Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Manama

For one person, living is cheaper in Manama: $1,536 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $15,800 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
76

Cost of Living Index in Manama
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Manama Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Manama

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,536

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Manama

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $1,536 in Manama.

Dubai $2,854
Manama $1,536

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $2,433 in Manama.

Dubai $4,321
Manama $2,433

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $3,331 in Manama.

Dubai $5,788
Manama $3,331

Living in Dubai is roughly 86% more expensive than in Manama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 113% above, Manama 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$5.24 BHD 1.98

148.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$52.8 BHD 19.92

54.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$7.30 BHD 2.75

27.67%

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$4.86 BHD 1.83

22.84%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$0.88 BHD 0.33

85.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$0.30 BHD 0.11

170.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

$6.72 BHD 2.54

103.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

$9.99 BHD 3.77

33.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$1.37 BHD 0.52

32.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$1.11 BHD 0.42

41.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$2.28 BHD 0.86

9.21%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$2.20 BHD 0.83

49.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$8.47 BHD 3.19

49.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$6.34 BHD 2.39

53.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$8.42 BHD 3.18

56.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$2.41 BHD 0.91

8.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$2.32 BHD 0.87

-16.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$1.89 BHD 0.71

1.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$1.44 BHD 0.54

-5.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$1.06 BHD 0.40

10.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.41 BHD 0.53

-28.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$1.54 BHD 0.58

-1.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$0.83 BHD 0.31

-25.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$5.34 BHD 2.01

9.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

$18.36 BHD 6.93

-12.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

$3.63 BHD 1.37

-27.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

$2.58 BHD 0.97

14.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$0.65 BHD 0.24

152.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$37.30 BHD 14.08

97.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$5.19 BHD 1.96

-38.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$3.38 BHD 1.27

-78.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$15.88 BHD 5.99

-49.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$0.65 BHD 0.25

52.31%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$37.7K BHD 14.2K

-27.48%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$20.9K BHD 7,896

7.73%

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

$250 AED 920

$151 BHD 57.1

65.49%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$24.40 BHD 9.21

122.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$34.61 BHD 13.06

165.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$62.3 BHD 23.50

58.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$30.23 BHD 11.41

40.95%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$10.77 BHD 4.06

48.84%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$488 BHD 184

72.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$11.2K BHD 4,238

62.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$50.7 BHD 19.13

34.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$58.6 BHD 22.13

-1.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$86.1 BHD 32.51

16.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$90.0 BHD 33.97

12.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$997 BHD 376

138.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$650 BHD 245

131.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$2,040 BHD 770

117.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$1,399 BHD 528

115.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$2,643 BHD 997

169.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$1,999 BHD 754

106.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$2,382 BHD 899

42.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

6.21

-26.89%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Manama: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Manama

$650 41.6% 56.8% $856

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Manama

$210 13.5% 46.9% $186

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Manama

$180 11.5% 41.5% $128

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Manama

$248 15.9% 15.3% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Manama

$128 8.2% 12.8% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Manama

$84 5.4% 35.9% $47

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Manama

$62 4% 28.7% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,380 in Dubai and $997 in Manama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 42% 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 $53.0 in Manama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $248 per month, with Manama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇧🇭 Manama

🕒 Local time

09:45 9:45 AM

08:45 8:45 AM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

157,474 Capital

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

1 BHD = 2.65 USD

1 BHD = 2.36 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BHD, 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).

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.377 BHD (1 BHD = 2.65 USD). 1 EUR = 0.423 BHD (1 BHD = 2.36 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Dubai Manama 480 km

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 Manama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Manama is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 86% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 42% 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 $997 in Manama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Manama runs roughly 97% 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 $488 in Manama. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,536 in Manama versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Manama but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Manama the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Manama 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 Manama 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 Manama 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.