Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Hamar

For one person, living is cheaper in Hamar: $2,380 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 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
117

Cost of Living Index in Hamar
Learn more

Hamar Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Hamar

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,380

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Hamar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $2,380 in Hamar.

Dubai $2,896
Hamar $2,380

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $3,750 in Hamar.

Dubai $4,384
Hamar $3,750

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $5,120 in Hamar.

Dubai $5,872
Hamar $5,120

Living in Dubai is roughly 22% more expensive than in Hamar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 115% above, Hamar 76% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$21.18 NOK 199

-40.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$125 NOK 1,180

-34.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$15.83 NOK 149

-41.00%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$5.76 NOK 54.2

2.26%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$4.21 NOK 39.63

-59.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$3.28 NOK 30.85

-76.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$11.49 NOK 108

18.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$8.07 NOK 76.0

67.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$2.50 NOK 23.53

-26.40%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$2.93 NOK 27.57

-48.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$2.06 NOK 19.36

24.76%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$5.76 NOK 54.3

-42.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$11.05 NOK 104

14.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$12.20 NOK 115

-20.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$31.42 NOK 296

-59.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$3.21 NOK 30.26

-19.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$2.57 NOK 24.17

-26.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$3.05 NOK 28.74

-37.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$5.89 NOK 55.5

-76.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$2.48 NOK 23.34

-54.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$2.44 NOK 22.95

-58.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$2.12 NOK 19.97

-32.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$1.99 NOK 18.74

-66.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$18.94 NOK 178

-68.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$16.40 NOK 154

-1.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$3.38 NOK 31.78

-19.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$4.18 NOK 39.37

-26.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$4.66 NOK 43.87

-65.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

$67.5 NOK 635

12.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$11.92 NOK 112

-72.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$1.78 NOK 16.76

-60.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$69.5 NOK 654

-88.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$2.37 NOK 22.32

-58.65%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$47.8K NOK 449.5K

-42.66%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$43.6K NOK 410.2K

-49.44%

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

$249 AED 913

$223 NOK 2,104

11.21%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$33.07 NOK 311

64.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$54.1 NOK 509

69.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$58.2 NOK 548

77.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

$29.40 NOK 277

43.95%

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$19.79 NOK 186

-17.69%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$207 NOK 1,948

307.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$15.8K NOK 148.3K

15.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$102 NOK 959

-34.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$59.5 NOK 560

-2.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$131 NOK 1,230

-21.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$104 NOK 977

-4.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$1,227 NOK 11.6K

95.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$847 NOK 7,973

80.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$1,578 NOK 14.9K

191.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$1,489 NOK 14.0K

97.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$4,302 NOK 40.5K

63.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$3,421 NOK 32.2K

23.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$4,269 NOK 40.2K

-18.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

4.94

-8.10%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Hamar: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Hamar

$847 35.6% 44.7% $686

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Hamar

$311 13.1% 21.2% $84

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Hamar

$390 16.4% 27.6% $84

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Hamar

$450 18.9% 54.2% $158

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Hamar

$178 7.5% 21.5% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Hamar

$98 4.1% 28.1% $38

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Hamar

$107 4.5% 20% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,393 in Dubai and $1,227 in Hamar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hamar pays 23% 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 $125 in Hamar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $450 per month, with Dubai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇳🇴 Hamar

🕒 Local time

19:33 7:33 PM

17:33 5:33 PM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

33,059

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Hamar 5,190 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Hamar

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 Hamar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hamar is cheaper overall, especially in utilities and leisure. The 22% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 23% lower in Hamar. 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 $1,227 in Hamar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Hamar runs roughly 13% 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 $207 in Hamar. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Hamar is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Hamar 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 Hamar 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 Hamar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.