Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Colombo

For one person, living is cheaper in Colombo: $811 a month against $2,889 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $24,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Colombo
Learn more

Colombo Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,889

/mo nomad

Colombo

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$811

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Colombo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,889 in Dubai versus $811 in Colombo.

Dubai $2,889
Colombo $811

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,444 in Dubai versus $1,298 in Colombo.

Dubai $4,444
Colombo $1,298

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,999 in Dubai versus $1,785 in Colombo.

Dubai $5,999
Colombo $1,785

Living in Dubai is roughly 256% more expensive than in Colombo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 114% above, Colombo is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.94 AED 47.54

$3.92 LKR 1,304

230.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.2 AED 306

$24.58 LKR 8,174

238.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.35 AED 34.32

$7.39 LKR 2,458

26.52%

Cappuccino

$5.88 AED 21.60

$2.44 LKR 813

140.98%

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

$1.57 AED 5.77

$0.67 LKR 222

134.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 AED 3.47

$0.25 LKR 83.0

276.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.44 AED 49.38

$2.14 LKR 710

528.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.57 AED 49.84

$3.03 LKR 1,006

347.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 AED 6.83

$1.58 LKR 525

17.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 AED 5.73

$0.53 LKR 176

194.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.64 AED 9.68

$0.81 LKR 270

225.93%

Eggs

$3.53 AED 12.96

$1.62 LKR 539

117.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.97 AED 47.62

$15.14 LKR 5,033

-14.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.94 AED 36.51

$5.12 LKR 1,701

94.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.92 AED 47.45

$7.66 LKR 2,546

68.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.36

$6.62 LKR 2,200

-61.48%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 AED 7.54

$0.88 LKR 292

132.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 AED 6.77

$4.15 LKR 1,381

-55.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 AED 5.64

$1.28 LKR 425

20.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.31

$1.04 LKR 347

12.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 AED 3.76

$0.82 LKR 271

24.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 AED 5.75

$1.21 LKR 404

29.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.46

$0.45 LKR 150

48.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 AED 23.17

$10.04 LKR 3,337

-37.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.16 AED 59.4

$13.69 LKR 4,553

18.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.58 AED 9.48

$1.93 LKR 643

33.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 AED 10.60

$2.97 LKR 987

-2.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 AED 5.15

$0.18 LKR 58.8

677.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.4 AED 303

$8.15 LKR 2,708

911.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.29 AED 12.07

$0.37 LKR 123

789.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 AED 2.40

$0.34 LKR 111

91.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 AED 29.84

$0.89 LKR 296

813.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 AED 3.68

$1.32 LKR 439

-24.24%

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

$26.3K AED 96.6K

$43.6K LKR 14.5M

-39.62%

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

$22.0K AED 81.0K

$45.1K LKR 15.0M

-51.11%

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

$239 AED 877

$57.7 LKR 19.2K

314.11%

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

$56.9 AED 209

$4.28 LKR 1,424

1228.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$93.9 AED 345

$20.66 LKR 6,870

354.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$90.8 AED 334

$20.37 LKR 6,773

345.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.38 AED 170

$6.14 LKR 2,042

655.37%

Cinema Ticket

$16.24 AED 59.6

$4.63 LKR 1,541

250.76%

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

$934 AED 3,429

$40.83 LKR 13.6K

2186.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.9K AED 76.8K

$17.2K LKR 5.7M

21.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.7 AED 260

$18.12 LKR 6,025

290.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.3 AED 225

$17.34 LKR 5,766

253.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 AED 377

$77.6 LKR 25.8K

32.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 AED 426

$41.29 LKR 13.7K

181.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,487 AED 9,134

$565 LKR 187.8K

340.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,520 AED 5,581

$271 LKR 90.1K

460.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,234 AED 19.2K

$1,691 LKR 562.2K

209.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,028 AED 11.1K

$574 LKR 191.0K

427.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,982 AED 25.6K

$3,735 LKR 1.2M

86.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,433 AED 16.3K

$1,158 LKR 385.1K

282.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,553 AED 13.0K

$248 LKR 82.6K

1330.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.57

12.5

-63.44%

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

Last update for Dubai: November 2, 2026

Last update for Colombo: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.6%

Colombo

$271 33.4% 82.2% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$390 13.5%

Colombo

$83 10.2% 78.8% $307

Eating Out

Dubai

$307 10.6%

Colombo

$103 12.7% 66.3% $203

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$297 10.3%

Colombo

$244 30.1% 17.8% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$158 5.5%

Colombo

$69 8.6% 56% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$123 4.3%

Colombo

$30 3.7% 76% $94

Getting Around

Dubai

$95 3.3%

Colombo

$11 1.3% 88.5% $84

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,487 in Dubai and $565 in Colombo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays about 14 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $83 in Dubai vs $25 in Colombo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $244 per month, with Colombo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇱🇰 Colombo

🕒 Local time

01:35 1:35 AM

03:05 3:05 AM

1 h 30 min ahead of Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

753,000

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 373 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Colombo 3,310 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Colombo

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 Colombo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Colombo wins on cost – living expenses run 72% lower than in Dubai. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Colombo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Dubai is about 14 times higher, 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: $2,487 in Dubai versus $565 in Colombo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Colombo – a meal for two runs $25 versus $83 in Dubai. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Colombo is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Colombo delivers better value at $811 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Colombo hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Colombo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 72% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.