Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Homs

For one person, living is cheaper in Homs: $528 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $28,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index
26

Cost of Living Index in Homs
Learn more

Homs Living Index

Jump to prices

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Homs

🇸🇾 Syria

$528

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Homs

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $528 in Homs.

Dubai $2,896
Homs $528

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $795 in Homs.

Dubai $4,384
Homs $795

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $1,063 in Homs.

Dubai $5,872
Homs $1,063

Living in Dubai is roughly 449% more expensive than in Homs, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, Homs is 61% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$3.03 SYP 368

318.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$12.16 SYP 1,478

572.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$6.92 SYP 840

34.97%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$0.62 SYP 75.0

850.00%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$2.22 SYP 270

-23.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.52 SYP 63.1

50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$1.98 SYP 240

589.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$4.06 SYP 493

232.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$0.81 SYP 97.9

127.16%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$0.42 SYP 51.0

257.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$1.50 SYP 183

71.33%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$1.57 SYP 190

111.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$3.95 SYP 480

218.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$5.77 SYP 701

67.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$12.15 SYP 1,477

5.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$0.60 SYP 73.3

333.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.40 SYP 171

35.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$0.58 SYP 70.2

229.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$0.33 SYP 40.31

315.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$0.55 SYP 66.4

105.45%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$0.79 SYP 96.5

27.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$0.27 SYP 32.61

433.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.66 SYP 80.1

1.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$1.48 SYP 179

297.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$3.77 SYP 459

328.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$0.72 SYP 87.6

277.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$2.94 SYP 357

4.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$0.22 SYP 26.46

627.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

$15.07 SYP 1,831

403.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$0.97 SYP 118

234.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$1.52 SYP 185

-53.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$1.98 SYP 241

302.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$1.22 SYP 148

-19.67%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$13.2K SYP 1.6M

107.50%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$18.8K SYP 2.3M

16.91%

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

$249 AED 913

$93.3 SYP 11.3K

166.29%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$9.52 SYP 1,157

471.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$45.79 SYP 5,564

99.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$10.04 SYP 1,220

929.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$5.41 SYP 658

201.11%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$53.8 SYP 6,543

1466.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$904 SYP 109.8K

1920.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$5.05 SYP 614

1226.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$20.04 SYP 2,435

189.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$60.9 SYP 7,399

67.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$30.39 SYP 3,693

224.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$123 SYP 14.9K

1847.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$53.5 SYP 6,500

2765.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$352 SYP 42.8K

1205.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$138 SYP 16.7K

2033.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$72.3 SYP 8,790

4684.56%

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 10, 2026

Last update for Homs: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Homs

$53 10.1% 96.5% $1.5K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Homs

$149 28.2% 62.3% $246

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Homs

$81 15.4% 73.3% $224

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Homs

$146 27.7% 49.8% $145

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Homs

$52 9.9% 64.3% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Homs

$21 4% 84.7% $115

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Homs

$25 4.7% 72.5% $65

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,393 in Dubai and $123 in Homs. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 4685% 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 $12.00 in Homs for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $146 per month, with Homs cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇸🇾 Homs

🕒 Local time

22:08 10:08 PM

21:08 9:08 PM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

652,609

💱 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 17, 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 17, 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

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Between locations

Dubai Homs 2,070 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Homs

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 Homs: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Homs is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 449% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 4685% 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 $123 in Homs. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Homs runs roughly 404% 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 $53.8 in Homs. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $528 in Homs versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Homs but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Homs the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Homs 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 Homs 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 Homs gentler on the wallet – expenses run 449% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.