Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Gaborone

For one person, living is cheaper in Gaborone: $866 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $23,900 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 Gaborone
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Gaborone Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Gaborone

🇧🇼 Botswana

$866

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Gaborone

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $866 in Gaborone.

Dubai $2,854
Gaborone $866

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $1,301 in Gaborone.

Dubai $4,321
Gaborone $1,301

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $1,737 in Gaborone.

Dubai $5,788
Gaborone $1,737

Living in Dubai is roughly 230% more expensive than in Gaborone, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 113% above, Gaborone is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$11.04 P 148

18.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$29.11 P 390

179.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$5.87 P 78.6

58.77%

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$2.37 P 31.70

151.90%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$0.71 P 9.45

129.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$0.44 P 5.87

84.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

$1.98 P 26.47

589.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

$2.56 P 34.24

422.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$1.47 P 19.66

23.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$0.87 P 11.59

80.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$1.98 P 26.48

25.76%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$2.54 P 34.06

29.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$6.45 P 86.4

96.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$4.77 P 63.9

104.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$4.88 P 65.4

170.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$1.64 P 22.01

59.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$1.40 P 18.73

37.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$1.95 P 26.07

-1.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$1.65 P 22.13

-17.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$1.31 P 17.53

-10.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.15 P 15.40

-12.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$1.28 P 17.20

17.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$0.93 P 12.50

-33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$3.71 P 49.75

57.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

$4.39 P 58.8

267.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

$1.43 P 19.23

85.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

$1.74 P 23.26

69.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$0.67 P 9.00

144.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$30.16 P 404

144.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$0.64 P 8.60

395.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$2.61 P 35.04

-72.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$2.86 P 38.37

178.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$1.32 P 17.74

-25.00%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$19.6K P 263.0K

39.45%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$19.9K P 266.4K

13.38%

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

$250 AED 920

$60.2 P 807

316.02%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$19.85 P 266

173.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$42.94 P 575

113.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$34.16 P 458

188.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$16.03 P 215

165.81%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$5.98 P 80.1

168.06%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$130 P 1,740

549.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$2,526 P 33.8K

622.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$48.16 P 645

41.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$16.58 P 222

248.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$74.0 P 991

36.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$78.3 P 1,049

29.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$363 P 4,860

556.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$219 P 2,941

586.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$542 P 7,263

718.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$354 P 4,741

750.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$2,021 P 27.1K

252.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$1,252 P 16.8K

230.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$450 P 6,033

653.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

11.33

-59.93%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Gaborone: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Gaborone

$219 25.5% 85.4% $1.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Gaborone

$123 14.3% 69% $273

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Gaborone

$154 17.9% 50.2% $155

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Gaborone

$174 20.2% 40.6% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Gaborone

$98 11.4% 33.8% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Gaborone

$46 5.4% 64.7% $85

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Gaborone

$47 5.4% 46.4% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,380 in Dubai and $363 in Gaborone. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 653% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $81.0 in Dubai vs $29.00 in Gaborone for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $174 per month, with Gaborone cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇧🇼 Gaborone

🕒 Local time

10:34 10:34 AM

08:34 8:34 AM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

231,626 Capital

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Botswana Pula BWP P

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

100 BWP = 7.46 USD

100 BWP = 6.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BWP, 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).

Botswana Pula exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 13.4 BWP (100 BWP = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 15.03 BWP (100 BWP = 6.65 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

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Between locations

Dubai Gaborone 6,360 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

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Dubai
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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 Gaborone: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gaborone is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 230% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 653% 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: $2,380 in Dubai versus $363 in Gaborone. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Gaborone runs roughly 144% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $843 in Dubai versus $130 in Gaborone. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $866 in Gaborone versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Gaborone but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Gaborone the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Gaborone 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 Gaborone 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 Gaborone gentler on the wallet – expenses run 230% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.