Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Sarpsborg

For one person, living costs are similar in Dubai and in Sarpsborg: $2,883 and $2,841 a month, rent and utilities included.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index
135

Cost of Living Index in Sarpsborg
Learn more

Sarpsborg Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,883

/mo nomad

Sarpsborg

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,841

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Sarpsborg

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,883 in Dubai versus $2,841 in Sarpsborg.

Dubai $2,883
Sarpsborg $2,841

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,403 in Dubai versus $4,154 in Sarpsborg.

Dubai $4,403
Sarpsborg $4,154

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,923 in Dubai versus $5,467 in Sarpsborg.

Dubai $5,923
Sarpsborg $5,467

Living in Dubai is roughly 1% more expensive than in Sarpsborg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 113% above, Sarpsborg 110% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.99 AED 47.72

$40.33 NOK 380

-67.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.9 AED 301

$99.6 NOK 938

-17.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.64 AED 35.40

$19.43 NOK 183

-50.39%

Cappuccino

$6.09 AED 22.38

$5.72 NOK 53.8

6.47%

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

$1.61 AED 5.93

$2.78 NOK 26.16

-42.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 AED 2.76

$2.60 NOK 24.48

-71.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.79 AED 50.6

$6.25 NOK 58.8

120.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.41 AED 49.25

$8.41 NOK 79.1

59.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 AED 6.83

$2.80 NOK 26.36

-33.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 AED 5.62

$3.33 NOK 31.37

-54.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.38

$4.13 NOK 38.86

-38.26%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.06

$4.28 NOK 40.27

-23.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.14 AED 44.57

$12.60 NOK 119

-3.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.15 AED 33.62

$15.89 NOK 150

-42.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 AED 47.00

$36.18 NOK 341

-64.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.56 AED 9.39

$3.76 NOK 35.39

-31.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.03

$2.83 NOK 26.60

-32.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 AED 6.69

$3.88 NOK 36.55

-53.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 AED 5.26

$5.00 NOK 47.07

-71.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 AED 4.04

$2.98 NOK 28.05

-63.09%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 AED 3.40

$3.32 NOK 31.28

-72.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 AED 5.58

$2.60 NOK 24.45

-41.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 AED 2.54

$2.61 NOK 24.58

-73.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 AED 23.55

$17.94 NOK 169

-64.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.52 AED 60.7

$17.77 NOK 167

-7.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 AED 9.41

$3.30 NOK 31.02

-22.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$4.59 NOK 43.22

-32.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.58 AED 5.82

$2.70 NOK 25.40

-41.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.9 AED 279

$75.1 NOK 707

1.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.19 AED 11.72

$12.17 NOK 115

-73.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.62

$1.92 NOK 18.10

-63.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.21 AED 30.13

$62.9 NOK 592

-86.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.01 AED 3.73

$2.23 NOK 21.00

-54.71%

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

$26.1K AED 96.0K

$54.3K NOK 511.0K

-51.84%

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

$21.8K AED 80.2K

$43.0K NOK 405.0K

-49.23%

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

$245 AED 900

$299 NOK 2,815

-18.05%

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

$57.5 AED 211

$31.27 NOK 294

84.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.3 AED 335

$54.1 NOK 509

68.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$105 AED 385

$50.1 NOK 472

109.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.58 AED 171

$40.34 NOK 380

15.47%

Cinema Ticket

$16.04 AED 58.9

$19.99 NOK 188

-19.76%

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

$873 AED 3,206

$243 NOK 2,286

259.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.0K AED 66.2K

$13.1K NOK 123.0K

37.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 AED 260

$114 NOK 1,073

-37.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.3 AED 229

$62.2 NOK 586

0.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 AED 390

$115 NOK 1,086

-8.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 AED 376

$178 NOK 1,679

-42.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,454 AED 9,014

$1,232 NOK 11.6K

99.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,510 AED 5,545

$1,013 NOK 9,537

49.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,640 AED 17.0K

$1,563 NOK 14.7K

196.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,961 AED 10.9K

$1,370 NOK 12.9K

116.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,219 AED 26.5K

$5,847 NOK 55.0K

23.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,232 AED 15.5K

$4,175 NOK 39.3K

1.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,584 AED 13.2K

$2,626 NOK 24.7K

36.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

5.18

-12.36%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 18, 2026

Last update for Sarpsborg: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.4%

Sarpsborg

$1K 35.7% 32.9% $497

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.7%

Sarpsborg

$384 13.5% 2.4% $9.5

Eating Out

Dubai

$311 10.8%

Sarpsborg

$519 18.3% 66.8% $208

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$288 10%

Sarpsborg

$516 18.1% 79% $227

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$154 5.3%

Sarpsborg

$211 7.4% 37.6% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$137 4.8%

Sarpsborg

$90 3.2% 34.2% $47

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Sarpsborg

$108 3.8% 20.9% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,454 in Dubai and $1,232 in Sarpsborg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 37% 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 $100 in Sarpsborg for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $516 per month, with Dubai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇳🇴 Sarpsborg

🕒 Local time

23:19 11:19 PM

21:19 9:19 PM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

59,906

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, 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).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Sarpsborg 5,090 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Sarpsborg

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 Sarpsborg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sarpsborg is cheaper overall, especially in utilities and leisure. The 1% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 37% 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 $1,232 in Sarpsborg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Sarpsborg runs roughly 1% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $873 in Dubai versus $243 in Sarpsborg. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Sarpsborg is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Sarpsborg 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 Sarpsborg 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 Sarpsborg gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.