Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Sanaa

For one person, living is cheaper in Sanaa: $1,040 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $21,800 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Sanaa
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Sanaa Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Sanaa

🇾🇪 Yemen

$1,040

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Sanaa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $1,040 in Sanaa.

Dubai $2,854
Sanaa $1,040

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $1,608 in Sanaa.

Dubai $4,321
Sanaa $1,608

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $2,175 in Sanaa.

Dubai $5,788
Sanaa $2,175

Living in Dubai is roughly 174% more expensive than in Sanaa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 113% above, Sanaa is 22% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$6.46 YER 1,524

101.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$25.31 YER 5,969

221.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$9.75 YER 2,300

-4.41%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.96 YER 462

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 YER 611

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$3.82 YER 900

56.28%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$1.17 YER 277

39.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$0.60 YER 141

35.00%

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

$1.98 YER 468

-8.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$1.64 YER 387

-4.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$2.09 YER 492

19.14%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$3.57 YER 842

-8.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$17.52 YER 4,131

-27.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$8.41 YER 1,984

15.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$19.10 YER 4,504

-30.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$3.40 YER 802

-23.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$1.05 YER 249

83.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$2.21 YER 521

-13.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$1.67 YER 393

-18.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$1.51 YER 357

-22.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.38 YER 326

-26.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$1.20 YER 284

25.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$0.68 YER 160

-8.82%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.48 YER 584

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 YER 423

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 YER 602

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$5.66 YER 1,336

3.36%

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

$0.43 YER 102

281.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$86.3 YER 20.4K

-14.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$4.19 YER 988

-24.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$2.10 YER 494

-66.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$7.22 YER 1,704

10.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$2.06 YER 486

-51.94%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$16.9K YER 4.0M

62.01%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$34.6K YER 8.2M

-34.85%

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

$250 AED 920

$109 YER 25.6K

130.36%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$23.35 YER 5,506

132.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$102 YER 24.0K

-9.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$67.1 YER 15.8K

46.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$16.03 YER 3,779

165.81%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$5.97 YER 1,407

168.51%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$118 YER 27.7K

617.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$2,130 YER 502.3K

757.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$42.48 YER 10.0K

59.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$121 YER 28.5K

-52.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$47.63 YER 11.2K

111.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$40.69 YER 9,594

148.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$222 YER 52.4K

970.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$94.7 YER 22.3K

1489.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$408 YER 96.2K

987.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$276 YER 65.0K

992.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$4,240 YER 999.9K

67.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$825 YER 194.6K

401.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$197 YER 46.4K

1624.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

11.25

-59.64%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Sanaa: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Sanaa

$95 9.2% 93.7% $1.4K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Sanaa

$234 22.7% 41% $163

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Sanaa

$134 13% 56.6% $175

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Sanaa

$272 26.4% 7.2% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Sanaa

$113 11% 23.2% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Sanaa

$79 7.7% 39.5% $52

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Sanaa

$103 10% 18.2% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,380 in Dubai and $222 in Sanaa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 1624% 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: $81.0 in Dubai vs $25.00 in Sanaa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $272 per month, with Sanaa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇾🇪 Sanaa

🕒 Local time

12:41 12:41 PM

11:41 11:41 AM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

1,527,861 Capital

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

YER, 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).

Yemeni Rial exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 236 YER (1,000 YER = 4.24 USD). 1 EUR = 264 YER (1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Sanaa 1,570 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Sanaa

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 Sanaa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sanaa is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 174% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 1624% 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 $222 in Sanaa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Sanaa runs roughly 17% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $843 in Dubai versus $118 in Sanaa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,040 in Sanaa versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sanaa but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Sanaa the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sanaa 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 Sanaa 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 Sanaa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 174% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.