Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and New Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in New Cairo: $728 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $26,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in New Cairo
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New Cairo Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

New Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$728

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in New Cairo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $728 in New Cairo.

Dubai $2,896
New Cairo $728

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $1,097 in New Cairo.

Dubai $4,384
New Cairo $1,097

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $1,467 in New Cairo.

Dubai $5,872
New Cairo $1,467

Living in Dubai is roughly 298% more expensive than in New Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, New Cairo is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$5.74 E£307

120.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$25.75 E£1,375

217.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$5.60 E£299

66.79%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$2.00 E£107

194.50%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$0.38 E£20.30

344.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.15 E£7.89

420.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$2.93 E£156

366.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$3.37 E£180

300.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$0.96 E£51.4

91.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$1.01 E£54.1

48.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$0.77 E£41.36

233.77%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$1.51 E£80.5

119.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$4.25 E£227

196.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$5.53 E£295

74.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$8.34 E£445

53.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$1.71 E£91.6

52.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$0.74 E£39.29

156.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$0.49 E£25.94

289.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$0.40 E£21.56

242.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$0.32 E£17.29

253.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$0.47 E£24.94

114.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$0.20 E£10.67

620.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.24 E£12.82

179.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$1.90 E£101

209.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$9.75 E£521

65.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$1.40 E£75.0

94.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$2.00 E£107

54.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$0.17 E£8.91

841.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$0.55 E£29.35

489.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$0.16 E£8.60

343.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$3.83 E£205

107.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$0.42 E£22.42

133.33%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$32.4K E£1.7M

-15.52%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$26.7K E£1.4M

-17.60%

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

$249 AED 913

$40.44 E£2,159

514.49%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$9.41 E£503

478.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$14.06 E£751

550.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$29.14 E£1,556

254.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

$6.16 E£329

587.01%

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$3.24 E£173

402.78%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$180 E£9,611

368.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$4,744 E£253.3K

284.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$46.25 E£2,470

44.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$54.5 E£2,908

6.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$115 E£6,151

-11.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$56.5 E£3,016

74.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$300 E£16.0K

697.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$246 E£13.1K

522.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$548 E£29.3K

738.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$357 E£19.1K

723.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$1,204 E£64.3K

485.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$647 E£34.5K

552.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$187 E£10.0K

1747.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

11.4

-60.18%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for New Cairo: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

New Cairo

$246 33.8% 83.9% $1.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

New Cairo

$64 8.8% 83.8% $330

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

New Cairo

$110 15.1% 63.9% $195

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

New Cairo

$147 20.2% 49.5% $144

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

New Cairo

$123 16.8% 16.4% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

New Cairo

$36 4.9% 73.8% $100

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

New Cairo

$2 * 0.3% 97.7% $87

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,393 in Dubai and $300 in New Cairo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 1748% 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: $82.0 in Dubai vs $26.00 in New Cairo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $147 per month, with New Cairo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇪🇬 New Cairo

🕒 Local time

02:46 2:46 AM

01:46 1:46 AM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

298,343

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai New Cairo 2,400 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
New Cairo

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 New Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

New Cairo is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 298% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 1748% 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: $2,393 in Dubai versus $300 in New Cairo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 98% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,896 per month in Dubai versus $728 in New Cairo – a 298% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $728 in New Cairo versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in New Cairo but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes New Cairo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, New Cairo 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 New Cairo 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 New Cairo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 298% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.