Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Luanda

For one person, living is cheaper in Luanda: $995 a month against $2,889 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $22,700 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
48

Cost of Living Index in Luanda
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Luanda Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,889

/mo nomad

Luanda

🇦🇴 Angola

$995

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Luanda

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,889 in Dubai versus $995 in Luanda.

Dubai $2,889
Luanda $995

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,444 in Dubai versus $1,882 in Luanda.

Dubai $4,444
Luanda $1,882

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,999 in Dubai versus $2,768 in Luanda.

Dubai $5,999
Luanda $2,768

Living in Dubai is roughly 190% more expensive than in Luanda, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 114% above, Luanda is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.94 AED 47.54

$5.39 AOA 4,921

140.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.2 AED 306

$36.68 AOA 33.5K

126.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.35 AED 34.32

$6.45 AOA 5,890

44.96%

Cappuccino

$5.88 AED 21.60

$2.64 AOA 2,411

122.73%

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

$1.57 AED 5.77

$1.33 AOA 1,212

18.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 AED 3.47

$1.20 AOA 1,093

-21.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.44 AED 49.38

$1.60 AOA 1,459

740.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.57 AED 49.84

$1.67 AOA 1,524

712.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 AED 6.83

$1.96 AOA 1,793

-5.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 AED 5.73

$0.95 AOA 865

64.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.64 AED 9.68

$1.68 AOA 1,531

57.14%

Eggs

$3.53 AED 12.96

$1.88 AOA 1,716

87.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.97 AED 47.62

$9.42 AOA 8,597

37.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.94 AED 36.51

$3.41 AOA 3,113

191.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.92 AED 47.45

$7.86 AOA 7,179

64.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.36

$2.22 AOA 2,031

14.86%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 AED 7.54

$0.99 AOA 904

107.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 AED 6.77

$2.77 AOA 2,525

-33.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 AED 5.64

$1.80 AOA 1,639

-14.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.31

$1.54 AOA 1,402

-24.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 AED 3.76

$1.50 AOA 1,373

-32.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 AED 5.75

$1.74 AOA 1,587

-9.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.46

$0.34 AOA 308

97.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 AED 23.17

$1.60 AOA 1,457

294.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.16 AED 59.4

$6.07 AOA 5,541

166.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.58 AED 9.48

$0.43 AOA 392

500.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 AED 10.60

$0.92 AOA 842

214.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 AED 5.15

$0.26 AOA 237

438.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.4 AED 303

$31.32 AOA 28.6K

163.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.29 AED 12.07

$1.10 AOA 1,008

199.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 AED 2.40

$0.89 AOA 808

-26.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 AED 29.84

$5.32 AOA 4,857

52.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 AED 3.68

$0.35 AOA 315

185.71%

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

$26.3K AED 96.6K

$14.1K AOA 12.9M

86.22%

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

$22.0K AED 81.0K

$22.1K AOA 20.2M

-0.45%

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

$239 AED 877

$102 AOA 93.1K

134.11%

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

$56.9 AED 209

$17.97 AOA 16.4K

216.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$93.9 AED 345

$76.6 AOA 69.9K

22.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$90.8 AED 334

$45.00 AOA 41.1K

101.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.38 AED 170

$15.02 AOA 13.7K

208.79%

Cinema Ticket

$16.24 AED 59.6

$3.46 AOA 3,154

369.36%

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

$934 AED 3,429

$752 AOA 686.3K

24.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.9K AED 76.8K

$15.5K AOA 14.2M

34.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.7 AED 260

$109 AOA 99.8K

-35.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.3 AED 225

$62.1 AOA 56.7K

-1.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 AED 377

$97.5 AOA 89.0K

5.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 AED 426

$197 AOA 179.6K

-40.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,487 AED 9,134

$387 AOA 352.9K

543.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,520 AED 5,581

$200 AOA 182.4K

660.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,234 AED 19.2K

$2,106 AOA 1.9M

148.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,028 AED 11.1K

$1,049 AOA 957.5K

188.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,982 AED 25.6K

$11.8K AOA 10.7M

-40.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,433 AED 16.3K

$873 AOA 796.7K

407.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,553 AED 13.0K

$1,426 AOA 1.3M

149.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.57

-78.24%

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

Last update for Dubai: November 2, 2026

Last update for Luanda: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.6%

Luanda

$200 20.1% 86.8% $1.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$390 13.5%

Luanda

$197 19.8% 49.6% $193

Eating Out

Dubai

$307 10.6%

Luanda

$116 11.6% 62.3% $191

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$297 10.3%

Luanda

$184 18.5% 38.1% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$158 5.5%

Luanda

$210 21.1% 32.7% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$123 4.3%

Luanda

$52 5.2% 57.9% $71

Getting Around

Dubai

$95 3.3%

Luanda

$38 3.8% 59.9% $57

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,487 in Dubai and $387 in Luanda. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays about 2.5 times 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: $83 in Dubai vs $37 in Luanda for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $184 per month, with Luanda cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇦🇴 Luanda

🕒 Local time

22:36 10:36 PM

19:36 7:36 PM

3 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

2,600,000 Capital

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Angolan Kwanza AOA Kz

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

10,000 AOA = 10.96 USD

10,000 AOA = 9.75 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AOA, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Angolan Kwanza exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 913 AOA (1,000 AOA = 1.1 USD). 1 EUR = 1,026 AOA (10,000 AOA = 9.75 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Luanda 5,900 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
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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 Luanda: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Luanda is about 66% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Dubai is about 2.5 times higher, 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: $2,487 in Dubai versus $387 in Luanda. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Luanda runs roughly 62% less than in Dubai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $934 in Dubai versus $752 in Luanda. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $995 in Luanda versus $2,889 in Dubai, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Luanda but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Luanda the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Luanda gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.