Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Hoi An

For one person, living is cheaper in Hoi An: $874 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $24,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Hoi An
Learn more

Hoi An Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Hoi An

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$874

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Hoi An

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $874 in Hoi An.

Dubai $2,896
Hoi An $874

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $1,270 in Hoi An.

Dubai $4,384
Hoi An $1,270

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $1,666 in Hoi An.

Dubai $5,872
Hoi An $1,666

Living in Dubai is roughly 231% more expensive than in Hoi An, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, Hoi An is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$2.33 ₫60.4K

443.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$18.43 ₫477.2K

343.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$3.88 ₫100.3K

140.72%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$1.67 ₫43.3K

252.69%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$0.61 ₫15.9K

177.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.32 ₫8,163

143.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$1.33 ₫34.3K

927.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$1.38 ₫35.8K

877.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$1.51 ₫39.2K

21.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$1.20 ₫31.0K

25.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$1.00 ₫25.9K

157.00%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$1.50 ₫38.9K

121.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$12.85 ₫332.6K

-1.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$4.15 ₫107.4K

132.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$9.06 ₫234.6K

41.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$2.68 ₫69.3K

-2.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.11 ₫28.7K

71.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$0.93 ₫24.2K

105.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$1.41 ₫36.6K

-2.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$1.13 ₫29.3K

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.02 ₫26.4K

-0.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$0.67 ₫17.3K

114.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.53 ₫13.8K

26.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$1.57 ₫40.7K

274.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$7.53 ₫194.9K

114.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$0.83 ₫21.6K

227.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$1.51 ₫39.0K

103.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$0.22 ₫5,663

627.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

$3.96 ₫102.6K

1817.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$1.01 ₫26.0K

220.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$0.56 ₫14.5K

26.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$3.84 ₫99.5K

107.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$0.94 ₫24.4K

4.26%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$31.1K ₫805.1M

-11.94%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$27.9K ₫721.9M

-21.00%

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

$249 AED 913

$77.3 ₫2.0M

221.68%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$6.17 ₫159.7K

782.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$7.99 ₫206.7K

1044.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$17.04 ₫441.1K

506.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

$4.93 ₫127.6K

758.42%

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$3.03 ₫78.5K

437.62%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$116 ₫3.0M

630.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$16.9K ₫437.1M

8.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$45.85 ₫1.2M

46.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$27.13 ₫702.3K

113.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$68.6 ₫1.8M

48.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$80.5 ₫2.1M

22.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$436 ₫11.3M

448.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$396 ₫10.3M

286.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$538 ₫13.9M

754.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$617 ₫16.0M

376.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$1,546 ₫40.0M

355.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$964 ₫25.0M

337.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$294 ₫7.6M

1077.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

10.34

-56.09%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Hoi An: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Hoi An

$396 45.4% 74.1% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Hoi An

$91 10.5% 76.8% $303

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Hoi An

$63 7.3% 79.2% $242

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Hoi An

$191 21.9% 34.4% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Hoi An

$100 11.4% 31.8% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Hoi An

$23 2.6% 83% $113

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Hoi An

$8.6 1% 90.3% $80

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,393 in Dubai and $436 in Hoi An. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 1078% 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 $18.00 in Hoi An for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $191 per month, with Hoi An cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇻🇳 Hoi An

🕒 Local time

16:49 4:49 PM

19:49 7:49 PM

3 h ahead of Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

120,000

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, 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).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,108 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Hoi An 5,600 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Hoi An

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 Hoi An: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hoi An is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 231% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 1078% 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 $436 in Hoi An. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Hoi An runs roughly 1818% 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 $116 in Hoi An. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $874 in Hoi An versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Hoi An but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Hoi An the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Hoi An 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 Hoi An 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 Hoi An gentler on the wallet – expenses run 231% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.