Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Dukhan

For one person, living is cheaper in Dukhan: $1,683 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $14,600 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
81

Cost of Living Index in Dukhan
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Dukhan Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Dukhan

🇶🇦 Qatar

$1,683

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Dukhan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $1,683 in Dukhan.

Dubai $2,896
Dukhan $1,683

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $2,331 in Dukhan.

Dubai $4,384
Dukhan $2,331

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $2,979 in Dukhan.

Dubai $5,872
Dukhan $2,979

Living in Dubai is roughly 72% more expensive than in Dukhan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 115% above, Dukhan 25% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$9.55 QAR 34.75

32.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$69.7 QAR 254

17.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$8.09 QAR 29.43

15.45%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.07 QAR 43.94

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.42 QAR 48.86

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$5.93 QAR 21.57

-0.67%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$0.92 QAR 3.34

83.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.40 QAR 1.47

95.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$2.16 QAR 7.87

-14.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$1.42 QAR 5.17

5.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$1.94 QAR 7.04

32.47%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$3.38 QAR 12.32

-1.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$11.21 QAR 40.79

12.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$7.96 QAR 28.96

21.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$11.35 QAR 41.30

12.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$2.26 QAR 8.23

15.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.87 QAR 6.80

1.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$1.56 QAR 5.68

22.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$1.20 QAR 4.37

14.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$0.92 QAR 3.34

22.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$0.94 QAR 3.44

7.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$1.45 QAR 5.28

-0.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.52 QAR 1.89

28.85%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$9.45 QAR 34.40

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 QAR 6.99

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 QAR 8.08

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$6.51 QAR 23.68

-9.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$1.88 QAR 6.83

72.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$2.00 QAR 7.29

-64.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$13.63 QAR 49.63

-41.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$0.56 QAR 2.02

75.00%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$28.3K QAR 103.0K

-3.19%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$22.8K QAR 83.2K

-3.57%

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

$249 AED 913

$87.0 QAR 317

185.60%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$34.31 QAR 125

58.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$85.3 QAR 310

7.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$12.59 QAR 45.84

29.39%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$658 QAR 2,395

28.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$9,629 QAR 35.1K

89.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$61.1 QAR 222

9.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$53.1 QAR 193

9.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$101 QAR 368

0.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$85.6 QAR 311

15.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$1,346 QAR 4,900

77.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$911 QAR 3,317

68.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$1,674 QAR 6,095

174.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$1,124 QAR 4,092

161.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$4,094 QAR 14.9K

-15.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

5.92

-23.31%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Dukhan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Dukhan

$911 54.1% 40.6% $622

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Dukhan

$207 12.3% 47.6% $188

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Dukhan

$177 10.5% 42% $128

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Dukhan

$216 12.8% 25.9% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Dukhan

$135 8.1% 7.6% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Dukhan

$25 * 1.5% 81.5% $111

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Dukhan

$12 * 0.7% 86.7% $77

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 $2,393 in Dubai and $1,346 in Dukhan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dukhan pays 18% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $82.0 in Dubai vs $70.0 in Dukhan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $216 per month, with Dukhan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇶🇦 Dukhan

🕒 Local time

05:00 5:00 AM

04:00 4:00 AM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

12,000

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Qatari Riyal QAR ر.ق

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1 QAR = 0.275 USD

1 QAR = 0.244 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

QAR, 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).

Qatari Riyal exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.64 QAR (1 QAR = 0.275 USD). 1 EUR = 4.09 QAR (1 QAR = 0.244 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Dubai Dukhan 440 km

From you

Dubai
Dukhan

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 Dukhan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dukhan is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 72% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 18% lower in Dukhan. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,393 in Dubai versus $1,346 in Dukhan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,896 per month in Dubai versus $1,683 in Dukhan – a 72% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,683 in Dukhan versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Dukhan but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Dukhan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Dukhan 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 Dukhan 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 Dukhan 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.