Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Sutomore

For one person, living is cheaper in Sutomore: $1,095 a month against $2,883 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $21,500 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Sutomore
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Sutomore Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,883

/mo nomad

Sutomore

🇲🇪 Montenegro

$1,095

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Sutomore

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,883 in Dubai versus $1,095 in Sutomore.

Dubai $2,883
Sutomore $1,095

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,403 in Dubai versus $1,682 in Sutomore.

Dubai $4,403
Sutomore $1,682

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,923 in Dubai versus $2,269 in Sutomore.

Dubai $5,923
Sutomore $2,269

Living in Dubai is roughly 163% more expensive than in Sutomore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 113% above, Sutomore is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.99 AED 47.72

$11.24 €10.00

15.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.9 AED 301

$35.96 €31.99

127.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.64 AED 35.40

$9.16 €8.14

5.24%

Cappuccino

$6.09 AED 22.38

$2.59 €2.30

135.14%

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

$1.61 AED 5.93

$2.20 €1.96

-26.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 AED 2.76

$1.47 €1.31

-48.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.79 AED 50.6

$2.85 €2.53

383.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.41 AED 49.25

$3.44 €3.06

289.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 AED 6.83

$1.19 €1.06

56.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 AED 5.62

$1.01 €0.90

51.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.38

$2.25 €2.00

13.33%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.06

$3.08 €2.74

6.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.14 AED 44.57

$8.77 €7.80

38.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.15 AED 33.62

$7.55 €6.71

21.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.80 AED 47.00

$12.24 €10.89

4.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.56 AED 9.39

$1.26 €1.12

103.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.03

$1.49 €1.32

28.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 AED 6.69

$1.47 €1.31

23.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 AED 5.26

$2.87 €2.56

-50.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 AED 4.04

$0.85 €0.75

29.41%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 AED 3.40

$1.09 €0.97

-15.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 AED 5.58

$1.46 €1.30

4.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 AED 2.54

$0.89 €0.79

-22.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.41 AED 23.55

$3.85 €3.42

66.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.52 AED 60.7

$4.56 €4.05

262.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.56 AED 9.41

$1.24 €1.10

106.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$1.68 €1.50

83.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.58 AED 5.82

$1.65 €1.47

-4.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.9 AED 279

$38.44 €34.19

97.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.19 AED 11.72

$1.14 €1.01

179.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.62

$1.14 €1.01

-37.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.21 AED 30.13

$16.91 €15.04

-51.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.01 AED 3.73

$1.77 €1.57

-42.94%

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

$26.1K AED 96.0K

$28.7K €25.5K

-8.95%

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

$21.8K AED 80.2K

$21.3K €18.9K

2.63%

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

$245 AED 900

$133 €118

84.87%

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

$57.5 AED 211

$13.19 €11.73

336.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.3 AED 335

$33.34 €29.65

173.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$105 AED 385

$45.68 €40.63

129.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.58 AED 171

$14.42 €12.83

223.02%

Cinema Ticket

$16.04 AED 58.9

$5.97 €5.31

168.68%

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

$873 AED 3,206

$395 €352

120.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.0K AED 66.2K

$6,959 €6,190

158.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.8 AED 260

$84.5 €75.2

-16.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.3 AED 229

$33.24 €29.56

87.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 AED 390

$72.2 €64.2

46.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 AED 376

$93.0 €82.8

10.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,454 AED 9,014

$370 €329

563.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,510 AED 5,545

$275 €245

448.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,640 AED 17.0K

$559 €497

730.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,961 AED 10.9K

$494 €439

500.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,219 AED 26.5K

$3,356 €2,985

115.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,232 AED 15.5K

$2,300 €2,046

84.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,584 AED 13.2K

$669 €595

435.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

-9.20%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 18, 2026

Last update for Sutomore: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.4%

Sutomore

$275 25.1% 81.8% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.7%

Sutomore

$179 16.4% 54.5% $215

Eating Out

Dubai

$311 10.8%

Sutomore

$184 16.8% 40.8% $127

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$288 10%

Sutomore

$219 20% 23.8% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$154 5.3%

Sutomore

$127 11.6% 17.2% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$137 4.8%

Sutomore

$58 5.3% 57.9% $79

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Sutomore

$52 4.7% 41.7% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,454 in Dubai and $370 in Sutomore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 436% 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 $36.00 in Sutomore for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $219 per month, with Sutomore cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇲🇪 Sutomore

🕒 Local time

02:55 2:55 AM

00:55 12:55 AM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

2,000

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai Sutomore 3,810 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Sutomore

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 Sutomore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sutomore is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 163% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 436% 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 $370 in Sutomore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Sutomore runs roughly 98% 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 $395 in Sutomore. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,095 in Sutomore versus $2,883 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sutomore but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Sutomore the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sutomore 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 Sutomore 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 Sutomore gentler on the wallet – expenses run 163% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.