Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Ma'an

For one person, living is cheaper in Ma'an: $834 a month against $2,883 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $24,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Ma'an
Learn more

Ma'an Living Index

Jump to prices

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,883

/mo nomad

Ma'an

🇯🇴 Jordan

$834

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Ma'an

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,883 in Dubai versus $834 in Ma'an.

Dubai $2,883
Ma'an $834

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,403 in Dubai versus $1,381 in Ma'an.

Dubai $4,403
Ma'an $1,381

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,923 in Dubai versus $1,927 in Ma'an.

Dubai $5,923
Ma'an $1,927

Living in Dubai is roughly 246% more expensive than in Ma'an, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 113% above, Ma'an is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.99 AED 47.72

$7.10 JOD 5.03

82.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.9 AED 301

$70.1 JOD 49.62

16.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.64 AED 35.40

$7.24 JOD 5.13

33.15%

Cappuccino

$6.09 AED 22.38

$4.39 JOD 3.11

38.72%

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

$1.61 AED 5.93

$0.66 JOD 0.47

143.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 AED 2.76

$0.57 JOD 0.40

31.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.79 AED 50.6

$8.51 JOD 6.03

62.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.41 AED 49.25

$10.86 JOD 7.69

23.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 AED 6.83

$1.57 JOD 1.11

18.47%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 AED 5.62

$0.66 JOD 0.47

131.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.38

$1.57 JOD 1.11

62.42%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.06

$2.44 JOD 1.72

34.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.14 AED 44.57

$9.53 JOD 6.75

27.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.15 AED 33.62

$6.43 JOD 4.55

42.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 AED 47.00

$12.85 JOD 9.10

-0.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.56 AED 9.39

$2.64 JOD 1.87

-3.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.03

$2.05 JOD 1.45

-6.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 AED 6.69

$1.84 JOD 1.30

-1.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 AED 5.26

$0.78 JOD 0.55

83.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 AED 4.04

$0.91 JOD 0.64

20.88%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 AED 3.40

$0.80 JOD 0.57

15.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 AED 5.58

$0.63 JOD 0.45

141.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 AED 2.54

$0.65 JOD 0.46

6.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 AED 23.55

$3.80 JOD 2.69

68.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.52 AED 60.7

$21.01 JOD 14.88

-21.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 AED 9.41

$4.93 JOD 3.49

-48.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$4.99 JOD 3.54

-38.28%

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

$0.59 JOD 0.42

440.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.62

$1.45 JOD 1.03

-51.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.21 AED 30.13

$6.89 JOD 4.88

19.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.01 AED 3.73

$1.69 JOD 1.19

-40.24%

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

$26.1K AED 96.0K

$35.0K JOD 24.8K

-25.38%

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

$21.8K AED 80.2K

$34.8K JOD 24.6K

-37.18%

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

$245 AED 900

$129 JOD 91.3

89.96%

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

$57.5 AED 211

$15.57 JOD 11.02

269.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.3 AED 335

$32.59 JOD 23.07

179.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$105 AED 385

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.58 AED 171

Cinema Ticket

$16.04 AED 58.9

$11.44 JOD 8.10

40.21%

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

$873 AED 3,206

$488 JOD 346

78.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.0K AED 66.2K

$9,910 JOD 7,016

81.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 AED 260

$62.6 JOD 44.33

13.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.3 AED 229

$81.2 JOD 57.5

-23.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 AED 390

$124 JOD 87.5

-14.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 AED 376

$88.5 JOD 62.6

15.69%

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

6.81

-33.33%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 18, 2026

Last update for Ma'an: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.4%

Ma'an

- * 0% 100%

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.7%

Ma'an

$177 21.2% 55% $217

Eating Out

Dubai

$311 10.8%

Ma'an

$200 24% 35.6% $111

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$288 10%

Ma'an

$266 31.9% 7.8% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$154 5.3%

Ma'an

$160 19.2% 4.2% $6.4

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$137 4.8%

Ma'an

$23 * 2.7% 83.3% $114

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Ma'an

$7.8 * 0.9% 91.2% $81

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 $70.0 in Ma'an for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $266 per month, with Ma'an cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇯🇴 Ma'an

🕒 Local time

18:24 6:24 PM

17:24 5:24 PM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

50,350

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Jordanian Dinar JOD د.ا

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1 JOD = 1.41 USD

1 JOD = 1.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JOD, 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).

Jordanian Dinar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.708 JOD (1 JOD = 1.41 USD). 1 EUR = 0.796 JOD (1 JOD = 1.26 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Ma'an 2,000 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Ma'an

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 Ma'an: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ma'an is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. The 246% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $4,324 in Dubai and $1,251 in Ma'an 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 8% 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 $834 in Ma'an – a 246% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $834 in Ma'an versus $2,883 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ma'an but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Ma'an the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Ma'an 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 Ma'an 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 Ma'an gentler on the wallet – expenses run 246% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.