Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Grimstad

For one person, living is cheaper in Grimstad: $2,129 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Dubai outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index
103

Cost of Living Index in Grimstad
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Grimstad Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Grimstad

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,129

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Grimstad

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $2,129 in Grimstad.

Dubai $2,896
Grimstad $2,129

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $3,634 in Grimstad.

Dubai $4,384
Grimstad $3,634

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $5,140 in Grimstad.

Dubai $5,872
Grimstad $5,140

Living in Dubai is roughly 36% more expensive than in Grimstad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 115% above, Grimstad 58% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$21.22 NOK 200

-40.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$77.1 NOK 726

5.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$15.35 NOK 145

-39.15%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$4.81 NOK 45.27

22.45%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$4.08 NOK 38.42

-58.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$3.37 NOK 31.72

-76.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$11.48 NOK 108

18.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$10.48 NOK 98.7

28.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$2.54 NOK 23.91

-27.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$3.63 NOK 34.17

-58.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$3.11 NOK 29.32

-17.36%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$3.54 NOK 33.34

-6.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$12.95 NOK 122

-2.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$14.02 NOK 132

-31.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$24.27 NOK 228

-47.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$2.03 NOK 19.15

28.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$2.36 NOK 22.26

-19.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$3.44 NOK 32.37

-44.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$4.28 NOK 40.26

-67.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$2.77 NOK 26.06

-59.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$2.81 NOK 26.49

-64.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$3.08 NOK 28.97

-53.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$1.87 NOK 17.63

-64.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$18.68 NOK 176

-68.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$15.63 NOK 147

3.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$3.42 NOK 32.24

-20.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$4.17 NOK 39.21

-26.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$5.31 NOK 49.98

-69.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

$90.9 NOK 855

-16.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$11.86 NOK 112

-72.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$1.85 NOK 17.40

-61.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$69.8 NOK 657

-88.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$2.33 NOK 21.89

-57.94%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$48.5K NOK 456.8K

-43.56%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$43.9K NOK 413.5K

-49.85%

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

$249 AED 913

$301 NOK 2,837

-17.55%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$33.76 NOK 318

61.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$54.1 NOK 509

69.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$41.35 NOK 389

150.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$15.75 NOK 148

3.43%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$233 NOK 2,191

262.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$15.7K NOK 147.6K

16.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$95.6 NOK 900

-29.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$52.3 NOK 492

10.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$106 NOK 996

-3.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$157 NOK 1,478

-37.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$876 NOK 8,245

173.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$532 NOK 5,006

188.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$1,926 NOK 18.1K

138.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$1,749 NOK 16.5K

68.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$4,591 NOK 43.2K

53.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$3,358 NOK 31.6K

25.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$4,349 NOK 40.9K

-20.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

4.9

-7.35%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Grimstad: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Grimstad

$532 25% 65.3% $1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Grimstad

$389 18.3% 1.3% $5.1

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Grimstad

$382 17.9% 25.1% $77

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Grimstad

$435 20.4% 49.2% $143

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Grimstad

$185 8.7% 26% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Grimstad

$73 3.4% 46.4% $63

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Grimstad

$133 6.3% 49.4% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,393 in Dubai and $876 in Grimstad. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Grimstad pays 26% 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 $77.0 in Grimstad. Groceries flip the comparison at $292 vs $435, with Dubai cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇳🇴 Grimstad

🕒 Local time

21:58 9:58 PM

19:58 7:58 PM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

25,093

💱 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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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Grimstad 5,180 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Grimstad

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 Grimstad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Grimstad is cheaper overall, especially in utilities and leisure. The 36% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 26% lower in Grimstad. 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 $876 in Grimstad. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Grimstad runs roughly 20% 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 $233 in Grimstad. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $2,129 in Grimstad versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Grimstad but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Grimstad the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Grimstad 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 Grimstad 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 Grimstad gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.