Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Manouba

For one person, living is cheaper in Manouba: $652 a month against $2,889 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $26,800 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Manouba
Learn more

Manouba Living Index

Jump to prices

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,889

/mo nomad

Manouba

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$652

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Manouba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,889 in Dubai versus $652 in Manouba.

Dubai $2,889
Manouba $652

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,444 in Dubai versus $1,026 in Manouba.

Dubai $4,444
Manouba $1,026

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,999 in Dubai versus $1,399 in Manouba.

Dubai $5,999
Manouba $1,399

Living in Dubai is roughly 343% more expensive than in Manouba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 114% above, Manouba is 52% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.94 AED 47.54

$3.45 TND 10.25

275.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.2 AED 306

$20.05 TND 59.6

315.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.35 AED 34.32

$5.37 TND 15.95

74.12%

Cappuccino

$5.88 AED 21.60

$1.17 TND 3.46

402.56%

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

$1.57 AED 5.77

$0.64 TND 1.89

145.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 AED 3.47

$0.25 TND 0.74

276.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.44 AED 49.38

$1.58 TND 4.69

750.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.57 AED 49.84

$2.30 TND 6.83

490.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 AED 6.83

$0.46 TND 1.38

304.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 AED 5.73

$0.24 TND 0.72

550.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.64 AED 9.68

$1.30 TND 3.88

103.08%

Eggs

$3.53 AED 12.96

$1.63 TND 4.84

116.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.97 AED 47.62

$10.23 TND 30.41

26.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.94 AED 36.51

$5.48 TND 16.29

81.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.92 AED 47.45

$14.18 TND 42.15

-8.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.36

$1.84 TND 5.48

38.59%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 AED 7.54

$3.06 TND 9.08

-33.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 AED 6.77

$1.08 TND 3.21

70.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 AED 5.64

$0.74 TND 2.19

108.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.31

$0.77 TND 2.28

51.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 AED 3.76

$0.61 TND 1.83

67.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 AED 5.75

$0.51 TND 1.52

207.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.46

$0.33 TND 1.00

103.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 AED 23.17

$3.63 TND 10.78

73.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.16 AED 59.4

$6.60 TND 19.63

144.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.58 AED 9.48

$1.17 TND 3.48

120.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 AED 10.60

$1.04 TND 3.09

177.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 AED 5.15

$0.32 TND 0.94

337.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.4 AED 303

$9.02 TND 26.81

813.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.29 AED 12.07

$0.29 TND 0.85

1034.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 AED 2.40

$0.30 TND 0.90

116.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 AED 29.84

$1.80 TND 5.35

351.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 AED 3.68

$0.82 TND 2.45

21.95%

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

$26.3K AED 96.6K

$37.1K TND 110.4K

-29.18%

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

$22.0K AED 81.0K

$35.0K TND 104.2K

-37.09%

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

$239 AED 877

$45.29 TND 135

427.40%

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

$56.9 AED 209

$8.57 TND 25.47

563.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$93.9 AED 345

$20.99 TND 62.4

347.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$90.8 AED 334

$26.64 TND 79.2

240.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.38 AED 170

$12.44 TND 37.00

272.83%

Cinema Ticket

$16.24 AED 59.6

$5.50 TND 16.35

195.27%

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

$934 AED 3,429

$98.0 TND 291

852.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.9K AED 76.8K

$3,037 TND 9,030

588.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.7 AED 260

$41.99 TND 125

68.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.3 AED 225

$36.04 TND 107

70.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 AED 377

$104 TND 310

-1.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 AED 426

$67.8 TND 201

71.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,487 AED 9,134

$207 TND 616

1099.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,520 AED 5,581

$155 TND 462

878.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,234 AED 19.2K

$370 TND 1,100

1314.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,028 AED 11.1K

$268 TND 798

1027.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,982 AED 25.6K

$1,025 TND 3,047

581.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,433 AED 16.3K

$598 TND 1,778

641.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,553 AED 13.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.57

10.65

-57.09%

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

Last update for Dubai: November 2, 2026

Last update for Manouba: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.6%

Manouba

$155 23.8% 89.8% $1.4K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$390 13.5%

Manouba

$75 11.5% 80.8% $315

Eating Out

Dubai

$307 10.6%

Manouba

$74 11.3% 76% $233

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$297 10.3%

Manouba

$186 28.5% 37.5% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$158 5.5%

Manouba

$113 17.3% 28.7% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$123 4.3%

Manouba

$38 5.8% 69.5% $86

Getting Around

Dubai

$95 3.3%

Manouba

$12 1.9% 87.2% $83

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,487 in Dubai and $207 in Manouba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $83 in Dubai vs $20 in Manouba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $186 per month, with Manouba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇹🇳 Manouba

🕒 Local time

06:10 6:10 AM

03:10 3:10 AM

3 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

58,792

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

1 TND = 0.336 USD

1 TND = 0.3 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TND, 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 = 0.243 EUR).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 2.97 TND (1 TND = 0.336 USD). 1 EUR = 3.34 TND (1 TND = 0.3 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Manouba 4,450 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Manouba

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 Manouba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Manouba is about 77% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, utilities, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $4,333 in Dubai and $978 in Manouba 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 $207 in Manouba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Manouba 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 $98 in Manouba. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $652 in Manouba versus $2,889 in Dubai, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Manouba but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Manouba 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 Manouba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 77% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.