Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Solothurn

For one person, living is cheaper in Solothurn: $2,728 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Dubai outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index
133

Cost of Living Index in Solothurn
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Solothurn Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Solothurn

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$2,728

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Solothurn

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $2,728 in Solothurn.

Dubai $2,896
Solothurn $2,728

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $4,408 in Solothurn.

Dubai $4,384
Solothurn $4,408

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $6,088 in Solothurn.

Dubai $5,872
Solothurn $6,088

Living in Dubai is roughly 6% more expensive than in Solothurn, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 115% above, Solothurn 102% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$30.10 CHF 24.79

-57.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$143 CHF 118

-42.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$18.34 CHF 15.10

-49.07%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$6.40 CHF 5.27

-7.97%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$5.50 CHF 4.53

-69.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$5.11 CHF 4.21

-84.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$6.42 CHF 5.28

112.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$5.95 CHF 4.90

126.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$2.20 CHF 1.81

-16.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$3.71 CHF 3.05

-59.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$3.42 CHF 2.81

-24.85%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$8.35 CHF 6.88

-60.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$22.38 CHF 18.43

-43.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$26.23 CHF 21.61

-63.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$62.0 CHF 51.1

-79.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$2.80 CHF 2.30

-7.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.40 CHF 1.16

35.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$3.46 CHF 2.85

-44.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$4.31 CHF 3.55

-68.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$1.63 CHF 1.34

-30.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.74 CHF 1.44

-41.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$1.60 CHF 1.32

-10.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.95 CHF 0.78

-29.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$10.83 CHF 8.92

-45.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$13.82 CHF 11.38

16.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$2.76 CHF 2.27

-1.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$3.04 CHF 2.50

1.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$4.77 CHF 3.93

-66.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$8.21 CHF 6.76

-60.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$4.66 CHF 3.84

-84.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$87.2 CHF 71.8

-90.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$2.26 CHF 1.86

-56.64%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$29.9K CHF 24.6K

-8.48%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$35.8K CHF 29.5K

-38.54%

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

$249 AED 913

$96.7 CHF 79.6

157.11%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$30.46 CHF 25.09

78.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$54.5 CHF 44.86

67.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$90.0 CHF 74.2

14.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

$16.71 CHF 13.76

153.26%

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$17.70 CHF 14.57

-7.97%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$3,585 CHF 2,952

-76.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$19.6K CHF 16.1K

-6.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$142 CHF 117

-52.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$42.66 CHF 35.14

35.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$162 CHF 134

-37.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$251 CHF 206

-60.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$1,132 CHF 933

111.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$1,020 CHF 840

50.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$1,823 CHF 1,501

152.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$1,760 CHF 1,449

67.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$9,738 CHF 8,021

-27.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$4,850 CHF 3,994

-12.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$6,725 CHF 5,538

-48.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

2.07

119.32%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Solothurn: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Solothurn

$1K 37.4% 33.4% $512

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Solothurn

$182 6.7% 54% $213

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Solothurn

$459 16.8% 50.4% $154

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Solothurn

$622 22.8% 113% $330

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Solothurn

$269 9.9% 83.3% $122

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Solothurn

$125 4.6% 7.8% $11

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Solothurn

$51 * 1.9% 43.3% $39

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 $1,132 in Solothurn. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Solothurn pays 94% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $82.0 in Dubai vs $143 in Solothurn for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $622 per month, with Dubai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇨🇭 Solothurn

🕒 Local time

09:19 9:19 AM

07:19 7:19 AM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

16,599

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, 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).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Solothurn 4,840 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Solothurn

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 Solothurn: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Solothurn is cheaper overall, especially in utilities, leisure, and transport. The 6% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 94% lower in Solothurn. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,393 in Dubai versus $1,132 in Solothurn. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Dubai pay roughly 113% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $2,896 per month in Dubai versus $2,728 in Solothurn – a 6% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Solothurn is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Solothurn 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 Solothurn 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 Solothurn gentler on the wallet – expenses run 6% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.