Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Eskilstuna

For one person, living is cheaper in Eskilstuna: $1,748 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 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
85

Cost of Living Index in Eskilstuna
Learn more

Eskilstuna Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Eskilstuna

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,748

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Eskilstuna

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $1,748 in Eskilstuna.

Dubai $2,896
Eskilstuna $1,748

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $2,674 in Eskilstuna.

Dubai $4,384
Eskilstuna $2,674

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $3,600 in Eskilstuna.

Dubai $5,872
Eskilstuna $3,600

Living in Dubai is roughly 66% more expensive than in Eskilstuna, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 115% above, Eskilstuna 30% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$13.55 SEK 134

-6.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$63.9 SEK 633

27.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$10.22 SEK 101

-8.61%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$4.29 SEK 42.52

37.30%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$2.58 SEK 25.55

-34.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$2.21 SEK 21.94

-64.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$4.90 SEK 48.55

178.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$5.00 SEK 49.54

169.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$1.43 SEK 14.20

28.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$3.15 SEK 31.18

-52.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$3.41 SEK 33.81

-24.63%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$3.93 SEK 38.94

-15.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$13.32 SEK 132

-5.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$12.27 SEK 122

-21.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$12.74 SEK 126

0.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$3.23 SEK 32.01

-19.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$2.68 SEK 26.55

-29.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$2.53 SEK 25.11

-24.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$3.72 SEK 36.88

-63.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$1.41 SEK 13.96

-19.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.79 SEK 17.72

-43.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$3.05 SEK 30.24

-52.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$1.72 SEK 17.07

-61.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$6.88 SEK 68.2

-14.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$7.80 SEK 77.2

107.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$1.96 SEK 19.42

38.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$2.20 SEK 21.82

40.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$3.23 SEK 32.02

-50.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

$66.9 SEK 663

13.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$12.72 SEK 126

-74.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$2.05 SEK 20.27

-65.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$78.2 SEK 775

-89.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$1.73 SEK 17.16

-43.35%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$31.4K SEK 311.5K

-12.89%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$32.5K SEK 321.7K

-32.15%

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

$249 AED 913

$177 SEK 1,751

40.62%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$28.43 SEK 282

91.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$38.00 SEK 377

140.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$24.49 SEK 243

322.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

$25.82 SEK 256

63.90%

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$10.84 SEK 107

50.28%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$148 SEK 1,468

469.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$5,008 SEK 49.6K

264.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$98.2 SEK 973

-31.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$29.44 SEK 292

96.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$89.7 SEK 889

13.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$148 SEK 1,465

-33.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$791 SEK 7,840

202.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$602 SEK 5,961

154.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$1,150 SEK 11.4K

299.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$1,029 SEK 10.2K

185.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$4,052 SEK 40.2K

73.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$2,775 SEK 27.5K

52.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$4,169 SEK 41.3K

-16.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

2.8

62.14%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Eskilstuna: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Eskilstuna

$602 34.4% 60.8% $931

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Eskilstuna

$243 13.9% 38.4% $151

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Eskilstuna

$244 14% 20% $61

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Eskilstuna

$346 19.8% 18.7% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Eskilstuna

$164 9.4% 12.1% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Eskilstuna

$46 2.6% 66% $90

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Eskilstuna

$103 5.9% 15.3% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,393 in Dubai and $791 in Eskilstuna. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Eskilstuna pays 20% 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 $64.0 in Eskilstuna. Groceries flip the comparison at $292 vs $346, with Dubai cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇸🇪 Eskilstuna

🕒 Local time

12:42 12:42 PM

10:42 10:42 AM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

67,359

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, 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).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Eskilstuna 4,840 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Eskilstuna

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 Eskilstuna: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Eskilstuna is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, utilities, and leisure. The 66% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 20% lower in Eskilstuna. 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 $791 in Eskilstuna. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Eskilstuna runs roughly 14% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $844 in Dubai versus $148 in Eskilstuna. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,748 in Eskilstuna versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Eskilstuna but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Eskilstuna the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Eskilstuna 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 Eskilstuna 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 Eskilstuna gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.