Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Machilipatnam

For one person, living is cheaper in Machilipatnam: $380 a month against $2,889 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $30,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index
18

Cost of Living Index in Machilipatnam
Learn more

Machilipatnam Living Index

Jump to prices

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,889

/mo nomad

Machilipatnam

🇮🇳 India

$380

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Machilipatnam

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,889 in Dubai versus $380 in Machilipatnam.

Dubai $2,889
Machilipatnam $380

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,444 in Dubai versus $604 in Machilipatnam.

Dubai $4,444
Machilipatnam $604

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,999 in Dubai versus $828 in Machilipatnam.

Dubai $5,999
Machilipatnam $828

Living in Dubai is roughly 661% more expensive than in Machilipatnam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 114% above, Machilipatnam is 72% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.94 AED 47.54

$2.08 ₹196

522.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.2 AED 306

$8.56 ₹809

872.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.35 AED 34.32

$4.64 ₹439

101.51%

Cappuccino

$5.88 AED 21.59

$1.75 ₹165

236.00%

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

$1.57 AED 5.77

$0.30 ₹28.80

423.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 AED 3.47

$0.09 ₹8.18

944.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.44 AED 49.37

$2.12 ₹200

533.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.57 AED 49.84

$3.17 ₹299

328.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 AED 6.83

$0.70 ₹65.7

165.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 AED 5.73

$0.58 ₹54.4

168.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.64 AED 9.68

$0.65 ₹61.1

306.15%

Eggs

$3.53 AED 12.96

$0.81 ₹76.5

335.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.97 AED 47.62

$5.56 ₹526

133.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.94 AED 36.51

$3.12 ₹295

218.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.92 AED 47.45

Apples (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.36

$2.42 ₹228

5.37%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 AED 7.54

$0.67 ₹63.0

205.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 AED 6.77

$1.08 ₹102

70.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 AED 5.64

$0.38 ₹35.70

305.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.31

$0.36 ₹34.37

225.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 AED 3.76

$0.40 ₹37.45

155.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 AED 5.75

$0.60 ₹56.5

161.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.46

$0.32 ₹30.26

109.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 AED 23.17

$4.61 ₹435

36.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.16 AED 59.4

$8.95 ₹846

80.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.58 AED 9.48

$1.72 ₹162

50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 AED 10.60

$3.10 ₹293

-6.77%

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

$4.48 ₹423

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 AED 5.15

$0.23 ₹21.73

508.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.4 AED 303

$7.23 ₹683

1040.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.29 AED 12.07

$1.02 ₹96.6

222.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 AED 2.40

$0.20 ₹18.68

225.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 AED 29.84

$2.66 ₹251

205.64%

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

$11.3K ₹1.1M

132.88%

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

$22.0K AED 81.0K

$22.3K ₹2.1M

-1.33%

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

$239 AED 877

$32.66 ₹3,085

631.35%

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

$56.9 AED 209

$3.53 ₹333

1511.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$93.9 AED 345

$5.12 ₹484

1733.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$90.8 AED 334

$14.27 ₹1,348

536.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.38 AED 170

$6.53 ₹617

610.26%

Cinema Ticket

$16.24 AED 59.6

$2.70 ₹256

501.48%

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

$934 AED 3,429

$48.70 ₹4,601

1817.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.9K AED 76.8K

$1,579 ₹149.2K

1224.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.7 AED 260

$22.82 ₹2,156

209.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.3 AED 225

$20.78 ₹1,963

195.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 AED 377

$30.88 ₹2,917

232.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 AED 426

$31.71 ₹2,996

266.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,487 AED 9,134

$121 ₹11.5K

1948.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,520 AED 5,581

$76.7 ₹7,248

1880.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,234 AED 19.2K

$264 ₹25.0K

1880.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,028 AED 11.1K

$189 ₹17.8K

1505.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,982 AED 25.6K

$919 ₹86.8K

659.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,433 AED 16.3K

$522 ₹49.3K

749.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,553 AED 13.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.57

8.58

-46.74%

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

Last update for Dubai: November 2, 2026

Last update for Machilipatnam: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.6%

Machilipatnam

$77 20.2% 95% $1.4K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$390 13.5%

Machilipatnam

$41 10.9% 89.4% $348

Eating Out

Dubai

$307 10.6%

Machilipatnam

$70 18.5% 77.2% $237

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$297 10.3%

Machilipatnam

$114 30% 61.7% $183

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$158 5.5%

Machilipatnam

$48 12.6% 69.7% $110

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$123 4.3%

Machilipatnam

$20 5.2% 84% $104

Getting Around

Dubai

$95 3.3%

Machilipatnam

$10 2.7% 89.2% $84

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,487 in Dubai and $121 in Machilipatnam. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $83 in Dubai vs $9 in Machilipatnam for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $114 per month, with Machilipatnam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇮🇳 Machilipatnam

🕒 Local time

15:59 3:59 PM

17:29 5:29 PM

1 h 30 min ahead of Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

169,892

💱 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 = 9.43 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 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 94.47 INR (100 INR = 1.06 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Machilipatnam 2,870 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Machilipatnam

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 Machilipatnam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Machilipatnam is about 87% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $4,333 in Dubai and $569 in Machilipatnam 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,487 in Dubai versus $121 in Machilipatnam. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Machilipatnam runs roughly 91% less than in Dubai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $934 in Dubai versus $49 in Machilipatnam. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $380 in Machilipatnam versus $2,889 in Dubai, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Machilipatnam but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Machilipatnam 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 Machilipatnam gentler on the wallet – expenses run 87% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.