Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Ha'il

For one person, living is cheaper in Ha'il: $1,040 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $22,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Ha'il
Learn more

Ha'il Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Ha'il

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,040

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Ha'il

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $1,040 in Ha'il.

Dubai $2,896
Ha'il $1,040

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $1,589 in Ha'il.

Dubai $4,384
Ha'il $1,589

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $2,139 in Ha'il.

Dubai $5,872
Ha'il $2,139

Living in Dubai is roughly 179% more expensive than in Ha'il, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, Ha'il is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$5.47 SAR 20.52

131.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$37.36 SAR 140

118.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$5.88 SAR 22.05

58.84%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.18 SAR 4.43

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 SAR 8.73

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$2.60 SAR 9.76

126.54%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$0.61 SAR 2.29

177.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.24 SAR 0.90

225.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$1.72 SAR 6.47

6.98%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$0.84 SAR 3.17

78.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$1.83 SAR 6.87

40.44%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$1.88 SAR 7.05

76.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$6.81 SAR 25.56

85.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$8.52 SAR 31.96

13.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$8.55 SAR 32.10

49.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$1.57 SAR 5.88

65.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.58 SAR 5.91

20.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$1.31 SAR 4.90

45.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$2.03 SAR 7.61

-32.51%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$1.32 SAR 4.95

-14.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.62 SAR 6.06

-37.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$1.23 SAR 4.60

17.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.49 SAR 1.83

36.73%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.02 SAR 11.35

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.75 SAR 6.56

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 SAR 7.65

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$6.73 SAR 25.25

-12.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$1.05 SAR 3.93

52.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

$36.18 SAR 136

109.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$2.68 SAR 10.07

20.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$1.88 SAR 7.06

-62.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$13.58 SAR 50.9

-41.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$0.61 SAR 2.27

60.66%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$44.7K SAR 167.8K

-38.78%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$21.6K SAR 81.0K

2.05%

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

$249 AED 913

$52.7 SAR 198

371.98%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$21.32 SAR 80.0

155.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$47.59 SAR 179

92.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$67.4 SAR 253

53.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

$26.99 SAR 101

56.80%

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$14.85 SAR 55.7

9.70%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$414 SAR 1,554

103.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$7,887 SAR 29.6K

131.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$43.06 SAR 162

55.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$54.6 SAR 205

6.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$96.6 SAR 363

5.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$87.9 SAR 330

12.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$245 SAR 918

878.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$366 SAR 1,373

318.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$362 SAR 1,359

1168.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$566 SAR 2,123

419.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$2,369 SAR 8,890

197.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$1,359 SAR 5,099

210.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$1,087 SAR 4,080

218.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

5.54

-18.05%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Ha'il: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Ha'il

$366 35.2% 76.1% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Ha'il

$122 11.7% 69.2% $273

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Ha'il

$96 9.2% 68.5% $209

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Ha'il

$180 17.3% 38.3% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Ha'il

$127 12.2% 13.4% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Ha'il

$97 9.3% 28.6% $39

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Ha'il

$52 5.1% 41.1% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,393 in Dubai and $245 in Ha'il. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 218% 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: $82.0 in Dubai vs $37.00 in Ha'il for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $180 per month, with Ha'il cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇸🇦 Ha'il

🕒 Local time

22:38 10:38 PM

21:38 9:38 PM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

310,897

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Ha'il 1,370 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Ha'il

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 Ha'il: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ha'il is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 179% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 218% 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 $245 in Ha'il. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Ha'il runs roughly 110% 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 $414 in Ha'il. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,040 in Ha'il versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ha'il but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Ha'il the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Ha'il 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 Ha'il 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 Ha'il gentler on the wallet – expenses run 179% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.