Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Fredrikstad

For one person, living costs are similar in Dubai and in Fredrikstad: $2,896 and $2,983 a month, rent and utilities included.

140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index
144

Cost of Living Index in Fredrikstad
Learn more

Fredrikstad Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Fredrikstad

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,983

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Fredrikstad

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $2,983 in Fredrikstad.

Dubai $2,896
Fredrikstad $2,983

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $4,345 in Fredrikstad.

Dubai $4,384
Fredrikstad $4,345

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $5,707 in Fredrikstad.

Dubai $5,872
Fredrikstad $5,707

Living in Dubai costs roughly 3% less than in Fredrikstad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 115% above, Fredrikstad 121% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$26.28 NOK 247

-51.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$124 NOK 1,170

-34.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$12.65 NOK 119

-26.17%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$6.77 NOK 63.7

-13.00%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$5.55 NOK 52.3

-69.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$4.39 NOK 41.36

-82.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$11.55 NOK 109

18.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$9.57 NOK 90.1

40.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$2.34 NOK 22.00

-21.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$4.31 NOK 40.56

-65.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$3.43 NOK 32.31

-25.07%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$5.82 NOK 54.8

-42.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$13.06 NOK 123

-3.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$17.96 NOK 169

-46.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$34.38 NOK 324

-62.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$3.37 NOK 31.71

-22.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$3.64 NOK 34.24

-47.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$4.30 NOK 40.49

-55.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$5.00 NOK 47.06

-72.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$2.63 NOK 24.74

-57.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$2.71 NOK 25.53

-62.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$2.82 NOK 26.50

-48.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$2.33 NOK 21.95

-71.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$15.51 NOK 146

-62.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$22.16 NOK 209

-27.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$3.49 NOK 32.81

-22.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$4.39 NOK 41.34

-29.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$4.11 NOK 38.71

-61.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

$64.5 NOK 607

17.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$12.56 NOK 118

-74.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$2.00 NOK 18.79

-64.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$70.1 NOK 660

-88.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$2.30 NOK 21.64

-57.39%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$49.8K NOK 468.4K

-44.96%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$46.9K NOK 441.1K

-52.98%

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

$249 AED 913

$331 NOK 3,118

-24.98%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$45.60 NOK 429

19.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$66.9 NOK 630

36.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$58.3 NOK 549

77.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

$40.86 NOK 385

3.57%

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$20.19 NOK 190

-19.32%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$168 NOK 1,579

402.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$12.5K NOK 117.8K

45.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$155 NOK 1,459

-56.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$78.7 NOK 741

-26.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$144 NOK 1,358

-29.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$112 NOK 1,051

-11.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$1,329 NOK 12.5K

80.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$1,131 NOK 10.6K

35.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$1,822 NOK 17.1K

152.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$1,516 NOK 14.3K

93.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$6,022 NOK 56.7K

17.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$4,131 NOK 38.9K

2.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$3,372 NOK 31.7K

2.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

4.95

-8.28%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Fredrikstad: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Fredrikstad

$1.1K 37.9% 26.2% $402

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Fredrikstad

$444 14.9% 12.5% $49

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Fredrikstad

$446 15% 46.2% $141

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Fredrikstad

$540 18.1% 85% $248

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Fredrikstad

$220 7.4% 50.3% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Fredrikstad

$99 3.3% 27.4% $37

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Fredrikstad

$103 3.5% 16.1% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,393 in Dubai and $1,329 in Fredrikstad. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 3% 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 $124 in Fredrikstad for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $540 per month, with Dubai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇳🇴 Fredrikstad

🕒 Local time

22:49 10:49 PM

20:49 8:49 PM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

85,267

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Fredrikstad 5,100 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Fredrikstad

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 Fredrikstad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dubai is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 3% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 3% 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: $2,393 in Dubai versus $1,329 in Fredrikstad. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Dubai runs roughly 18% less than in Fredrikstad. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $844 in Dubai versus $168 in Fredrikstad. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,500. Dubai is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Dubai is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Fredrikstad, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Dubai and Fredrikstad 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 Dubai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 3% less than in Fredrikstad. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.