Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Rishon Leziyyon

For one person, living is cheaper in Dubai: $2,854 a month against $3,222 in Rishon Leziyyon, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 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
154

Cost of Living Index in Rishon Leziyyon
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Rishon Leziyyon Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Rishon Leziyyon

🇮🇱 Israel

$3,222

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Rishon Leziyyon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $3,222 in Rishon Leziyyon.

Dubai $2,854
Rishon Leziyyon $3,222

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $4,378 in Rishon Leziyyon.

Dubai $4,321
Rishon Leziyyon $4,378

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $5,533 in Rishon Leziyyon.

Dubai $5,788
Rishon Leziyyon $5,533

Living in Dubai costs roughly 11% less than in Rishon Leziyyon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 113% above, Rishon Leziyyon 140% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$29.36 ₪89.8

-55.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$98.6 ₪302

-17.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$16.98 ₪52.0

-45.11%

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$5.15 ₪15.77

15.92%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$3.80 ₪11.64

-57.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$3.37 ₪10.30

-75.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

$10.43 ₪31.91

30.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

$9.96 ₪30.48

34.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$2.51 ₪7.69

-27.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$1.73 ₪5.28

-9.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$2.41 ₪7.36

3.32%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$5.58 ₪17.07

-41.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$17.87 ₪54.7

-29.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$13.11 ₪40.10

-25.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$16.43 ₪50.3

-19.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$3.48 ₪10.66

-25.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$2.98 ₪9.13

-35.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$1.77 ₪5.41

8.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$2.59 ₪7.92

-47.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$1.75 ₪5.35

-33.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.62 ₪4.96

-37.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$1.93 ₪5.92

-21.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$0.93 ₪2.83

-33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$14.01 ₪42.87

-58.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

$11.07 ₪33.87

45.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

$2.63 ₪8.06

0.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

$2.52 ₪7.73

17.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$2.58 ₪7.89

-36.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$102 ₪311

-27.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$3.83 ₪11.71

-17.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$1.46 ₪4.47

-51.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$31.25 ₪95.6

-74.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$2.62 ₪8.03

-62.21%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$59.0K ₪180.7K

-53.64%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$55.9K ₪171.0K

-59.66%

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

$250 AED 920

$290 ₪888

-13.71%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$11.48 ₪35.13

372.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$45.17 ₪138

103.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$53.1 ₪162

85.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$19.96 ₪61.1

113.48%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$13.14 ₪40.21

21.99%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$1,173 ₪3,591

-28.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$24.2K ₪74.1K

-24.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$37.05 ₪113

83.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$40.58 ₪124

42.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$98.0 ₪300

2.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$118 ₪361

-14.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$1,861 ₪5,694

27.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$1,682 ₪5,146

-10.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$2,460 ₪7,526

80.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$2,229 ₪6,822

35.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$7,277 ₪22.3K

-2.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$8,163 ₪25.0K

-49.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$3,147 ₪9,629

7.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

5.07

-10.45%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Rishon Leziyyon: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Rishon Leziyyon

$1.7K 52.9% 11.7% $176

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Rishon Leziyyon

$347 10.9% 12.5% $50

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Rishon Leziyyon

$448 14.1% 45.2% $140

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Rishon Leziyyon

$366 11.5% 25% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Rishon Leziyyon

$132 4.2% 10.4% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Rishon Leziyyon

$79 2.5% 39.3% $51

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Rishon Leziyyon

$123 3.9% 41.5% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,380 in Dubai and $1,861 in Rishon Leziyyon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $81.0 in Dubai vs $99.0 in Rishon Leziyyon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $366 per month, with Dubai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇮🇱 Rishon Leziyyon

🕒 Local time

15:15 3:15 PM

14:15 2:15 PM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

247,323

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Israeli New Shekel ILS ₪

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

1 ILS = 0.327 USD

1 ILS = 0.292 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ILS, 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).

Israeli New Shekel exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.06 ILS (1 ILS = 0.327 USD). 1 EUR = 3.43 ILS (1 ILS = 0.292 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Rishon Leziyyon 2,130 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

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Dubai
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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

Dubai vs Rishon Leziyyon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dubai is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 13% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 8% 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: $2,380 in Dubai versus $1,861 in Rishon Leziyyon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Dubai runs roughly 38% less than in Rishon Leziyyon. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $843 in Dubai versus $1,173 in Rishon Leziyyon. 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 Rishon Leziyyon, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Dubai and Rishon Leziyyon 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 13% less than in Rishon Leziyyon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.