Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Onesti

For one person, living is cheaper in Onesti: $1,060 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $22,000 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Onesti
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Onesti Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Onesti

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,060

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Onesti

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $1,060 in Onesti.

Dubai $2,896
Onesti $1,060

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $1,597 in Onesti.

Dubai $4,384
Onesti $1,597

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $2,135 in Onesti.

Dubai $5,872
Onesti $2,135

Living in Dubai is roughly 173% more expensive than in Onesti, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, Onesti is 21% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$10.61 RON 50.2

19.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$42.76 RON 202

91.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$7.14 RON 33.78

30.81%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$2.89 RON 13.67

103.81%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$2.20 RON 10.41

-23.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$1.77 RON 8.36

-55.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$3.21 RON 15.19

325.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$3.71 RON 17.56

263.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$1.04 RON 4.92

76.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$1.36 RON 6.46

10.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$2.06 RON 9.73

24.76%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$2.98 RON 14.10

11.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$7.23 RON 34.19

74.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$6.50 RON 30.74

48.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$9.94 RON 47.03

28.57%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$1.03 RON 4.89

152.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.45 RON 6.86

31.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$1.59 RON 7.55

20.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$2.08 RON 9.85

-34.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$0.84 RON 3.99

34.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$0.89 RON 4.22

13.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$1.16 RON 5.51

24.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.61 RON 2.90

9.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$6.40 RON 30.29

-8.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$5.22 RON 24.69

209.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$1.37 RON 6.48

98.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$2.03 RON 9.60

51.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$0.77 RON 3.64

107.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

$21.59 RON 102

251.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$0.87 RON 4.12

272.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$0.80 RON 3.79

-11.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$8.20 RON 38.79

-2.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$1.44 RON 6.82

-31.94%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$29.2K RON 137.9K

-6.06%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$27.8K RON 131.4K

-20.70%

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

$249 AED 913

$184 RON 870

35.10%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$7.27 RON 34.40

648.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$8.67 RON 41.02

955.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$37.79 RON 179

173.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

$20.49 RON 96.9

106.54%

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$8.58 RON 40.59

89.86%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$420 RON 1,987

100.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$6,932 RON 32.8K

163.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$38.31 RON 181

74.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$39.59 RON 187

46.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$91.9 RON 435

11.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$89.9 RON 425

9.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$377 RON 1,784

534.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$282 RON 1,333

444.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$587 RON 2,778

682.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$445 RON 2,106

560.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$1,876 RON 8,875

275.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$1,367 RON 6,466

208.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$618 RON 2,925

459.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

7.18

-36.77%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Onesti: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Onesti

$282 26.6% 81.6% $1.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Onesti

$200 18.9% 49.3% $195

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Onesti

$180 17% 40.9% $125

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Onesti

$197 18.5% 32.6% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Onesti

$117 11% 20.3% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Onesti

$55 5.2% 59.6% $81

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Onesti

$30 2.8% 66.8% $60

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,393 in Dubai and $377 in Onesti. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 460% 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 $43.00 in Onesti for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $197 per month, with Onesti cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇷🇴 Onesti

🕒 Local time

01:48 1:48 AM

00:48 12:48 AM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

57,333

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, 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).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Onesti 3,450 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Onesti

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 Onesti: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Onesti is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 173% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 460% 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 $377 in Onesti. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Onesti runs roughly 252% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $844 in Dubai versus $420 in Onesti. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,060 in Onesti versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Onesti but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Onesti the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Onesti 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 Onesti 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 Onesti gentler on the wallet – expenses run 173% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.