Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Phu Quoc

For one person, living is cheaper in Phu Quoc: $730 a month against $2,883 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $25,800 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Phu Quoc
Learn more

Phu Quoc Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,883

/mo nomad

Phu Quoc

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$730

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Phu Quoc

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,883 in Dubai versus $730 in Phu Quoc.

Dubai $2,883
Phu Quoc $730

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,403 in Dubai versus $1,165 in Phu Quoc.

Dubai $4,403
Phu Quoc $1,165

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,923 in Dubai versus $1,600 in Phu Quoc.

Dubai $5,923
Phu Quoc $1,600

Living in Dubai is roughly 295% more expensive than in Phu Quoc, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 113% above, Phu Quoc is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.99 AED 47.72

$1.94 ₫50.3K

569.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.9 AED 301

$21.47 ₫555.9K

281.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.64 AED 35.40

$4.71 ₫122.0K

104.67%

Cappuccino

$6.09 AED 22.38

$1.77 ₫45.7K

244.07%

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

$1.61 AED 5.93

$0.50 ₫13.0K

222.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 AED 2.76

$0.30 ₫7,877

150.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.79 AED 50.6

$0.99 ₫25.7K

1292.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.41 AED 49.25

$1.50 ₫38.9K

794.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 AED 6.83

$1.36 ₫35.2K

36.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 AED 5.62

$1.01 ₫26.3K

51.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.38

$0.98 ₫25.5K

160.20%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.06

$1.41 ₫36.6K

132.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.14 AED 44.57

$11.76 ₫304.3K

3.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.15 AED 33.62

$3.62 ₫93.8K

152.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 AED 47.00

$10.15 ₫262.9K

26.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.56 AED 9.39

$2.67 ₫69.0K

-4.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.03

$1.05 ₫27.2K

81.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 AED 6.69

$1.29 ₫33.4K

41.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 AED 5.26

$1.08 ₫28.1K

32.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 AED 4.04

$1.03 ₫26.7K

6.80%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 AED 3.40

$1.05 ₫27.2K

-12.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 AED 5.58

$0.65 ₫16.9K

133.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 AED 2.54

$0.51 ₫13.2K

35.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 AED 23.55

$1.38 ₫35.7K

364.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.52 AED 60.7

$11.26 ₫291.5K

46.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 AED 9.41

$0.74 ₫19.1K

245.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$1.59 ₫41.2K

93.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.58 AED 5.82

$0.35 ₫8,958

351.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.9 AED 279

$6.50 ₫168.2K

1068.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.19 AED 11.72

$0.72 ₫18.7K

343.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.62

$0.62 ₫16.0K

14.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.21 AED 30.13

$2.70 ₫69.9K

204.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.01 AED 3.73

$0.86 ₫22.2K

17.44%

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

$26.1K AED 96.0K

$35.3K ₫914.1M

-25.96%

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

$21.8K AED 80.2K

$31.6K ₫818.3M

-30.88%

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

$245 AED 900

$74.4 ₫1.9M

229.41%

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

$57.5 AED 211

$5.96 ₫154.4K

865.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.3 AED 335

$8.48 ₫219.5K

976.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$105 AED 385

$21.85 ₫565.8K

379.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.58 AED 171

$7.84 ₫202.9K

494.13%

Cinema Ticket

$16.04 AED 58.9

$3.05 ₫79.1K

425.90%

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

$873 AED 3,206

$262 ₫6.8M

233.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.0K AED 66.2K

$11.5K ₫297.4M

56.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 AED 260

$41.39 ₫1.1M

71.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.3 AED 229

$22.91 ₫593.1K

172.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 AED 390

$84.8 ₫2.2M

25.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 AED 376

$74.4 ₫1.9M

37.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,454 AED 9,014

$359 ₫9.3M

584.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,510 AED 5,545

$248 ₫6.4M

508.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,640 AED 17.0K

$717 ₫18.6M

547.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,961 AED 10.9K

$527 ₫13.6M

461.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,219 AED 26.5K

$2,109 ₫54.6M

242.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,232 AED 15.5K

$1,229 ₫31.8M

244.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,584 AED 13.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

9.1

-50.11%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 18, 2026

Last update for Phu Quoc: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.4%

Phu Quoc

$248 34% 83.6% $1.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.7%

Phu Quoc

$89 12.2% 77.4% $305

Eating Out

Dubai

$311 10.8%

Phu Quoc

$62 8.5% 80.1% $249

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$288 10%

Phu Quoc

$191 26.1% 33.8% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$154 5.3%

Phu Quoc

$101 13.8% 34.6% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$137 4.8%

Phu Quoc

$28 3.8% 79.6% $109

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Phu Quoc

$12 1.6% 86.9% $77

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,454 in Dubai and $359 in Phu Quoc. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $82.0 in Dubai vs $21.00 in Phu Quoc for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $191 per month, with Phu Quoc cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇻🇳 Phu Quoc

🕒 Local time

23:57 11:57 PM

02:57 2:57 AM

3 h ahead of Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

144,460

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, 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).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,105 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Phu Quoc 5,390 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Phu Quoc

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 Phu Quoc: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phu Quoc is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 295% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $4,324 in Dubai and $1,095 in Phu Quoc 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 $359 in Phu Quoc. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Phu Quoc runs roughly 1068% 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 $262 in Phu Quoc. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $730 in Phu Quoc versus $2,883 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Phu Quoc but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Phu Quoc the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phu Quoc 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 Phu Quoc 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 Phu Quoc gentler on the wallet – expenses run 295% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.