Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Lucknow

For one person, living is cheaper in Lucknow: $399 a month against $2,889 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $29,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index
19

Cost of Living Index in Lucknow
Learn more

Lucknow Living Index

Jump to prices

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,889

/mo nomad

Lucknow

🇮🇳 India

$399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Lucknow

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,889 in Dubai versus $399 in Lucknow.

Dubai $2,889
Lucknow $399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,444 in Dubai versus $622 in Lucknow.

Dubai $4,444
Lucknow $622

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,999 in Dubai versus $845 in Lucknow.

Dubai $5,999
Lucknow $845

Living in Dubai is roughly 623% more expensive than in Lucknow, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 114% above, Lucknow is 70% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.94 AED 47.54

$1.88 ₹177

588.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.2 AED 306

$10.59 ₹1,001

685.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.35 AED 34.32

$3.21 ₹304

191.28%

Cappuccino

$5.88 AED 21.60

$1.64 ₹154

258.54%

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

$1.57 AED 5.77

$0.44 ₹41.86

256.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 AED 3.47

$0.13 ₹12.65

623.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.44 AED 49.38

$1.62 ₹153

729.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.57 AED 49.84

$2.35 ₹222

477.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 AED 6.83

$0.75 ₹71.1

148.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 AED 5.73

$0.45 ₹42.94

246.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.64 AED 9.68

$0.59 ₹55.8

347.46%

Eggs

$3.53 AED 12.96

$0.97 ₹91.7

263.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.97 AED 47.62

$3.34 ₹315

288.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.94 AED 36.51

$2.48 ₹234

300.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.92 AED 47.45

Apples (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.36

$1.87 ₹177

36.36%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 AED 7.54

$0.65 ₹61.1

215.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 AED 6.77

$0.93 ₹88.2

97.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 AED 5.64

$0.45 ₹42.72

242.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.31

$0.27 ₹25.40

333.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 AED 3.76

$0.44 ₹41.21

131.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 AED 5.75

$0.42 ₹39.50

273.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.46

$0.32 ₹30.41

109.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 AED 23.17

$5.14 ₹486

22.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.16 AED 59.4

$8.31 ₹785

94.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.58 AED 9.48

$1.61 ₹153

60.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 AED 10.60

$2.63 ₹249

9.89%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$5.72 ₹540

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 AED 5.15

$0.41 ₹38.65

241.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.4 AED 303

$9.09 ₹859

806.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.29 AED 12.07

$0.99 ₹93.8

232.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 AED 2.40

$0.22 ₹20.80

195.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 AED 29.84

$1.19 ₹113

583.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 AED 3.68

$1.13 ₹107

-11.50%

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

$26.3K AED 96.6K

$11.1K ₹1.0M

136.64%

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

$22.0K AED 81.0K

$21.9K ₹2.1M

0.51%

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

$239 AED 877

$54.5 ₹5,152

338.03%

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

$56.9 AED 209

$3.64 ₹344

1462.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$93.9 AED 345

$8.80 ₹831

966.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$90.8 AED 334

$15.94 ₹1,506

469.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.38 AED 170

$6.81 ₹644

581.06%

Cinema Ticket

$16.24 AED 59.6

$3.26 ₹308

398.16%

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

$934 AED 3,429

$39.77 ₹3,757

2247.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.9K AED 76.8K

$2,070 ₹195.6K

910.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.7 AED 260

$22.97 ₹2,170

207.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.3 AED 225

$25.06 ₹2,367

144.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 AED 377

$39.12 ₹3,696

162.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 AED 426

$26.11 ₹2,467

344.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,487 AED 9,134

$136 ₹12.9K

1723.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,520 AED 5,581

$89.6 ₹8,466

1595.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,234 AED 19.2K

$356 ₹33.6K

1371.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,028 AED 11.1K

$208 ₹19.6K

1356.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,982 AED 25.6K

$1,099 ₹103.8K

535.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,433 AED 16.3K

$616 ₹58.2K

619.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,553 AED 13.0K

$299 ₹28.2K

1089.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.57

8.53

-46.42%

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

Last update for Dubai: November 2, 2026

Last update for Lucknow: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.6%

Lucknow

$90 22.4% 94.1% $1.4K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$390 13.5%

Lucknow

$67 16.8% 82.8% $323

Eating Out

Dubai

$307 10.6%

Lucknow

$59 14.9% 80.6% $247

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$297 10.3%

Lucknow

$97 24.3% 67.3% $200

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$158 5.5%

Lucknow

$51 12.8% 67.7% $107

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$123 4.3%

Lucknow

$22 5.6% 81.8% $101

Getting Around

Dubai

$95 3.3%

Lucknow

$13 3.2% 86.4% $82

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,487 in Dubai and $136 in Lucknow. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays about 12 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $83 in Dubai vs $11 in Lucknow for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $97 per month, with Lucknow cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇮🇳 Lucknow

🕒 Local time

22:53 10:53 PM

00:23 12:23 AM

1 h 30 min ahead of Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

4,588,455

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.59 USD

1,000 INR = 9.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, 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).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 94.47 INR (100 INR = 1.06 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.42 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Lucknow 2,580 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Lucknow

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 Lucknow: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lucknow is about 86% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Dubai is about 12 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 $136 in Lucknow. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Lucknow runs roughly 89% less than in Dubai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $934 in Dubai versus $40 in Lucknow. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $399 in Lucknow versus $2,889 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Lucknow but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Lucknow 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 Lucknow gentler on the wallet – expenses run 86% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.