Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Iasi

For one person, living is cheaper in Iasi: $1,251 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $19,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Iasi
Learn more

Iasi Living Index

Jump to prices

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Iasi

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,251

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Iasi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $1,251 in Iasi.

Dubai $2,854
Iasi $1,251

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $1,834 in Iasi.

Dubai $4,321
Iasi $1,834

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $2,417 in Iasi.

Dubai $5,788
Iasi $2,417

Living in Dubai is roughly 128% more expensive than in Iasi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 113% above, Iasi is 7% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$10.54 RON 50.2

23.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$41.58 RON 198

95.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$6.96 RON 33.17

33.91%

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$2.95 RON 14.07

102.37%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$2.29 RON 10.89

-28.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$1.78 RON 8.46

-54.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

$3.06 RON 14.58

346.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

$3.69 RON 17.59

262.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$1.50 RON 7.14

20.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$1.33 RON 6.34

18.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$1.98 RON 9.44

25.76%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$3.35 RON 15.95

-2.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.52

$8.21 RON 39.11

54.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$6.61 RON 31.52

47.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.39

$9.76 RON 46.50

35.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$1.37 RON 6.53

90.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$1.62 RON 7.74

19.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$1.66 RON 7.92

15.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$2.16 RON 10.28

-37.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$0.84 RON 4.02

39.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$0.83 RON 3.95

21.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$1.11 RON 5.30

36.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$0.94 RON 4.46

-34.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$6.26 RON 29.82

-6.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

$6.87 RON 32.76

134.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

$1.31 RON 6.22

102.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

$2.06 RON 9.84

43.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$0.86 RON 4.08

90.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$27.82 RON 133

164.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$0.86 RON 4.12

268.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$0.85 RON 4.05

-16.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$8.30 RON 39.57

-4.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$1.90 RON 9.08

-47.89%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$28.5K RON 135.7K

-3.86%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$27.3K RON 130.2K

-17.48%

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

$250 AED 920

$183 RON 870

37.19%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$7.40 RON 35.28

632.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$8.66 RON 41.28

959.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$44.73 RON 213

120.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$15.73 RON 75.0

170.88%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$8.15 RON 38.86

96.69%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$412 RON 1,962

104.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$6,959 RON 33.2K

162.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$73.9 RON 352

-8.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 212

$39.35 RON 188

47.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$95.1 RON 453

5.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$92.0 RON 438

9.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$539 RON 2,567

341.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$427 RON 2,036

252.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$874 RON 4,163

407.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$668 RON 3,185

350.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$2,932 RON 14.0K

142.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$1,910 RON 9,103

116.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$1,117 RON 5,324

203.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

7.18

-36.77%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Iasi: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Iasi

$427 34.1% 71.6% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Iasi

$199 15.9% 49.9% $198

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Iasi

$180 14.3% 41.8% $129

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Iasi

$215 17.2% 26.6% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Iasi

$135 10.8% 8.3% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Iasi

$61 4.9% 53.3% $70

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Iasi

$36 2.9% 58.2% $51

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,380 in Dubai and $539 in Iasi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 203% 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 $42.00 in Iasi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $215 per month, with Iasi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇷🇴 Iasi

🕒 Local time

15:19 3:19 PM

14:19 2:19 PM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

290,422

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, 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).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.77 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Iasi 3,460 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Iasi

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 Iasi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Iasi is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 128% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 203% 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 $539 in Iasi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Iasi runs roughly 165% 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 $412 in Iasi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,251 in Iasi versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Iasi but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Iasi the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Iasi 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 Iasi 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 Iasi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 128% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.