Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Kadoma

For one person, living is cheaper in Kadoma: $603 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $27,000 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
29

Cost of Living Index in Kadoma
Learn more

Kadoma Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Kadoma

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$603

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Kadoma

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $603 in Kadoma.

Dubai $2,854
Kadoma $603

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $982 in Kadoma.

Dubai $4,321
Kadoma $982

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $1,362 in Kadoma.

Dubai $5,788
Kadoma $1,362

Living in Dubai is roughly 374% more expensive than in Kadoma, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 113% above, Kadoma is 55% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$10.13 ZWL 270

28.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$44.17 ZWL 1,179

84.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$5.60 ZWL 150

66.43%

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$3.09 ZWL 82.5

93.20%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$0.92 ZWL 24.45

77.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$0.48 ZWL 12.88

68.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

$1.28 ZWL 34.06

966.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

$1.94 ZWL 51.9

589.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$1.47 ZWL 39.15

23.13%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$0.98 ZWL 26.26

60.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$1.71 ZWL 45.51

45.61%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$1.87 ZWL 49.97

75.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.52

$11.27 ZWL 301

12.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$5.31 ZWL 142

83.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.39

$6.73 ZWL 180

95.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$2.93 ZWL 78.2

-10.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$1.69 ZWL 45.22

14.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$2.01 ZWL 53.7

-4.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$1.58 ZWL 42.12

-13.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$1.76 ZWL 46.89

-33.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.79 ZWL 47.69

-43.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$1.28 ZWL 34.23

17.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$1.00 ZWL 26.62

-38.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$1.95 ZWL 52.1

200.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

$8.34 ZWL 223

93.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

$1.39 ZWL 37.04

90.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

$1.92 ZWL 51.2

53.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$4.02 ZWL 107

-21.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$1.97 ZWL 52.5

-63.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$4.87 ZWL 130

63.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$1.79 ZWL 47.65

-44.69%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$21.7K ZWL 578.6K

26.25%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$27.4K ZWL 730.4K

-17.63%

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

$250 AED 920

$50.8 ZWL 1,355

393.40%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$21.33 ZWL 569

154.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$69.2 ZWL 1,847

32.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$9.85 ZWL 263

62.74%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$441 ZWL 11.8K

91.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$8,499 ZWL 226.8K

114.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$23.30 ZWL 622

191.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 212

$21.09 ZWL 563

174.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$39.38 ZWL 1,051

155.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$39.85 ZWL 1,064

153.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,530

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

13.69

-66.84%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Kadoma: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Kadoma

- * 0% 100%

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Kadoma

$141 23.8% 64.4% $255

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Kadoma

$151 25.4% 51.2% $158

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Kadoma

$213 35.9% 27.1% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Kadoma

$56 9.4% 62.3% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Kadoma

$20 * 3.3% 84.9% $111

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Kadoma

$14 * 2.3% 84.1% $73

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $81.0 in Dubai vs $44.00 in Kadoma for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $214 per month, with Kadoma cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇿🇼 Kadoma

🕒 Local time

08:17 8:17 AM

06:17 6:17 AM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

77,749

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Zimbabwean Dollar ZWL $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

100 ZWL = 3.75 USD

100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZWL, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 26.69 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.75 USD). 1 EUR = 29.91 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.34 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Kadoma 5,550 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Kadoma

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 Kadoma: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kadoma is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 374% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $4,281 in Dubai and $904 in Kadoma to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 37% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,854 per month in Dubai versus $603 in Kadoma – a 374% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $603 in Kadoma versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Kadoma but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Kadoma the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Kadoma 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 Kadoma 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 Kadoma gentler on the wallet – expenses run 374% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.