Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Sabratha

For one person, living is cheaper in Sabratha: $406 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $29,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Sabratha
Learn more

Sabratha Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Sabratha

🇱🇾 Libya

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Sabratha

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $406 in Sabratha.

Dubai $2,896
Sabratha $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $597 in Sabratha.

Dubai $4,384
Sabratha $597

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $787 in Sabratha.

Dubai $5,872
Sabratha $787

Living in Dubai is roughly 613% more expensive than in Sabratha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, Sabratha is 70% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$3.04 LYD 19.46

316.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$9.22 LYD 59.1

786.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$1.52 LYD 9.75

514.47%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.65 LYD 4.14

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 LYD 4.70

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$0.48 LYD 3.09

1127.08%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$0.30 LYD 1.90

463.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.07 LYD 0.44

1014.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$0.89 LYD 5.67

106.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$0.22 LYD 1.41

581.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$1.10 LYD 7.07

133.64%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$1.37 LYD 8.76

142.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$5.27 LYD 33.79

139.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$3.48 LYD 22.32

177.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$9.58 LYD 61.4

33.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$2.00 LYD 12.79

30.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.54 LYD 9.89

23.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$0.73 LYD 4.70

161.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$0.57 LYD 3.64

140.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$0.49 LYD 3.13

130.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$0.29 LYD 1.89

248.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$0.32 LYD 2.06

350.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.17 LYD 1.06

294.12%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.76 LYD 11.30

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 LYD 5.85

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 LYD 5.00

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$1.84 LYD 11.79

219.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$0.75 LYD 4.80

113.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$0.76 LYD 4.88

326.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$0.30 LYD 1.89

136.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$0.81 LYD 5.22

882.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$0.02 LYD 0.14

4800.00%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$22.9K LYD 146.9K

19.48%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$21.3K LYD 136.5K

3.46%

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

$249 AED 913

$92.0 LYD 590

170.05%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$3.99 LYD 25.56

1264.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$13.73 LYD 88.0

566.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$10.85 LYD 69.5

853.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

$7.74 LYD 49.62

446.77%

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

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

$844 AED 3,098

$39.51 LYD 253

2034.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$945 LYD 6,055

1832.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$19.54 LYD 125

242.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$17.60 LYD 113

229.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$64.6 LYD 414

57.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$15.66 LYD 100

530.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$158 LYD 1,011

1416.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$78.2 LYD 501

1860.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$229 LYD 1,466

1908.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$110 LYD 705

2570.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$281 LYD 1,802

2405.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$185 LYD 1,183

2187.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$189 LYD 1,212

1729.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Sabratha: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Sabratha

$78 19.3% 94.9% $1.5K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Sabratha

$110 27% 72.2% $285

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Sabratha

$36 8.9% 88.2% $269

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Sabratha

$113 27.9% 61.2% $178

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Sabratha

$53 13% 64% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Sabratha

$11 * 2.7% 92% $125

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Sabratha

$5.2 * 1.3% 94.1% $84

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 $2,393 in Dubai and $158 in Sabratha. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 1730% 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 $9.00 in Sabratha for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $113 per month, with Sabratha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇱🇾 Sabratha

🕒 Local time

19:13 7:13 PM

17:13 5:13 PM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

83,398

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LYD, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.2 LYD (1 LYD = 0.139 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Sabratha 4,210 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Sabratha

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 Sabratha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sabratha is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 613% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 1730% 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 $158 in Sabratha. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 158% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,896 per month in Dubai versus $406 in Sabratha – a 613% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $406 in Sabratha versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sabratha but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Sabratha the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sabratha 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 Sabratha 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 Sabratha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 613% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.