Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Sabac

For one person, living is cheaper in Sabac: $840 a month against $2,883 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $24,500 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Sabac
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Sabac Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,883

/mo nomad

Sabac

🇷🇸 Serbia

$840

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Sabac

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,883 in Dubai versus $840 in Sabac.

Dubai $2,883
Sabac $840

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,403 in Dubai versus $1,276 in Sabac.

Dubai $4,403
Sabac $1,276

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,923 in Dubai versus $1,712 in Sabac.

Dubai $5,923
Sabac $1,712

Living in Dubai is roughly 243% more expensive than in Sabac, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 113% above, Sabac is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.99 AED 47.72

$8.23 RSD 858

57.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.9 AED 301

$27.55 RSD 2,872

197.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.64 AED 35.40

$6.71 RSD 700

43.67%

Cappuccino

$6.09 AED 22.38

$1.87 RSD 195

225.67%

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

$1.61 AED 5.93

$1.87 RSD 195

-13.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 AED 2.76

$1.40 RSD 146

-46.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.79 AED 50.6

$2.63 RSD 274

424.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.41 AED 49.25

$2.63 RSD 274

409.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 AED 6.83

$1.31 RSD 136

41.98%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 AED 5.62

$0.62 RSD 65.0

146.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.38

$1.92 RSD 200

32.81%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.06

$1.89 RSD 197

73.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.14 AED 44.57

$5.65 RSD 589

114.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.15 AED 33.62

$6.31 RSD 658

45.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 AED 47.00

$11.48 RSD 1,197

11.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.56 AED 9.39

$1.24 RSD 129

106.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.03

$1.80 RSD 188

6.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 AED 6.69

$1.45 RSD 151

25.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 AED 5.26

$1.88 RSD 196

-23.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 AED 4.04

$0.70 RSD 72.6

57.14%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 AED 3.40

$0.35 RSD 36.08

162.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 AED 5.58

$1.00 RSD 105

52.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 AED 2.54

$0.40 RSD 41.90

72.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 AED 23.55

$3.61 RSD 377

77.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.52 AED 60.7

$7.74 RSD 807

113.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 AED 9.41

$0.66 RSD 68.4

287.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$0.94 RSD 97.6

227.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.58 AED 5.82

$0.93 RSD 97.1

69.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.9 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.19 AED 11.72

$1.39 RSD 145

129.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.62

$0.95 RSD 98.9

-25.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.21 AED 30.13

$5.11 RSD 532

60.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.01 AED 3.73

$1.76 RSD 183

-42.61%

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

$26.1K AED 96.0K

$30.3K RSD 3.2M

-13.63%

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

$21.8K AED 80.2K

$24.4K RSD 2.5M

-10.61%

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

$245 AED 900

$138 RSD 14.4K

77.80%

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

$57.5 AED 211

$25.50 RSD 2,658

125.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.3 AED 335

$18.96 RSD 1,976

381.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$105 AED 385

$29.17 RSD 3,041

259.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.58 AED 171

$11.44 RSD 1,192

307.17%

Cinema Ticket

$16.04 AED 58.9

$5.58 RSD 581

187.46%

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

$873 AED 3,206

$176 RSD 18.3K

395.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.0K AED 66.2K

$3,770 RSD 393.0K

378.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 AED 260

$59.8 RSD 6,238

18.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.3 AED 229

$64.5 RSD 6,721

-3.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 AED 390

$56.6 RSD 5,898

87.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 AED 376

$118 RSD 12.3K

-13.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,454 AED 9,014

$234 RSD 24.4K

947.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,510 AED 5,545

$151 RSD 15.7K

899.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,640 AED 17.0K

$345 RSD 35.9K

1246.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,961 AED 10.9K

$250 RSD 26.1K

1082.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,219 AED 26.5K

$1,884 RSD 196.4K

283.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,232 AED 15.5K

$1,514 RSD 157.8K

179.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,584 AED 13.2K

$962 RSD 100.3K

272.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

4.84

-6.20%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 18, 2026

Last update for Sabac: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.4%

Sabac

$151 18% 90% $1.4K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.7%

Sabac

$182 21.7% 53.7% $212

Eating Out

Dubai

$311 10.8%

Sabac

$140 16.7% 55.1% $171

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$288 10%

Sabac

$182 21.7% 36.8% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$154 5.3%

Sabac

$135 16% 12.4% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$137 4.8%

Sabac

$40 4.8% 70.5% $97

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Sabac

$9.9 * 1.2% 88.9% $79

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,454 in Dubai and $234 in Sabac. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 272% 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 $28.00 in Sabac for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $182 per month, with Sabac cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇷🇸 Sabac

🕒 Local time

16:25 4:25 PM

14:25 2:25 PM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

51,163

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Serbian Dinar RSD din

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1,000 RSD = 9.59 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RSD, 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).

Serbian Dinar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 104 RSD (1,000 RSD = 9.59 USD). 1 EUR = 117 RSD (1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Sabac 3,860 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Sabac

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 Sabac: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sabac is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 243% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 272% 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: $2,454 in Dubai versus $234 in Sabac. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 58% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,883 per month in Dubai versus $840 in Sabac – a 243% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $840 in Sabac versus $2,883 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sabac but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Sabac the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sabac 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 Sabac 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 Sabac gentler on the wallet – expenses run 243% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.