Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Sundsvall

For one person, living is cheaper in Sundsvall: $1,722 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 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
82

Cost of Living Index in Sundsvall
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Sundsvall Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Sundsvall

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,722

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Sundsvall

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $1,722 in Sundsvall.

Dubai $2,854
Sundsvall $1,722

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $2,622 in Sundsvall.

Dubai $4,321
Sundsvall $2,622

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $3,523 in Sundsvall.

Dubai $5,788
Sundsvall $3,523

Living in Dubai is roughly 66% more expensive than in Sundsvall, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 113% above, Sundsvall 28% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$14.99 SEK 150

-13.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$81.2 SEK 812

0.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$10.97 SEK 110

-15.04%

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$4.56 SEK 45.58

30.92%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$2.40 SEK 23.97

-32.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$1.84 SEK 18.35

-55.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

$8.55 SEK 85.5

59.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

$7.62 SEK 76.1

75.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$1.49 SEK 14.91

21.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$2.95 SEK 29.48

-46.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$3.47 SEK 34.66

-28.24%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$3.40 SEK 34.02

-3.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$9.29 SEK 92.8

36.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$9.63 SEK 96.3

1.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$17.36 SEK 174

-24.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$2.61 SEK 26.10

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$2.31 SEK 23.05

-16.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$2.43 SEK 24.31

-20.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$4.00 SEK 40.01

-66.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$1.40 SEK 14.02

-16.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.35 SEK 13.47

-25.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$1.78 SEK 17.75

-15.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$0.94 SEK 9.43

-34.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$7.34 SEK 73.3

-20.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

$9.00 SEK 90.0

79.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

$1.71 SEK 17.04

54.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

$1.38 SEK 13.77

113.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$3.24 SEK 32.35

-49.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$84.1 SEK 840

-12.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$6.08 SEK 60.8

-47.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$5.81 SEK 58.1

-87.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$1.66 SEK 16.55

-40.36%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$31.1K SEK 311.1K

-12.06%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$30.1K SEK 300.9K

-25.13%

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

$250 AED 920

$99.6 SEK 996

151.30%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$28.61 SEK 286

89.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$36.42 SEK 364

152.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$40.61 SEK 406

142.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$15.70 SEK 157

171.40%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$13.86 SEK 139

15.66%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$134 SEK 1,340

529.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$92.2 SEK 921

-26.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$19.76 SEK 197

192.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$67.3 SEK 672

49.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$123 SEK 1,228

-17.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$659 SEK 6,583

261.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$591 SEK 5,908

154.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$1,184 SEK 11.8K

274.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$877 SEK 8,767

243.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$2,411 SEK 24.1K

195.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$1,689 SEK 16.9K

144.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$2,993 SEK 29.9K

13.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

3.88

17.01%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Sundsvall: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Sundsvall

$591 35.1% 60.7% $915

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Sundsvall

$165 9.8% 58.5% $232

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Sundsvall

$282 16.8% 8.5% $26

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Sundsvall

$311 18.5% 6.3% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Sundsvall

$136 8.1% 7.7% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Sundsvall

$68 4.1% 47.7% $62

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Sundsvall

$132 7.8% 52.1% $45

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,380 in Dubai and $659 in Sundsvall. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 13% 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 $81.0 in Sundsvall for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $311 per month, with Dubai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇸🇪 Sundsvall

🕒 Local time

11:22 11:22 AM

09:22 9:22 AM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

57,606

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

100 SEK = 10.01 USD

100 SEK = 8.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, 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).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.99 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.21 SEK (100 SEK = 8.92 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Sundsvall 5,010 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Sundsvall

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 Sundsvall: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sundsvall is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and utilities. The 66% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 13% 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 $659 in Sundsvall. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Sundsvall runs roughly 14% 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 $134 in Sundsvall. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,722 in Sundsvall versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Sundsvall but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Sundsvall the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sundsvall 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 Sundsvall 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 Sundsvall gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.