Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Kamez

For one person, living is cheaper in Kamez: $1,088 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $21,700 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Kamez
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Kamez Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Kamez

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,088

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Kamez

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $1,088 in Kamez.

Dubai $2,896
Kamez $1,088

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $1,622 in Kamez.

Dubai $4,384
Kamez $1,622

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $2,157 in Kamez.

Dubai $5,872
Kamez $2,157

Living in Dubai is roughly 166% more expensive than in Kamez, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, Kamez is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$9.88 ALL 796

28.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$38.03 ALL 3,062

114.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$7.46 ALL 601

25.20%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$1.90 ALL 153

210.00%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$1.75 ALL 141

-3.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.69 ALL 55.3

13.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$2.47 ALL 199

453.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$3.29 ALL 265

310.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$1.95 ALL 157

-5.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$0.96 ALL 77.6

56.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$2.01 ALL 162

27.86%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$2.61 ALL 210

27.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$10.26 ALL 826

22.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$8.32 ALL 670

16.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$13.84 ALL 1,114

-7.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$1.88 ALL 152

38.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$2.27 ALL 183

-16.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$1.68 ALL 135

13.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$1.58 ALL 127

-13.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$1.06 ALL 85.2

6.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.23 ALL 99.4

-17.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$1.19 ALL 96.0

21.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.73 ALL 59.1

-8.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$4.39 ALL 353

33.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$7.99 ALL 644

102.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$1.62 ALL 131

67.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$1.88 ALL 152

63.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$0.51 ALL 40.87

213.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

$21.25 ALL 1,711

257.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$3.64 ALL 293

-10.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$3.61 ALL 291

-80.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$18.57 ALL 1,496

-57.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$2.18 ALL 175

-55.05%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$33.4K ALL 2.7M

-18.00%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$24.7K ALL 2.0M

-10.81%

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

$249 AED 913

$61.1 ALL 4,920

306.71%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$16.32 ALL 1,314

233.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$16.84 ALL 1,356

443.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$56.7 ALL 4,567

82.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$8.38 ALL 675

94.39%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$98.1 ALL 7,897

760.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$8,281 ALL 666.9K

120.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$48.06 ALL 3,870

39.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$46.90 ALL 3,777

23.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$96.7 ALL 7,787

5.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$110 ALL 8,818

-9.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$464 ALL 37.4K

415.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$340 ALL 27.4K

350.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$791 ALL 63.7K

481.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$433 ALL 34.8K

579.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$1,709 ALL 137.7K

312.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$1,189 ALL 95.7K

255.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

-9.20%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Kamez: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Kamez

$340 31.3% 77.8% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Kamez

$94 8.7% 76.1% $300

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Kamez

$153 14.1% 49.9% $152

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Kamez

$246 22.6% 15.5% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Kamez

$136 12.5% 7.5% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Kamez

$73 6.8% 46% $62

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Kamez

$45 4.1% 49.5% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,393 in Dubai and $464 in Kamez. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $82.0 in Dubai vs $38.00 in Kamez for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $246 per month, with Kamez cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇦🇱 Kamez

🕒 Local time

16:19 4:19 PM

14:19 2:19 PM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

104,190

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, 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).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 80.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 90.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Kamez 3,720 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Kamez

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 Kamez: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kamez is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 166% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $4,344 in Dubai and $1,632 in Kamez 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 $464 in Kamez. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kamez runs roughly 257% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $844 in Dubai versus $98.1 in Kamez. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,088 in Kamez versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Kamez but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Kamez the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Kamez 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 Kamez 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 Kamez gentler on the wallet – expenses run 166% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.