Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Mizdah

For one person, living is cheaper in Mizdah: $370 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $30,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Dubai
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
$2,896
/mo nomad
Mizdah
🇱🇾 Libya
$370
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Mizdah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $370 in Mizdah.

  • Dubai $2,896
  • Mizdah $370

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $573 in Mizdah.

  • Dubai $4,384
  • Mizdah $573

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $775 in Mizdah.

  • Dubai $5,872
  • Mizdah $775

Living in Dubai is roughly 683% more expensive than in Mizdah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, Mizdah is 73% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Dubai
Mizdah
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$12.67 AED 46.55
$3.91 LYD 25.06
224.04%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$81.7 AED 300
$15.34 LYD 98.3
432.72%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$9.34 AED 34.30
$2.62 LYD 16.82
256.49%
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$0.60 LYD 3.86
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$0.67 LYD 4.30
-
Cappuccino
$5.89 AED 21.62
$0.44 LYD 2.82
1238.64%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.69 AED 6.20
$0.42 LYD 2.69
302.38%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.78 AED 2.86
$0.11 LYD 0.69
609.09%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$13.66 AED 50.2
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$13.49 AED 49.54
-
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Dubai
Mizdah
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.84 AED 6.78
$0.96 LYD 6.15
91.67%
White Bread (500g)
$1.50 AED 5.50
$0.20 LYD 1.28
650.00%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.57 AED 9.45
$1.23 LYD 7.86
108.94%
Eggs
$3.32 AED 12.18
$1.38 LYD 8.83
140.58%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$12.60 AED 46.28
$5.28 LYD 33.83
138.64%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.66 AED 35.46
$3.60 LYD 23.07
168.33%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$12.78 AED 46.93
$9.56 LYD 61.3
33.68%
Apples (1kg)
$2.60 AED 9.54
$2.27 LYD 14.52
14.54%
Banana (1kg)
$1.90 AED 6.99
$1.48 LYD 9.47
28.38%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.91 AED 7.02
$0.69 LYD 4.41
176.81%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.37 AED 5.02
$0.61 LYD 3.88
124.59%
Potato (1kg)
$1.13 AED 4.14
$0.75 LYD 4.82
50.67%
Onion (1kg)
$1.01 AED 3.71
$0.49 LYD 3.15
106.12%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.44 AED 5.30
$0.43 LYD 2.74
234.88%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.67 AED 2.48
$0.21 LYD 1.33
219.05%
Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)
-
$1.82 LYD 11.64
-
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
-
$0.99 LYD 6.36
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$0.77 LYD 4.91
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$5.88 AED 21.59
$1.99 LYD 12.75
195.48%
Wine (Bottle)
$16.15 AED 59.3
-
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.72 AED 10.00
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.08 AED 11.32
-
-
🚌 Getting Around
Dubai
Mizdah
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.60 AED 5.87
-
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$76.0 AED 279
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.24 AED 11.91
$0.79 LYD 5.06
310.13%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.71 AED 2.61
$0.46 LYD 2.93
54.35%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$7.96 AED 29.22
-
-
Gasoline (1 liter)
$0.98 AED 3.62
$0.02 LYD 0.13
4800.00%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$27.4K AED 100.6K
$22.9K LYD 147.0K
19.37%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$22.0K AED 80.9K
$21.4K LYD 137.4K
2.76%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Dubai
Mizdah
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$249 AED 913
$92.6 LYD 593
168.42%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$54.4 AED 200
$6.17 LYD 39.56
782.17%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$91.5 AED 336
$27.49 LYD 176
232.74%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Dubai
Mizdah
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$103 AED 380
-
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$42.32 AED 155
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$16.29 AED 59.8
-
-
🧸 Childcare & Education
Dubai
Mizdah
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$844 AED 3,098
$53.0 LYD 340
1491.55%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$18.3K AED 67.1K
$1,536 LYD 9,842
1089.02%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Dubai
Mizdah
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$67.0 AED 246
$22.35 LYD 143
199.73%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$57.9 AED 213
$17.10 LYD 110
238.83%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$102 AED 375
$64.7 LYD 414
57.91%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$98.7 AED 363
$64.9 LYD 416
52.09%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Dubai
Mizdah
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,393 AED 8,788
-
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,533 AED 5,630
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$4,594 AED 16.9K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,939 AED 10.8K
-
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$7,046 AED 25.9K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$4,222 AED 15.5K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Dubai
Mizdah
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$3,461 AED 12.7K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4.54
0
-

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Mizdah: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Dubai
$1.5K
Mizdah
- * 100%
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Dubai
$394
Mizdah
$126 68% $268
Eating Out
Dubai
$305
Mizdah
$47 84.7% $259
Groceries & Markets
Dubai
$292
Mizdah
$118 59.5% $174
Clothing & Footwear
Dubai
$147
Mizdah
$76 48.1% $71
Sport & Entertainment
Dubai
$136
Mizdah
- * 100%
Getting Around
Dubai
$89
Mizdah
$3.1 * 96.5% $86

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 $15.00 in Mizdah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $118 per month, with Mizdah cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇦🇪 Dubai
🇱🇾 Mizdah
🕒 Local time
00:23 12:23 AM
22:23 10:23 PM
2 h behind Dubai
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
3,790,000
16,735
💱 Currency
UAE Dirham AED د.إ
Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د
Exchange rates and currency converter

LYD, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.2 LYD (1 LYD = 0.139 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Dubai Mizdah 4,170 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Dubai
  • Mizdah

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 Mizdah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mizdah cheaper than Dubai?
Mizdah is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 683% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
What income do you need for each city?
You'd need roughly $4,344 in Dubai and $555 in Mizdah 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.
How do food prices compare in Dubai and in Mizdah?
Supermarket bills run roughly 147% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
What are total monthly expenses in Dubai and in Mizdah?
All in, you'll spend $2,896 per month in Dubai versus $370 in Mizdah – a 683% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Is $1,000 a realistic budget for living in Dubai or in Mizdah?
At $370 in Mizdah versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Mizdah but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Mizdah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is Dubai or Mizdah more family-friendly?
For families, Mizdah 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.
Which city is safer, Dubai or Mizdah?
Safety-wise, Dubai and Mizdah are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Mizdah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 683% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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