Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Lezhe

For one person, living is cheaper in Lezhe: $1,011 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $22,600 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Lezhe
Learn more

Lezhe Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Lezhe

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,011

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Lezhe

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $1,011 in Lezhe.

Dubai $2,896
Lezhe $1,011

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $1,537 in Lezhe.

Dubai $4,384
Lezhe $1,537

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $2,063 in Lezhe.

Dubai $5,872
Lezhe $2,063

Living in Dubai is roughly 186% more expensive than in Lezhe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, Lezhe is 25% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$5.39 ALL 434

135.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$37.19 ALL 2,995

119.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$3.64 ALL 293

156.59%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$1.02 ALL 82.4

477.45%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$1.50 ALL 121

12.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.64 ALL 51.3

21.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$1.49 ALL 120

816.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$2.43 ALL 195

455.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$1.90 ALL 153

-3.16%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$0.99 ALL 79.6

51.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$2.02 ALL 163

27.23%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$2.66 ALL 214

24.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$10.15 ALL 817

24.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$8.60 ALL 692

12.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$14.03 ALL 1,130

-8.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$1.91 ALL 154

36.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$2.23 ALL 179

-14.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$1.62 ALL 130

17.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$1.59 ALL 128

-13.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$1.08 ALL 87.0

4.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.28 ALL 103

-21.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$1.18 ALL 94.8

22.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.83 ALL 67.0

-19.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$4.31 ALL 347

36.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$7.79 ALL 627

107.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$1.72 ALL 138

58.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$1.85 ALL 149

66.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$0.49 ALL 39.41

226.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

$18.93 ALL 1,524

301.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$3.73 ALL 301

-13.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$3.82 ALL 308

-81.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$17.97 ALL 1,447

-55.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$2.25 ALL 182

-56.44%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$33.2K ALL 2.7M

-17.57%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$24.8K ALL 2.0M

-11.00%

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

$249 AED 913

$60.0 ALL 4,833

314.03%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$16.37 ALL 1,318

232.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$16.98 ALL 1,367

438.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$55.3 ALL 4,456

86.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$8.77 ALL 706

85.75%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$180 ALL 14.5K

369.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$49.81 ALL 4,011

34.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$55.5 ALL 4,468

4.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$96.3 ALL 7,752

6.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$146 ALL 11.8K

-32.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$482 ALL 38.9K

396.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$308 ALL 24.8K

396.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$709 ALL 57.1K

547.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$429 ALL 34.6K

584.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$1,694 ALL 136.4K

316.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$1,133 ALL 91.2K

272.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$609 ALL 49.1K

467.83%

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 Lezhe: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Lezhe

$308 30.5% 79.9% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Lezhe

$93 9.2% 76.3% $301

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Lezhe

$87 8.6% 71.4% $218

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Lezhe

$249 24.6% 14.7% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Lezhe

$156 15.5% 6.7% $9.8

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Lezhe

$73 7.2% 46.4% $63

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Lezhe

$44 4.3% 50.9% $45

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,393 in Dubai and $482 in Lezhe. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 468% 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: $82.0 in Dubai vs $37.00 in Lezhe for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $249 per month, with Lezhe cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇦🇱 Lezhe

🕒 Local time

14:36 2:36 PM

12:36 12:36 PM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

65,633

💱 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 →

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Between locations

Dubai Lezhe 3,750 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

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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 Lezhe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lezhe is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. The 186% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 468% 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: $2,393 in Dubai versus $482 in Lezhe. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Lezhe runs roughly 301% 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 $180 in Lezhe. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,011 in Lezhe versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lezhe but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Lezhe the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Lezhe 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 Lezhe 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 Lezhe gentler on the wallet – expenses run 186% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.