Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Ethiopia

Name: Ethiopia
Address: ET

For one person, living is cheaper in Ethiopia: $1,221 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $19,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Ethiopia
Learn more

Ethiopia Living Index

Jump to prices

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

$1,221

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Dubai is 54.3% more expensive than Ethiopia without rent, and 133.6% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Dubai is 71.4% more expensive than Ethiopia without rent, and 140.9% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$3.96 ETB 637

229.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$42.04 ETB 6,755

93.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$6.50 ETB 1,044

43.38%

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$0.93 ETB 149

541.94%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$0.56 ETB 90.4

191.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$0.56 ETB 89.7

44.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

$0.82 ETB 132

1564.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

$2.04 ETB 328

555.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$1.02 ETB 164

77.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$0.96 ETB 155

63.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$1.80 ETB 290

38.33%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$1.80 ETB 290

82.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$7.37 ETB 1,185

71.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$10.36 ETB 1,665

-5.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$10.24 ETB 1,646

28.71%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$4.43 ETB 711

-41.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$0.73 ETB 117

164.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$2.44 ETB 392

-21.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$0.67 ETB 108

102.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$0.55 ETB 88.3

112.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.36 ETB 218

-25.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$0.81 ETB 131

86.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$0.58 ETB 93.2

6.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$7.96 ETB 1,279

-26.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

$5.34 ETB 858

202.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

$0.79 ETB 127

235.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

$1.51 ETB 243

95.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$0.38 ETB 60.6

331.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$16.79 ETB 2,697

338.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$1.36 ETB 218

133.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$0.29 ETB 47.21

144.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$1.95 ETB 313

308.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$0.94 ETB 151

5.32%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$52.9K ETB 8.5M

-48.22%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$55.3K ETB 8.9M

-59.24%

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

$250 AED 920

$140 ETB 22.4K

79.41%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$9.83 ETB 1,579

451.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$228 ETB 36.7K

-59.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$43.23 ETB 6,946

128.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$35.64 ETB 5,726

19.56%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$5.11 ETB 821

213.70%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$118 ETB 19.0K

612.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$29.9K ETB 4.8M

-38.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$35.22 ETB 5,660

92.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$62.0 ETB 9,959

-6.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$78.3 ETB 12.6K

28.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$87.8 ETB 14.1K

15.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$647 ETB 103.9K

268.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$353 ETB 56.7K

326.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$1,771 ETB 284.6K

150.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$712 ETB 114.4K

322.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$1,804 ETB 289.8K

294.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$1,013 ETB 162.8K

308.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$199 ETB 32.0K

1601.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

-73.29%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Ethiopia: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Ethiopia

$353 29.2% 76.6% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Ethiopia

$378 31.2% 4.7% $19

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Ethiopia

$75 6.2% 75.7% $234

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Ethiopia

$211 17.4% 28% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Ethiopia

$118 9.8% 19.6% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Ethiopia

$53 4.4% 59.1% $77

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Ethiopia

$21 1.8% 75.7% $66

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

🕒 Local time

11:24 11:24 AM

10:24 10:24 AM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

128,691,692

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Ethiopian Birr ETB Br

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD

1,000 ETB = 5.55 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ETB, 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).

Ethiopian Birr exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 161 ETB (1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD). 1 EUR = 180 ETB (1,000 ETB = 5.55 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Ethiopia 2,490 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Ethiopia

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 other spots: cost of living compared

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

Similar cities

Hong Kong

🇭🇰 Hong Kong (China)

Melbourne

🇦🇺 Australia

Copenhagen

🇩🇰 Denmark

Dallas, TX

🇺🇸 United States

Rotterdam

🇳🇱 Netherlands

Las Vegas, NV

🇺🇸 United States

Phoenix, AZ

🇺🇸 United States

The Hague

🇳🇱 Netherlands