3K

305.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

$1.53 LBP 137.2K

73.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

$1.98 LBP 177.4K

48.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$0.97 LBP 87.2K

69.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$0.98 LBP 87.5K

-27.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$0.93 LBP 82.8K

6.45%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$22.2K LBP 2.0B

23.23%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$22.6K LBP 2.0B

-0.13%

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

$250 AED 920

$101 LBP 9.0M

147.85%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$22.81 LBP 2.0M

137.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$24.64 LBP 2.2M

272.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$37.96 LBP 3.4M

159.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$40.26 LBP 3.6M

5.84%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$10.17 LBP 910.4K

57.62%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$392 LBP 35.1M

115.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$3,053 LBP 273.2M

498.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$98.2 LBP 8.8M

-30.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$101 LBP 9.0M

-42.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$118 LBP 10.6M

-14.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$151 LBP 13.5M

-33.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$304 LBP 27.2M

682.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$223 LBP 20.0M

574.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$792 LBP 70.9M

460.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$403 LBP 36.0M

647.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$1,360 LBP 121.7M

423.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$841 LBP 75.2M

391.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$1,005 LBP 89.9M

237.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

-43.25%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Byblos: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Byblos

$223 22.1% 85.2% $1.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Byblos

$148 14.7% 62.5% $248

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Byblos

$138 * 13.7% 55.3% $171

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Byblos

$221 21.9% 24.7% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Byblos

$211 20.9% 42.9% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Byblos

$58 5.8% 55.4% $72

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Byblos

$8.8 * 0.9% 89.9% $78

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 $2,380 in Dubai and $304 in Byblos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 237% 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: $81.0 in Dubai vs $43.00 in Byblos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $221 per month, with Byblos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇱🇧 Byblos

🕒 Local time

08:03 8:03 AM

07:03 7:03 AM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

20,784

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

1,000,000 LBP = 11.17 USD

1,000,000 LBP = 9.96 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LBP, 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).

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 100,381 LBP (1,000,000 LBP = 9.96 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Byblos 2,130 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Byblos

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 Byblos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Byblos is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. The 178% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 237% 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: $2,380 in Dubai versus $304 in Byblos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $843 in Dubai versus $392 in Byblos. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Byblos – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $81.0 in Dubai. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,026 in Byblos versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Byblos but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Byblos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Byblos 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 Byblos 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 Byblos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 178% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.