Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Harare

For one person, living is cheaper in Harare: $1,025 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $21,900 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Harare
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Harare Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Harare

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$1,025

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Harare

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $1,025 in Harare.

Dubai $2,854
Harare $1,025

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $1,682 in Harare.

Dubai $4,321
Harare $1,682

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $2,339 in Harare.

Dubai $5,788
Harare $2,339

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

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 113% above, Harare is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$10.12 ZWL 270

28.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$45.29 ZWL 1,210

79.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$5.60 ZWL 150

66.43%

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$3.01 ZWL 80.4

98.34%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$0.97 ZWL 26.04

68.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$0.45 ZWL 12.07

80.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

$1.22 ZWL 32.56

1018.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

$1.95 ZWL 52.2

586.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$1.47 ZWL 39.29

23.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$1.02 ZWL 27.29

53.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$1.71 ZWL 45.80

45.61%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$1.98 ZWL 52.8

65.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.52

$11.40 ZWL 304

11.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$5.53 ZWL 148

76.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.39

$6.42 ZWL 171

105.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$3.07 ZWL 82.1

-14.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$1.70 ZWL 45.29

13.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$2.08 ZWL 55.4

-7.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$1.51 ZWL 40.45

-9.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$1.75 ZWL 46.67

-33.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.78 ZWL 47.51

-43.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$1.22 ZWL 32.72

23.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$0.94 ZWL 25.02

-34.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$1.95 ZWL 52.1

200.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

$8.37 ZWL 224

92.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

$1.38 ZWL 36.81

92.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

$1.98 ZWL 52.8

48.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$1.01 ZWL 27.10

62.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$59.1 ZWL 1,578

24.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$4.12 ZWL 110

-23.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$2.05 ZWL 54.8

-65.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$5.06 ZWL 135

57.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$1.84 ZWL 49.04

-46.20%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$21.6K ZWL 576.3K

26.86%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$27.6K ZWL 736.2K

-18.22%

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

$250 AED 920

$52.2 ZWL 1,394

379.88%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$21.85 ZWL 583

148.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$68.0 ZWL 1,817

34.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$48.13 ZWL 1,286

104.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$22.78 ZWL 609

87.05%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$9.88 ZWL 264

62.25%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$428 ZWL 11.4K

97.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$8,427 ZWL 225.1K

116.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$23.65 ZWL 632

187.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 212

$21.26 ZWL 568

172.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$38.85 ZWL 1,038

159.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$39.60 ZWL 1,058

155.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$389 ZWL 10.4K

512.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$316 ZWL 8,435

376.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$838 ZWL 22.4K

429.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$755 ZWL 20.2K

298.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$913 ZWL 24.4K

679.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$388 ZWL 10.4K

967.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$421 ZWL 11.3K

704.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

13.69

-66.84%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Harare: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Harare

$316 30.9% 79% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Harare

$142 13.9% 64.2% $254

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Harare

$150 14.6% 51.5% $159

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Harare

$215 21% 26.6% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Harare

$56 5.4% 62.3% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Harare

$68 6.6% 48% $63

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Harare

$78 7.6% 10.8% $9.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,380 in Dubai and $389 in Harare. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 705% 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 $45.00 in Harare for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $215 per month, with Harare cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇿🇼 Harare

🕒 Local time

10:34 10:34 AM

08:34 8:34 AM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

1,606,000 Capital

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Zimbabwean Dollar ZWL $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

100 ZWL = 3.74 USD

100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZWL, 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).

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 26.71 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.74 USD). 1 EUR = 29.96 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Harare 5,440 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Harare

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 Harare: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Harare 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 705% 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 $389 in Harare. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Harare runs roughly 25% 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 $428 in Harare. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,025 in Harare versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Harare but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Harare the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Harare 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 Harare 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 Harare 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.