Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Mölndal

For one person, living is cheaper in Mölndal: $1,561 a month against $2,883 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 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 Mölndal
Learn more

Mölndal Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,883

/mo nomad

Mölndal

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,561

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Mölndal

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,883 in Dubai versus $1,561 in Mölndal.

Dubai $2,883
Mölndal $1,561

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,403 in Dubai versus $2,491 in Mölndal.

Dubai $4,403
Mölndal $2,491

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,923 in Dubai versus $3,422 in Mölndal.

Dubai $5,923
Mölndal $3,422

Living in Dubai is roughly 85% more expensive than in Mölndal, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.99 AED 47.72

$12.86 SEK 127

1.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.9 AED 301

$71.7 SEK 710

14.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.64 AED 35.40

$11.07 SEK 110

-12.92%

Cappuccino

$6.09 AED 22.38

$4.94 SEK 48.94

23.28%

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

$1.61 AED 5.93

$2.97 SEK 29.42

-45.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 AED 2.76

$0.99 SEK 9.80

-24.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.79 AED 50.6

$7.17 SEK 71.0

92.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.41 AED 49.25

$5.92 SEK 58.6

126.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 AED 6.83

$1.13 SEK 11.22

64.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 AED 5.62

$1.49 SEK 14.76

2.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.38

$3.24 SEK 32.10

-21.30%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.06

$3.58 SEK 35.50

-8.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.14 AED 44.57

$7.02 SEK 69.5

72.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.15 AED 33.62

$9.17 SEK 90.8

-0.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 AED 47.00

$16.38 SEK 162

-21.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.56 AED 9.39

$3.09 SEK 30.62

-17.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.03

$2.49 SEK 24.71

-23.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 AED 6.69

$2.85 SEK 28.20

-36.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 AED 5.26

$4.45 SEK 44.11

-67.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 AED 4.04

$1.57 SEK 15.55

-29.94%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 AED 3.40

$1.64 SEK 16.29

-43.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 AED 5.58

$1.85 SEK 18.31

-17.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 AED 2.54

$1.20 SEK 11.90

-42.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 AED 23.55

$7.23 SEK 71.7

-11.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.52 AED 60.7

$9.90 SEK 98.1

66.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 AED 9.41

$1.98 SEK 19.58

29.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$2.17 SEK 21.50

41.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.58 AED 5.82

$3.56 SEK 35.27

-55.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.9 AED 279

$83.4 SEK 826

-8.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.19 AED 11.72

$6.30 SEK 62.4

-49.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.62

$1.66 SEK 16.50

-57.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.21 AED 30.13

$60.1 SEK 595

-86.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.01 AED 3.73

$1.74 SEK 17.26

-41.95%

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

$26.1K AED 96.0K

$33.5K SEK 332.1K

-22.00%

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

$21.8K AED 80.2K

$33.3K SEK 330.0K

-34.41%

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

$245 AED 900

$42.67 SEK 423

474.29%

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

$57.5 AED 211

$10.22 SEK 101

463.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.3 AED 335

$20.43 SEK 202

346.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$105 AED 385

$40.48 SEK 401

158.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.58 AED 171

$28.18 SEK 279

65.29%

Cinema Ticket

$16.04 AED 58.9

$18.01 SEK 178

-10.94%

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

$873 AED 3,206

$220 SEK 2,177

297.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.0K AED 66.2K

$4,389 SEK 43.5K

310.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 AED 260

$89.5 SEK 887

-20.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.3 AED 229

$33.26 SEK 330

87.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 AED 390

$70.2 SEK 696

51.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 AED 376

$135 SEK 1,341

-24.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,454 AED 9,014

$812 SEK 8,041

202.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,510 AED 5,545

$595 SEK 5,891

153.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,640 AED 17.0K

$1,295 SEK 12.8K

258.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,961 AED 10.9K

$1,038 SEK 10.3K

185.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,219 AED 26.5K

$4,108 SEK 40.7K

75.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,232 AED 15.5K

$2,786 SEK 27.6K

51.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,584 AED 13.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

3.06

48.37%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 18, 2026

Last update for Mölndal: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.4%

Mölndal

$595 38.1% 60.6% $915

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.7%

Mölndal

$73 4.7% 81.4% $321

Eating Out

Dubai

$311 10.8%

Mölndal

$259 16.6% 16.8% $52

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$288 10%

Mölndal

$297 19.1% 3.2% $9.3

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$154 5.3%

Mölndal

$148 9.5% 3.9% $6

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$137 4.8%

Mölndal

$77 4.9% 44.1% $60

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Mölndal

$112 7.2% 26% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,454 in Dubai and $812 in Mölndal. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $82.0 in Dubai vs $72.0 in Mölndal. Groceries flip the comparison at $288 vs $297, with Dubai cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇸🇪 Mölndal

🕒 Local time

00:36 12:36 AM

22:36 10:36 PM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

60,000

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

100 SEK = 10.09 USD

100 SEK = 8.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, 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).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 9.91 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.14 SEK (100 SEK = 8.98 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Mölndal 4,960 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Mölndal

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 Mölndal: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mölndal is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and utilities. The 85% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $4,324 in Dubai and $2,341 in Mölndal 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: $2,454 in Dubai versus $812 in Mölndal. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Mölndal runs roughly 10% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $873 in Dubai versus $220 in Mölndal. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,561 in Mölndal versus $2,883 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Mölndal but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Mölndal the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Mölndal 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 Mölndal 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 Mölndal gentler on the wallet – expenses run 85% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.