Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Roman

For one person, living is cheaper in Roman: $840 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $24,700 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Roman
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Roman Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Roman

🇷🇴 Romania

$840

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Roman

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $840 in Roman.

Dubai $2,896
Roman $840

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $1,393 in Roman.

Dubai $4,384
Roman $1,393

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $1,946 in Roman.

Dubai $5,872
Roman $1,946

Living in Dubai is roughly 245% more expensive than in Roman, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, Roman is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$10.42 RON 49.30

21.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$33.99 RON 161

140.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$7.31 RON 34.59

27.77%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$2.43 RON 11.49

142.39%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$1.38 RON 6.54

22.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$1.06 RON 5.03

-26.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$2.05 RON 9.69

566.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$2.17 RON 10.29

521.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$1.19 RON 5.61

54.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$0.66 RON 3.10

127.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$1.43 RON 6.75

79.72%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$2.89 RON 13.65

14.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$7.55 RON 35.72

66.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$5.72 RON 27.05

68.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$8.63 RON 40.85

48.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$1.07 RON 5.05

142.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.51 RON 7.15

25.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$1.42 RON 6.71

34.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$1.75 RON 8.30

-21.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$0.72 RON 3.39

56.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$0.88 RON 4.16

14.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$0.88 RON 4.17

63.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.72 RON 3.41

-6.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$5.62 RON 26.58

4.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$5.34 RON 25.25

202.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$0.97 RON 4.59

180.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$1.19 RON 5.61

158.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$0.76 RON 3.62

110.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

$21.67 RON 103

250.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$0.66 RON 3.13

390.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$0.64 RON 3.04

10.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$7.04 RON 33.30

13.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$1.74 RON 8.22

-43.68%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$28.1K RON 133.1K

-2.66%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$25.1K RON 118.6K

-12.12%

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

$249 AED 913

$146 RON 691

70.22%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$6.96 RON 32.93

682.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$7.80 RON 36.88

1072.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$37.11 RON 176

178.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

$20.05 RON 94.9

111.07%

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$6.42 RON 30.40

153.74%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$295 RON 1,397

185.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$4,901 RON 23.2K

272.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$96.3 RON 456

-30.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$25.51 RON 121

127.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$61.4 RON 290

66.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$58.0 RON 274

70.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$213 RON 1,008

1023.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$157 RON 745

874.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$605 RON 2,863

659.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$454 RON 2,146

547.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$1,862 RON 8,812

278.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$1,356 RON 6,413

211.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$820 RON 3,880

322.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

7.2

-36.94%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Roman: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Roman

$157 18.7% 89.7% $1.4K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Roman

$161 19.1% 59.2% $234

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Roman

$159 18.9% 48% $146

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Roman

$176 20.9% 39.8% $116

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Roman

$109 12.9% 26% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Roman

$50 6% 63.3% $86

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Roman

$29 3.4% 67.9% $61

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,393 in Dubai and $213 in Roman. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 322% 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: $82.0 in Dubai vs $34.00 in Roman for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $176 per month, with Roman cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇷🇴 Roman

🕒 Local time

13:01 1:01 PM

12:01 12:01 PM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

80,328

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, 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).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Roman 3,480 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Roman

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 Roman: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Roman is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 245% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 322% 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: $2,393 in Dubai versus $213 in Roman. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Roman runs roughly 250% 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 $295 in Roman. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $840 in Roman versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Roman but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Roman the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Roman 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 Roman 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 Roman gentler on the wallet – expenses run 245% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.