Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Qatar

Name: Qatar
Address: QA

For one person, living is cheaper in Qatar: $1,879 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 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
89

Cost of Living Index in Qatar
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Qatar Living Index

Jump to prices

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

🇶🇦 Qatar

$1,879

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Dubai is 37.1% more expensive than Qatar without rent, and 51.8% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Dubai is 34.1% more expensive than Qatar without rent, and 38.1% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$8.08 QAR 29.37

61.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$65.3 QAR 237

24.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$8.05 QAR 29.28

15.78%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.43 QAR 48.85

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 QAR 49.07

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$5.49 QAR 19.96

8.74%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$0.87 QAR 3.16

87.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$0.37 QAR 1.35

118.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$2.06 QAR 7.48

-12.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$1.51 QAR 5.51

3.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$2.08 QAR 7.55

19.71%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$3.17 QAR 11.53

3.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$9.15 QAR 33.27

38.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$7.57 QAR 27.52

28.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$10.00 QAR 36.35

31.80%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$2.05 QAR 7.46

27.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$1.76 QAR 6.39

9.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$1.63 QAR 5.95

17.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$1.19 QAR 4.32

14.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$0.88 QAR 3.20

32.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$0.88 QAR 3.19

14.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$1.20 QAR 4.38

25.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$0.55 QAR 2.00

12.73%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$10.10 QAR 36.72

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.03 QAR 7.38

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 QAR 10.93

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$6.20 QAR 22.53

-5.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$0.54 QAR 1.95

203.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$26.91 QAR 97.9

173.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$2.14 QAR 7.79

48.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$1.88 QAR 6.84

-62.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$8.15 QAR 29.65

-2.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$0.55 QAR 2.00

80.00%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$28.7K QAR 104.4K

-4.63%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$21.6K QAR 78.6K

4.32%

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

$250 AED 920

$91.7 QAR 333

173.15%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$43.03 QAR 157

26.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$86.3 QAR 314

6.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$123 QAR 448

-19.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$20.17 QAR 73.4

111.25%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$12.12 QAR 44.08

32.26%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$716 QAR 2,603

17.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$9,431 QAR 34.3K

93.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$55.3 QAR 201

22.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$52.6 QAR 191

10.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$93.9 QAR 341

7.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$83.5 QAR 304

21.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$1,538 QAR 5,592

54.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$938 QAR 3,410

60.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$2,813 QAR 10.2K

57.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$2,016 QAR 7,332

49.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$4,475 QAR 16.3K

59.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$2,989 QAR 10.9K

38.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$4,089 QAR 14.9K

-17.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

5.22

-13.03%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Qatar: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Qatar

$938 51.1% 37.7% $568

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Qatar

$221 12% 44.2% $175

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Qatar

$160 8.7% 48.3% $149

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Qatar

$201 11% 31.3% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Qatar

$128 7% 12.9% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Qatar

$147 8% 12.8% $17

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Qatar

$41 2.2% 53.3% $46

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇶🇦 Qatar

🕒 Local time

07:12 7:12 AM

06:12 6:12 AM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

2,639,211

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Qatari Riyal QAR ر.ق

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

1 QAR = 0.275 USD

1 QAR = 0.245 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

QAR, 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).

Qatari Riyal exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.64 QAR (1 QAR = 0.275 USD). 1 EUR = 4.08 QAR (1 QAR = 0.245 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

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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

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

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