Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Hama

For one person, living is cheaper in Hama: $557 a month against $2,883 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $27,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index
27

Cost of Living Index in Hama
Learn more

Hama Living Index

Jump to prices

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,883

/mo nomad

Hama

🇸🇾 Syria

$557

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Hama

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,883 in Dubai versus $557 in Hama.

Dubai $2,883
Hama $557

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,403 in Dubai versus $868 in Hama.

Dubai $4,403
Hama $868

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,923 in Dubai versus $1,180 in Hama.

Dubai $5,923
Hama $1,180

Living in Dubai is roughly 418% more expensive than in Hama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 113% above, Hama is 59% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.99 AED 47.72

$7.62 SYP 926

70.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.9 AED 301

$30.44 SYP 3,699

169.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.64 AED 35.40

$2.70 SYP 329

257.04%

Cappuccino

$6.09 AED 22.38

$1.16 SYP 141

425.00%

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

$1.61 AED 5.93

$2.26 SYP 275

-28.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 AED 2.76

$0.87 SYP 106

-13.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.79 AED 50.6

$1.95 SYP 237

607.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.41 AED 49.25

$1.79 SYP 218

649.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 AED 6.83

$1.06 SYP 129

75.47%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 AED 5.62

$0.42 SYP 50.8

264.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.38

$1.57 SYP 191

62.42%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.06

$1.64 SYP 199

100.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.14 AED 44.57

$3.84 SYP 467

216.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.15 AED 33.62

$5.57 SYP 677

64.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 AED 47.00

$13.90 SYP 1,689

-7.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.56 AED 9.39

$1.08 SYP 131

137.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.03

$1.42 SYP 173

34.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 AED 6.69

$1.11 SYP 135

63.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 AED 5.26

$1.05 SYP 128

36.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 AED 4.04

$0.74 SYP 89.5

48.65%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 AED 3.40

$0.79 SYP 96.3

16.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 AED 5.58

$0.40 SYP 48.65

280.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 AED 2.54

$0.61 SYP 74.6

13.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 AED 23.55

$2.74 SYP 333

133.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.52 AED 60.7

$6.14 SYP 746

169.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 AED 9.41

$1.10 SYP 134

132.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$2.91 SYP 353

5.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.58 AED 5.82

$0.20 SYP 23.72

690.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.9 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.19 AED 11.72

$1.02 SYP 123

212.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.62

$1.49 SYP 181

-52.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.21 AED 30.13

$7.89 SYP 959

4.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.01 AED 3.73

$3.60 SYP 437

-71.94%

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

$26.1K AED 96.0K

$15.0K SYP 1.8M

74.66%

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

$21.8K AED 80.2K

$19.5K SYP 2.4M

12.29%

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

$245 AED 900

$143 SYP 17.3K

71.69%

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

$57.5 AED 211

$9.32 SYP 1,132

517.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.3 AED 335

$23.15 SYP 2,814

294.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$105 AED 385

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.58 AED 171

Cinema Ticket

$16.04 AED 58.9

$5.39 SYP 655

197.59%

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

$873 AED 3,206

$67.9 SYP 8,249

1186.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.0K AED 66.2K

$1,747 SYP 212.2K

931.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 AED 260

$28.42 SYP 3,454

149.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.3 AED 229

$39.97 SYP 4,857

55.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 AED 390

$59.9 SYP 7,277

77.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 AED 376

$58.8 SYP 7,143

74.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,454 AED 9,014

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,510 AED 5,545

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,640 AED 17.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,961 AED 10.9K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,219 AED 26.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,232 AED 15.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,584 AED 13.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

14.25

-68.14%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 18, 2026

Last update for Hama: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.4%

Hama

- * 0% 100%

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.7%

Hama

$175 31.5% 55.5% $219

Eating Out

Dubai

$311 10.8%

Hama

$109 19.6% 65% $202

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$288 10%

Hama

$169 30.3% 41.5% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$154 5.3%

Hama

$84 15.1% 45.2% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$137 4.8%

Hama

$11 * 1.9% 92.1% $126

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Hama

$9.2 * 1.7% 89.6% $80

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $82.0 in Dubai vs $30.00 in Hama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $169 per month, with Hama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇸🇾 Hama

🕒 Local time

20:54 8:54 PM

19:54 7:54 PM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

312,994

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Syrian Pound SYP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD

1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SYP, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Syrian Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 122 SYP (1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 137 SYP (1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Hama 2,090 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Hama

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 Hama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hama is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 418% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $4,324 in Dubai and $835 in Hama to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 71% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,883 per month in Dubai versus $557 in Hama – a 418% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $557 in Hama versus $2,883 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Hama but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Hama the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Hama 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 Hama 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 Hama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 418% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.