Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Permet

For one person, living is cheaper in Permet: $1,185 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $20,500 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Permet
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Permet Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Permet

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,185

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Permet

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $1,185 in Permet.

Dubai $2,896
Permet $1,185

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $1,810 in Permet.

Dubai $4,384
Permet $1,810

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $2,435 in Permet.

Dubai $5,872
Permet $2,435

Living in Dubai is roughly 144% more expensive than in Permet, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, Permet is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$9.62 ALL 786

31.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$54.7 ALL 4,469

49.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.31

$11.15 ALL 912

-16.23%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$2.28 ALL 186

158.33%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$2.41 ALL 197

-29.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$1.23 ALL 100

-36.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$3.51 ALL 287

289.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.55

$4.00 ALL 327

237.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$2.27 ALL 186

-18.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$1.19 ALL 97.5

26.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$2.39 ALL 196

7.53%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$3.73 ALL 305

-10.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.29

$12.88 ALL 1,053

-2.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.47

$9.02 ALL 737

7.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.94

$16.90 ALL 1,382

-24.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$1.97 ALL 161

31.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$2.46 ALL 201

-22.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$2.13 ALL 174

-10.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$1.87 ALL 153

-26.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.15

$1.05 ALL 85.7

7.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.28 ALL 105

-21.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$1.50 ALL 122

-4.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.75 ALL 61.1

-10.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.60

$4.80 ALL 393

22.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$10.50 ALL 858

53.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$1.60 ALL 131

70.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$2.02 ALL 165

52.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$0.48 ALL 39.26

233.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

$21.52 ALL 1,760

252.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$3.64 ALL 298

-10.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$3.71 ALL 303

-80.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$18.55 ALL 1,517

-57.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$2.37 ALL 194

-58.65%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$33.5K ALL 2.7M

-18.28%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$35.8K ALL 2.9M

-38.52%

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

$249 AED 913

$98.8 ALL 8,078

151.52%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$18.56 ALL 1,517

193.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$19.43 ALL 1,588

370.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$59.6 ALL 4,869

73.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$10.06 ALL 822

61.93%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$344 ALL 28.1K

145.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$8,313 ALL 679.7K

119.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$49.54 ALL 4,051

35.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$47.61 ALL 3,893

21.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$119 ALL 9,740

-14.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$113 ALL 9,204

-12.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,789

$514 ALL 42.1K

365.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$307 ALL 25.1K

399.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$766 ALL 62.7K

499.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$397 ALL 32.4K

640.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$1,885 ALL 154.1K

273.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$1,359 ALL 111.2K

210.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

5.39

-15.77%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Permet: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Permet

$307 25.9% 80% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Permet

$137 11.6% 65.3% $258

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Permet

$178 15% 41.7% $127

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Permet

$290 24.5% 0.6% $1.8

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Permet

$148 12.5% 1% $1.4

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Permet

$80 6.7% 41.4% $56

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Permet

$46 3.9% 48.8% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,393 in Dubai and $514 in Permet. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $82.0 in Dubai vs $55.0 in Permet for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $290 per month, with Permet cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇦🇱 Permet

🕒 Local time

16:55 4:55 PM

14:55 2:55 PM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

10,000

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.244 EUR

100 ALL = 1.22 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.1 AED (1 AED = 0.244 EUR).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 81.76 ALL (100 ALL = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 91.27 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Permet 3,640 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Permet

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 Permet: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Permet is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. The 144% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $4,344 in Dubai and $1,777 in Permet 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: $2,393 in Dubai versus $514 in Permet. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Permet runs roughly 253% 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 $344 in Permet. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,185 in Permet versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Permet but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Permet the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Permet 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 Permet 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 Permet gentler on the wallet – expenses run 144% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.