Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Oslo

For one person, living is cheaper in Dubai: $2,854 a month against $3,443 in Oslo, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index
165

Cost of Living Index in Oslo
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Oslo Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Oslo

🇳🇴 Norway

$3,443

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Oslo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $3,443 in Oslo.

Dubai $2,854
Oslo $3,443

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $4,981 in Oslo.

Dubai $4,321
Oslo $4,981

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $6,519 in Oslo.

Dubai $5,788
Oslo $6,519

Living in Dubai costs roughly 17% less than in Oslo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 113% above, Oslo 157% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$20.80 NOK 199

-37.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$125 NOK 1,194

-34.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$15.81 NOK 151

-41.05%

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$6.03 NOK 57.6

-1.00%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$4.41 NOK 42.10

-63.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$3.28 NOK 31.33

-75.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

$11.75 NOK 112

16.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

$12.73 NOK 122

5.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$2.46 NOK 23.53

-26.42%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$4.20 NOK 40.08

-62.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$4.62 NOK 44.16

-46.10%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$5.99 NOK 57.2

-45.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$14.83 NOK 142

-14.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$15.56 NOK 149

-37.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$31.16 NOK 298

-57.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$3.36 NOK 32.05

-22.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$2.58 NOK 24.62

-25.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$3.52 NOK 33.63

-45.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$5.74 NOK 54.9

-76.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$2.67 NOK 25.46

-56.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$2.84 NOK 27.08

-64.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$3.15 NOK 30.05

-52.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$2.48 NOK 23.66

-75.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$19.09 NOK 182

-69.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

$16.58 NOK 158

-2.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

$3.35 NOK 32.01

-20.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

$4.33 NOK 41.31

-31.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$4.84 NOK 46.25

-66.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$82.6 NOK 789

-10.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$11.70 NOK 112

-72.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$1.85 NOK 17.68

-61.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$69.0 NOK 659

-88.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$2.33 NOK 22.23

-57.51%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$47.4K NOK 453.0K

-42.29%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$43.5K NOK 415.8K

-48.23%

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

$250 AED 920

$415 NOK 3,967

-39.72%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$33.37 NOK 319

62.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$55.1 NOK 526

66.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$58.7 NOK 561

67.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$28.61 NOK 273

48.93%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$19.45 NOK 186

-17.58%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$233 NOK 2,229

261.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$15.4K NOK 147.2K

18.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$101 NOK 962

-32.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$58.6 NOK 560

-1.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$134 NOK 1,276

-24.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$153 NOK 1,462

-34.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$2,021 NOK 19.3K

17.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$1,576 NOK 15.0K

-4.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$3,054 NOK 29.2K

45.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$2,346 NOK 22.4K

28.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$11.8K NOK 112.2K

-39.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$6,804 NOK 65.0K

-39.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$4,578 NOK 43.7K

-25.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

4.94

-8.10%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Oslo: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Oslo

$1.6K 46.1% 4.6% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Oslo

$504 14.8% 27.1% $107

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Oslo

$401 11.7% 30% $92

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Oslo

$514 15.1% 75.7% $222

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Oslo

$201 5.9% 36.2% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Oslo

$98 2.9% 25.3% $33

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Oslo

$123 3.6% 41.4% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,380 in Dubai and $2,021 in Oslo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Oslo pays 35% 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: $81.0 in Dubai vs $125 in Oslo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $514 per month, with Dubai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇳🇴 Oslo

🕒 Local time

06:24 6:24 AM

04:24 4:24 AM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

1,098,061 Capital

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

100 NOK = 10.47 USD

100 NOK = 9.34 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.55 NOK (1 NOK = 0.105 USD). 1 EUR = 10.71 NOK (100 NOK = 9.34 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Oslo 5,150 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Oslo

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 Oslo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dubai is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 21% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 35% lower in Oslo. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,380 in Dubai versus $2,021 in Oslo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Dubai runs roughly 12% less than in Oslo. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $843 in Dubai versus $233 in Oslo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,500. Dubai is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Dubai is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Oslo, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Dubai and Oslo 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 Dubai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 21% less than in Oslo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.