Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Ismailia

For one person, living is cheaper in Ismailia: $330 a month against $2,883 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $30,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index
16

Cost of Living Index in Ismailia
Learn more

Ismailia Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,883

/mo nomad

Ismailia

🇪🇬 Egypt

$330

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Ismailia

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,883 in Dubai versus $330 in Ismailia.

Dubai $2,883
Ismailia $330

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,403 in Dubai versus $561 in Ismailia.

Dubai $4,403
Ismailia $561

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,923 in Dubai versus $792 in Ismailia.

Dubai $5,923
Ismailia $792

Living in Dubai is roughly 775% more expensive than in Ismailia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 113% above, Ismailia is 76% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.99 AED 47.72

$3.30 E£176

293.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.9 AED 301

$14.58 E£778

461.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.64 AED 35.40

$3.76 E£201

156.38%

Cappuccino

$6.09 AED 22.38

$1.04 E£55.5

485.58%

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

$1.61 AED 5.93

$0.30 E£15.91

436.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 AED 2.76

$0.13 E£6.85

476.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.79 AED 50.6

$1.32 E£70.6

944.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.41 AED 49.25

$1.80 E£96.0

645.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 AED 6.83

$0.79 E£42.30

135.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 AED 5.62

$0.36 E£19.07

325.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.38

$0.60 E£32.12

325.00%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.06

$1.15 E£61.5

185.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.14 AED 44.57

$3.49 E£186

247.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.15 AED 33.62

$3.98 E£213

129.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 AED 47.00

$6.95 E£371

84.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.56 AED 9.39

$1.45 E£77.3

76.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.03

$0.54 E£29.05

253.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 AED 6.69

$0.41 E£22.01

343.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 AED 5.26

$0.31 E£16.79

361.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 AED 4.04

$0.26 E£13.89

323.08%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 AED 3.40

$0.32 E£17.12

187.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 AED 5.58

$0.23 E£12.31

560.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 AED 2.54

$0.20 E£10.67

245.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 AED 23.55

$1.86 E£99.5

244.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.52 AED 60.7

$5.48 E£293

201.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 AED 9.41

$1.04 E£55.4

146.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$1.89 E£101

62.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.58 AED 5.82

$0.23 E£12.26

586.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.9 AED 279

$3.77 E£201

1914.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.19 AED 11.72

$0.39 E£20.60

717.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.62

$0.48 E£25.72

47.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.21 AED 30.13

$1.13 E£60.2

626.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.01 AED 3.73

$0.42 E£22.18

140.48%

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

$26.1K AED 96.0K

$27.6K E£1.5M

-5.42%

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

$21.8K AED 80.2K

$14.6K E£780.2K

49.52%

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

$245 AED 900

$13.94 E£744

1657.89%

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

$57.5 AED 211

$6.66 E£355

763.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.3 AED 335

$7.33 E£391

1144.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$105 AED 385

$9.65 E£515

985.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.58 AED 171

$18.42 E£984

152.88%

Cinema Ticket

$16.04 AED 58.9

$1.82 E£97.4

781.32%

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

$873 AED 3,206

$65.6 E£3,502

1231.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.0K AED 66.2K

$1,171 E£62.5K

1438.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 AED 260

$12.92 E£690

447.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.3 AED 229

$9.19 E£491

578.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 AED 390

$127 E£6,764

-16.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 AED 376

$27.53 E£1,470

271.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,454 AED 9,014

$78.3 E£4,181

3034.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,510 AED 5,545

$31.44 E£1,679

4702.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,640 AED 17.0K

$120 E£6,414

3763.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,961 AED 10.9K

$75.2 E£4,017

3836.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,219 AED 26.5K

$458 E£24.5K

1474.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,232 AED 15.5K

$131 E£6,984

3136.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,584 AED 13.2K

$101 E£5,387

3453.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

21.33

-78.72%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 18, 2026

Last update for Ismailia: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.4%

Ismailia

$31 9.5% 97.9% $1.5K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.7%

Ismailia

$28 8.5% 92.9% $366

Eating Out

Dubai

$311 10.8%

Ismailia

$62 18.8% 80.1% $249

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$288 10%

Ismailia

$108 32.8% 62.5% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$154 5.3%

Ismailia

$79 24.1% 48.4% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$137 4.8%

Ismailia

$13 4% 90.3% $124

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Ismailia

$7.5 2.3% 91.6% $82

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,454 in Dubai and $78.3 in Ismailia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 3453% 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 $15.00 in Ismailia for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $108 per month, with Ismailia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇪🇬 Ismailia

🕒 Local time

01:25 1:25 AM

00:25 12:25 AM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

352,000

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Ismailia 2,330 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Ismailia

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 Ismailia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ismailia is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 775% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 3453% 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: $2,454 in Dubai versus $78.3 in Ismailia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Ismailia runs roughly 1914% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $873 in Dubai versus $65.6 in Ismailia. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $330 in Ismailia versus $2,883 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ismailia but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Ismailia the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Ismailia 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 Ismailia 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 Ismailia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 775% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.