Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Kakanj

For one person, living is cheaper in Kakanj: $979 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $23,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Kakanj
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Kakanj Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Kakanj

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$979

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Kakanj

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $979 in Kakanj.

Dubai $2,896
Kakanj $979

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $1,435 in Kakanj.

Dubai $4,384
Kakanj $1,435

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $1,890 in Kakanj.

Dubai $5,872
Kakanj $1,890

Living in Dubai is roughly 196% more expensive than in Kakanj, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, Kakanj is 27% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$7.00 BAM 12.17

81.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$36.95 BAM 64.3

121.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$6.84 BAM 11.90

36.55%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$1.68 BAM 2.92

250.60%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$1.87 BAM 3.26

-9.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$1.25 BAM 2.17

-37.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$2.22 BAM 3.86

515.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$1.99 BAM 3.46

577.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$1.05 BAM 1.83

75.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$1.09 BAM 1.90

37.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$2.11 BAM 3.67

21.80%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$2.93 BAM 5.09

13.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$10.70 BAM 18.60

17.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$7.75 BAM 13.47

24.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$12.26 BAM 21.32

4.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$1.11 BAM 1.93

134.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.53 BAM 2.67

24.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$1.44 BAM 2.50

32.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$1.87 BAM 3.25

-26.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$1.10 BAM 1.91

2.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.03 BAM 1.80

-1.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$0.98 BAM 1.70

46.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.77 BAM 1.34

-12.99%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$3.60 BAM 6.26

63.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$6.93 BAM 12.06

133.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$0.87 BAM 1.51

212.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$1.37 BAM 2.38

124.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$1.26 BAM 2.19

26.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$1.68 BAM 2.92

92.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$0.65 BAM 1.12

9.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$9.00 BAM 15.64

-11.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$1.57 BAM 2.72

-37.58%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$27.1K BAM 47.2K

0.94%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$23.7K BAM 41.3K

-7.17%

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

$249 AED 913

$148 BAM 258

67.46%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$16.48 BAM 28.65

230.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$25.33 BAM 44.05

261.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$33.11 BAM 57.6

212.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$5.84 BAM 10.16

178.94%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$130 BAM 226

548.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$3,649 BAM 6,345

400.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$62.0 BAM 108

8.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$31.90 BAM 55.5

81.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$89.4 BAM 155

14.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$88.1 BAM 153

12.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$369 BAM 641

548.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$269 BAM 468

469.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$528 BAM 918

769.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$358 BAM 623

720.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$2,382 BAM 4,141

195.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$1,711 BAM 2,974

146.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

4.3

5.58%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Kakanj: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Kakanj

$269 27.5% 82.5% $1.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Kakanj

$190 19.4% 51.8% $204

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Kakanj

$124 12.7% 59.3% $181

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Kakanj

$219 22.3% 25% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Kakanj

$122 12.5% 16.7% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Kakanj

$45 4.6% 67.1% $91

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Kakanj

$10 * 1% 88.8% $79

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,393 in Dubai and $369 in Kakanj. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $82.0 in Dubai vs $37.00 in Kakanj for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $219 per month, with Kakanj cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇧🇦 Kakanj

🕒 Local time

08:11 8:11 AM

06:11 6:11 AM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

11,796

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1 BAM = 0.575 USD

1 BAM = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BAM, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BAM (1 BAM = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BAM (1 BAM = 0.512 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Kakanj 3,950 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Kakanj

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 Kakanj: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kakanj is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 196% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $4,344 in Dubai and $1,468 in Kakanj 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,393 in Dubai versus $369 in Kakanj. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 33% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,896 per month in Dubai versus $979 in Kakanj – a 196% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $979 in Kakanj versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Kakanj but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Kakanj the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Kakanj 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 Kakanj 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 Kakanj gentler on the wallet – expenses run 196% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.