Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Jeddah

For one person, living is cheaper in Jeddah: $1,360 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $17,900 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
67

Cost of Living Index in Jeddah
Learn more

Jeddah Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Jeddah

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,360

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Jeddah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $1,360 in Jeddah.

Dubai $2,854
Jeddah $1,360

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $2,168 in Jeddah.

Dubai $4,321
Jeddah $2,168

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $2,975 in Jeddah.

Dubai $5,788
Jeddah $2,975

Living in Dubai is roughly 110% more expensive than in Jeddah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 113% above, Jeddah 2% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$6.04 SAR 22.68

115.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$79.8 SAR 300

2.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$8.75 SAR 32.85

6.51%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.43 SAR 9.11

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 SAR 9.88

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$3.77 SAR 14.16

58.36%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$0.97 SAR 3.65

68.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$0.24 SAR 0.90

237.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$1.67 SAR 6.28

8.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$1.33 SAR 4.99

18.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$2.37 SAR 8.89

5.06%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$2.48 SAR 9.31

32.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$6.36 SAR 23.89

99.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$8.00 SAR 30.02

21.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$13.31 SAR 49.98

-0.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$2.10 SAR 7.90

24.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$1.77 SAR 6.63

9.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$1.54 SAR 5.80

24.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$1.69 SAR 6.36

-19.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$1.13 SAR 4.26

3.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.29 SAR 4.85

-21.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$1.12 SAR 4.22

34.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$0.50 SAR 1.87

24.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.23 SAR 15.90

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.84 SAR 6.92

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 SAR 9.70

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$6.86 SAR 25.77

-14.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$0.89 SAR 3.35

84.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$55.5 SAR 208

32.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$3.11 SAR 11.69

1.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$1.77 SAR 6.65

-59.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$14.12 SAR 53.0

-43.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$0.59 SAR 2.21

67.80%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$47.7K SAR 179.0K

-42.57%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$21.4K SAR 80.4K

5.23%

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

$250 AED 920

$90.3 SAR 339

177.24%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$39.04 SAR 147

38.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$67.9 SAR 255

35.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$79.6 SAR 299

23.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$38.23 SAR 144

11.46%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$12.04 SAR 45.22

33.14%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$757 SAR 2,841

11.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$16.3K SAR 61.1K

12.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$73.8 SAR 277

-7.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$56.0 SAR 210

3.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$101 SAR 380

-0.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$94.3 SAR 354

7.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$790 SAR 2,966

201.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$535 SAR 2,009

181.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$1,418 SAR 5,323

212.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$817 SAR 3,070

268.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$1,777 SAR 6,673

300.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$1,143 SAR 4,291

261.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$1,646 SAR 6,180

106.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

5.39

-15.77%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Jeddah: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Jeddah

$535 38.8% 64.5% $971

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Jeddah

$197 14.3% 50.2% $199

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Jeddah

$125 9% 59.6% $184

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Jeddah

$201 14.6% 31.5% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Jeddah

$146 10.6% 0.7% $1

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Jeddah

$104 7.5% 20.6% $27

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Jeddah

$71 5.2% 18.3% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,380 in Dubai and $790 in Jeddah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 106% 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 $80.0 in Jeddah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $201 per month, with Jeddah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇸🇦 Jeddah

🕒 Local time

15:15 3:15 PM

14:15 2:15 PM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

3,430,697

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.238 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, 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).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.21 SAR (1 SAR = 0.238 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Dubai Jeddah 1,680 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Jeddah

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 Jeddah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jeddah is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 110% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 106% 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 $790 in Jeddah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Jeddah runs roughly 33% 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 $757 in Jeddah. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,360 in Jeddah versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Jeddah but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Jeddah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Jeddah 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 Jeddah 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 Jeddah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 110% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.