Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Constanta

For one person, living is cheaper in Constanta: $1,264 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $19,100 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
62

Cost of Living Index in Constanta
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Constanta Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Constanta

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,264

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Constanta

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $1,264 in Constanta.

Dubai $2,854
Constanta $1,264

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $1,906 in Constanta.

Dubai $4,321
Constanta $1,906

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $2,547 in Constanta.

Dubai $5,788
Constanta $2,547

Living in Dubai is roughly 126% more expensive than in Constanta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 113% above, Constanta is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$12.73 RON 60.2

2.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$63.7 RON 301

27.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$7.48 RON 35.36

24.60%

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$3.16 RON 14.96

88.92%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$1.78 RON 8.40

-8.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$1.27 RON 6.01

-36.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

$2.17 RON 10.28

529.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

$3.24 RON 15.34

312.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$1.65 RON 7.83

9.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$1.22 RON 5.78

28.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$1.69 RON 8.01

47.34%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$2.89 RON 13.68

13.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$8.75 RON 41.38

44.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$5.50 RON 25.99

77.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$9.01 RON 42.62

46.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$1.29 RON 6.11

102.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$1.58 RON 7.48

22.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$1.57 RON 7.42

22.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$2.70 RON 12.75

-49.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$0.92 RON 4.34

27.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$0.95 RON 4.48

6.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$0.99 RON 4.70

52.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$0.88 RON 4.16

-29.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$6.41 RON 30.31

-8.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

$6.47 RON 30.59

149.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

$1.05 RON 4.97

152.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

$1.70 RON 8.04

73.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$0.61 RON 2.89

168.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$16.98 RON 80.3

333.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$0.80 RON 3.78

296.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$0.80 RON 3.80

-11.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$7.39 RON 34.97

7.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$1.94 RON 9.15

-48.97%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$28.3K RON 133.8K

-3.23%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$24.4K RON 115.6K

-7.76%

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

$250 AED 920

$167 RON 792

49.55%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$7.64 RON 36.14

609.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$7.66 RON 36.24

1098.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$54.3 RON 257

81.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$13.60 RON 64.3

213.31%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$7.01 RON 33.17

128.67%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$564 RON 2,667

49.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$7,583 RON 35.9K

140.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$65.7 RON 311

3.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$45.90 RON 217

26.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$87.8 RON 415

14.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$87.3 RON 413

15.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$590 RON 2,788

303.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$467 RON 2,209

222.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$1,067 RON 5,049

315.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$743 RON 3,514

305.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$2,522 RON 11.9K

182.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$2,034 RON 9,622

103.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$962 RON 4,548

252.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

6.99

-35.05%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Constanta: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Constanta

$467 36.9% 69% $1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Constanta

$183 14.4% 53.9% $214

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Constanta

$192 15.1% 37.9% $117

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Constanta

$204 16.1% 30.2% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Constanta

$129 10.2% 12.5% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Constanta

$68 5.4% 47.7% $62

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Constanta

$24 1.9% 72.1% $63

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,380 in Dubai and $590 in Constanta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 253% 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 $64.0 in Constanta for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $204 per month, with Constanta cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇷🇴 Constanta

🕒 Local time

11:00 11:00 AM

10:00 10:00 AM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

283,872

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, 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).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Constanta 3,200 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Constanta

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 Constanta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Constanta is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 126% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 253% 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 $590 in Constanta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Constanta – a meal for two runs $64.0 versus $81.0 in Dubai. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,854 per month in Dubai versus $1,264 in Constanta – a 126% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,264 in Constanta versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Constanta but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Constanta the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Constanta 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 Constanta 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 Constanta gentler on the wallet – expenses run 126% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.