Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Kampong Thom

For one person, living is cheaper in Kampong Thom: $599 a month against $2,883 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $27,400 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 Kampong Thom
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Kampong Thom Living Index

Jump to prices

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,883

/mo nomad

Kampong Thom

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Kampong Thom

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,883 in Dubai versus $599 in Kampong Thom.

Dubai $2,883
Kampong Thom $599

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,403 in Dubai versus $979 in Kampong Thom.

Dubai $4,403
Kampong Thom $979

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,923 in Dubai versus $1,359 in Kampong Thom.

Dubai $5,923
Kampong Thom $1,359

Living in Dubai is roughly 381% more expensive than in Kampong Thom, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 113% above, Kampong Thom is 56% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.99 AED 47.72

$3.90 ៛15.8K

233.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.9 AED 301

$39.16 ៛159.1K

109.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.64 AED 35.40

$7.19 ៛29.2K

34.08%

Cappuccino

$6.09 AED 22.38

$2.87 ៛11.7K

112.20%

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

$1.61 AED 5.93

$1.78 ៛7,244

-9.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 AED 2.76

$0.61 ៛2,478

22.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.79 AED 50.6

$1.02 ៛4,140

1251.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.41 AED 49.25

$2.98 ៛12.1K

350.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 AED 6.83

$2.19 ៛8,891

-15.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 AED 5.62

$1.58 ៛6,398

-3.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.38

$1.11 ៛4,508

129.73%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.06

$1.76 ៛7,158

86.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.14 AED 44.57

$14.96 ៛60.8K

-18.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.15 AED 33.62

$4.07 ៛16.5K

124.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 AED 47.00

$8.97 ៛36.4K

42.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.56 AED 9.39

$3.83 ៛15.5K

-33.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.03

$1.70 ៛6,893

12.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 AED 6.69

$4.23 ៛17.2K

-56.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 AED 5.26

$2.10 ៛8,518

-31.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 AED 4.04

$1.64 ៛6,648

-32.93%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 AED 3.40

$1.27 ៛5,143

-27.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 AED 5.58

$1.15 ៛4,665

32.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 AED 2.54

$0.78 ៛3,156

-11.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 AED 23.55

$1.92 ៛7,809

233.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.52 AED 60.7

$10.83 ៛44.0K

52.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 AED 9.41

$0.96 ៛3,891

166.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$1.82 ៛7,381

69.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.58 AED 5.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.9 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.19 AED 11.72

$1.12 ៛4,550

184.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.62

$0.98 ៛3,960

-27.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.21 AED 30.13

$5.04 ៛20.5K

62.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.01 AED 3.73

$1.37 ៛5,583

-26.28%

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

$26.1K AED 96.0K

$35.0K ៛142.3M

-25.38%

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

$21.8K AED 80.2K

$44.2K ៛179.6M

-50.59%

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

$245 AED 900

$104 ៛424.4K

134.52%

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

$57.5 AED 211

$7.37 ៛29.9K

680.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.3 AED 335

$24.42 ៛99.2K

273.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$105 AED 385

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.58 AED 171

Cinema Ticket

$16.04 AED 58.9

$5.02 ៛20.4K

219.52%

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

$873 AED 3,206

$659 ៛2.7M

32.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.0K AED 66.2K

$11.0K ៛44.6M

64.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 AED 260

$27.64 ៛112.3K

156.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.3 AED 229

$24.04 ៛97.6K

159.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 AED 390

$89.7 ៛364.4K

18.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 AED 376

$58.0 ៛235.8K

76.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,454 AED 9,014

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,510 AED 5,545

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,640 AED 17.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,961 AED 10.9K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,219 AED 26.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,232 AED 15.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,584 AED 13.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

8.07

-43.74%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 18, 2026

Last update for Kampong Thom: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.4%

Kampong Thom

- * 0% 100%

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.7%

Kampong Thom

$136 22.7% 65.4% $258

Eating Out

Dubai

$311 10.8%

Kampong Thom

$108 18% 65.4% $203

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$288 10%

Kampong Thom

$249 41.6% 13.4% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$154 5.3%

Kampong Thom

$90 15% 41.6% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$137 4.8%

Kampong Thom

$10 * 1.7% 92.7% $127

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Kampong Thom

$6 * 1% 93.3% $83

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $82.0 in Dubai vs $39.00 in Kampong Thom for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $249 per month, with Kampong Thom cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇰🇭 Kampong Thom

🕒 Local time

01:12 1:12 AM

04:12 4:12 AM

3 h ahead of Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

19,951

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KHR, 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).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4,062 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD). 1 EUR = 4,567 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Kampong Thom 5,380 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Kampong Thom

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 Kampong Thom: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kampong Thom is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 381% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $4,324 in Dubai and $899 in Kampong Thom 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 16% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,883 per month in Dubai versus $599 in Kampong Thom – a 381% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $599 in Kampong Thom versus $2,883 in Dubai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Kampong Thom but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Kampong Thom the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Kampong Thom 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 Kampong Thom 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 Kampong Thom gentler on the wallet – expenses run 381% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.