Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Deva

For one person, living is cheaper in Deva: $862 a month against $2,883 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $24,300 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Deva
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Deva Living Index

Jump to prices

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,883

/mo nomad

Deva

🇷🇴 Romania

$862

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Deva

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

A single person spends $2,883 per month in Dubai vs $862 in Deva, rent included.

Dubai $2,883
Deva $862

A couple spends around $4,403 per month in Dubai vs $1,338 in Deva, rent included.

Dubai $4,403
Deva $1,338

A family of three spends $5,923 per month in Dubai vs $1,814 in Deva, rent included.

Dubai $5,923
Deva $1,814

Dubai costs about 234% more than Deva, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Dubai sits 113% above the global median, while Deva is 36% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.99 AED 47.72

$6.81 RON 32.20

90.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.9 AED 301

$21.08 RON 99.7

288.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.64 AED 35.40

$7.28 RON 34.46

32.42%

Cappuccino

$6.09 AED 22.38

$1.71 RON 8.10

256.14%

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

$1.61 AED 5.93

$2.09 RON 9.89

-22.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 AED 2.76

$1.20 RON 5.68

-37.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.79 AED 50.6

$1.29 RON 6.13

968.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.41 AED 49.25

$2.09 RON 9.90

541.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 AED 6.83

$1.56 RON 7.39

19.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 AED 5.62

$1.27 RON 6.03

20.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.38

$1.10 RON 5.21

131.82%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.06

$3.18 RON 15.03

3.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.14 AED 44.57

$7.80 RON 36.91

55.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.15 AED 33.62

$5.29 RON 25.05

72.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 AED 47.00

$8.12 RON 38.42

57.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.56 AED 9.39

$1.37 RON 6.49

86.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.03

$1.38 RON 6.52

38.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 AED 6.69

$1.53 RON 7.23

18.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 AED 5.26

$2.12 RON 10.05

-32.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 AED 4.04

$0.71 RON 3.37

54.93%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 AED 3.40

$0.96 RON 4.54

-4.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 AED 5.58

$0.85 RON 4.04

78.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 AED 2.54

$0.86 RON 4.05

-19.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 AED 23.55

$5.34 RON 25.26

20.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.52 AED 60.7

$7.39 RON 34.98

123.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 AED 9.41

$1.07 RON 5.06

139.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$1.75 RON 8.28

76.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.58 AED 5.82

$0.57 RON 2.67

177.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.9 AED 279

$32.18 RON 152

135.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.19 AED 11.72

$0.79 RON 3.74

303.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.62

$0.66 RON 3.12

7.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.21 AED 30.13

$8.58 RON 40.59

-4.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.01 AED 3.73

$1.62 RON 7.68

-37.65%

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

$26.1K AED 96.0K

$28.8K RON 136.1K

-9.11%

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

$21.8K AED 80.2K

$24.7K RON 116.8K

-11.53%

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

$245 AED 900

$133 RON 631

83.61%

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

$57.5 AED 211

$8.71 RON 41.23

560.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.3 AED 335

$9.54 RON 45.15

856.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$105 AED 385

$39.18 RON 185

167.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.58 AED 171

$53.0 RON 251

-12.15%

Cinema Ticket

$16.04 AED 58.9

$6.28 RON 29.70

155.41%

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

$873 AED 3,206

$577 RON 2,731

51.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.0K AED 66.2K

$9,789 RON 46.3K

84.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 AED 260

$69.0 RON 326

2.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.3 AED 229

$44.86 RON 212

38.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 AED 390

$84.9 RON 402

24.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 AED 376

$74.1 RON 351

38.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,454 AED 9,014

$237 RON 1,122

935.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,510 AED 5,545

$184 RON 871

720.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,640 AED 17.0K

$400 RON 1,892

1060.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,961 AED 10.9K

$353 RON 1,672

737.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,219 AED 26.5K

$4,841 RON 22.9K

49.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,232 AED 15.5K

$3,476 RON 16.4K

21.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,584 AED 13.2K

$1,154 RON 5,458

210.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

6.65

-31.73%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 18, 2026

Last update for Deva: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.4%

Deva

$184 21.3% 87.8% $1.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.7%

Deva

$152 17.6% 61.5% $242

Eating Out

Dubai

$311 10.8%

Deva

$121 14% 61.2% $191

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$288 10%

Deva

$193 22.4% 33% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$154 5.3%

Deva

$123 14.2% 20.1% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$137 4.8%

Deva

$52 6% 62.2% $85

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Deva

$39 4.5% 56.7% $51

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,454 in Dubai versus $237 in Deva. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 211% higher in Dubai, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $82.0 in Dubai versus $21.00 in Deva. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $288 vs $193 – making Deva the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇷🇴 Deva

🕒 Local time

16:23 4:23 PM

15:23 3:23 PM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

61,123

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Deva 3,690 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Deva

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 Deva: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,883 in Dubai, $862 in Deva – roughly 234% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,324 per month in Dubai and $1,294 in Deva. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Deva, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 49% more in Dubai, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $82.0 in Dubai and $21.00 in Deva. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Deva, where all-in costs run around $862, than in Dubai at $2,883. In Deva it covers expenses comfortably, while in Dubai it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Dubai has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $862 in Deva to $2,883 in Dubai. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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 Deva. 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.