Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Lund

For one person, living is cheaper in Lund: $1,777 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $12,900 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
85

Cost of Living Index in Lund
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Lund Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Lund

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,777

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Lund

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $1,777 in Lund.

Dubai $2,854
Lund $1,777

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $2,922 in Lund.

Dubai $4,321
Lund $2,922

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $4,067 in Lund.

Dubai $5,788
Lund $4,067

Living in Dubai is roughly 61% more expensive than in Lund, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 113% above, Lund 33% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$12.72 SEK 127

2.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$91.0 SEK 909

-10.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$11.72 SEK 117

-20.48%

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$4.60 SEK 46.01

29.78%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$2.79 SEK 27.88

-41.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$2.07 SEK 20.65

-60.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

$8.18 SEK 81.7

66.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

$6.79 SEK 67.9

97.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$1.63 SEK 16.28

11.04%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$2.55 SEK 25.47

-38.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$3.38 SEK 33.74

-26.33%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$4.57 SEK 45.63

-28.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$12.53 SEK 125

1.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$11.84 SEK 118

-17.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$15.33 SEK 153

-14.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$3.06 SEK 30.63

-14.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$2.58 SEK 25.82

-25.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$2.83 SEK 28.26

-32.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$4.68 SEK 46.78

-70.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$1.70 SEK 16.98

-31.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.43 SEK 14.25

-29.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$2.55 SEK 25.50

-40.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$1.52 SEK 15.20

-59.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$8.10 SEK 81.0

-27.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

$11.15 SEK 111

44.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

$1.85 SEK 18.50

43.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

$2.73 SEK 27.27

8.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$3.28 SEK 32.79

-50.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$63.3 SEK 632

16.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$5.08 SEK 50.7

-37.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$1.10 SEK 11.02

-35.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$41.40 SEK 414

-80.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$1.80 SEK 17.97

-45.00%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$33.1K SEK 331.0K

-17.36%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$32.8K SEK 328.1K

-31.34%

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

$250 AED 920

$76.4 SEK 764

227.71%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$28.05 SEK 280

93.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$41.33 SEK 413

122.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$38.07 SEK 381

159.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$27.39 SEK 274

55.57%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$15.11 SEK 151

6.09%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$157 SEK 1,571

436.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$78.5 SEK 785

-13.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$56.6 SEK 566

2.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$97.7 SEK 976

3.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$121 SEK 1,213

-16.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$826 SEK 8,255

188.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$672 SEK 6,716

124.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$1,697 SEK 17.0K

161.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$1,365 SEK 13.6K

120.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$6,116 SEK 61.1K

16.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$3,597 SEK 35.9K

14.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$2,871 SEK 28.7K

18.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

3.03

49.83%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Lund: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Lund

$672 38.3% 55.4% $834

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Lund

$146 8.3% 63.2% $251

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Lund

$266 15.2% 13.8% $43

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Lund

$355 20.3% 21.4% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Lund

$159 9.1% 8.1% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Lund

$68 3.9% 47.7% $62

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Lund

$87 5% 0.1% $0

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,380 in Dubai and $826 in Lund. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 18% 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: $81.0 in Dubai vs $91.0 in Lund for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $355 per month, with Dubai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇸🇪 Lund

🕒 Local time

07:08 7:08 AM

05:08 5:08 AM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

82,800

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

100 SEK = 10.01 USD

100 SEK = 8.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.99 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.21 SEK (100 SEK = 8.92 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Lund 4,800 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Lund

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 Lund: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lund is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, utilities, and leisure. The 61% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 18% 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: $2,380 in Dubai versus $826 in Lund. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Lund runs roughly 16% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $843 in Dubai versus $157 in Lund. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,777 in Lund versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lund but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Lund the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Lund 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 Lund 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 Lund gentler on the wallet – expenses run 61% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.