Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Sylhet

For one person, living is cheaper in Sylhet: $360 a month against $2,889 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $30,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index
17

Cost of Living Index in Sylhet
Learn more

Sylhet Living Index

Jump to prices

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,889

/mo nomad

Sylhet

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$360

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Sylhet

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,889 in Dubai versus $360 in Sylhet.

Dubai $2,889
Sylhet $360

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,444 in Dubai versus $609 in Sylhet.

Dubai $4,444
Sylhet $609

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,999 in Dubai versus $858 in Sylhet.

Dubai $5,999
Sylhet $858

Living in Dubai is roughly 702% more expensive than in Sylhet, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 114% above, Sylhet is 73% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.94 AED 47.54

$2.45 ৳305

428.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.2 AED 306

$11.20 ৳1,396

643.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.35 AED 34.32

$4.04 ৳503

131.44%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.80 ৳598

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.50 ৳561

Cappuccino

$5.88 AED 21.60

$2.04 ৳254

188.24%

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

$1.57 AED 5.77

$0.32 ৳39.52

390.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 AED 3.47

$0.16 ৳19.37

487.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.44 AED 49.38

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.57 AED 49.84

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 AED 6.83

$0.82 ৳102

126.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 AED 5.73

$0.59 ৳73.8

164.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.64 AED 9.68

$0.58 ৳72.2

355.17%

Eggs

$3.53 AED 12.96

$1.18 ৳147

199.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.97 AED 47.62

$7.71 ৳960

68.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.94 AED 36.51

$3.13 ৳391

217.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.92 AED 47.45

$6.46 ৳805

100.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.36

$2.68 ৳334

-4.85%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 AED 7.54

$0.91 ৳113

125.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 AED 6.77

$2.32 ৳289

-20.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 AED 5.64

$0.64 ৳79.2

140.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.31

$0.22 ৳27.24

431.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 AED 3.76

$0.50 ৳62.2

104.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 AED 5.75

$0.33 ৳41.41

375.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.46

$0.27 ৳33.54

148.15%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.80 ৳349

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 ৳247

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.95 ৳493

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 AED 23.17

$2.77 ৳345

127.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.16 AED 59.4

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.58 AED 9.48

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 AED 10.60

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 AED 5.15

$0.75 ৳93.7

86.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.4 AED 303

$24.52 ৳3,055

236.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.29 AED 12.07

$1.24 ৳155

165.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 AED 2.40

$0.15 ৳18.44

333.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 AED 29.84

$1.16 ৳144

600.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 AED 3.68

$1.03 ৳129

-2.91%

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

$26.3K AED 96.6K

$28.9K ৳3.6M

-8.95%

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

$22.0K AED 81.0K

$31.3K ৳3.9M

-29.55%

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

$239 AED 877

$25.04 ৳3,120

853.91%

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

$56.9 AED 209

$4.18 ৳521

1260.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$93.9 AED 345

$10.58 ৳1,318

787.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$90.8 AED 334

$8.86 ৳1,104

925.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.38 AED 170

$4.07 ৳507

1039.56%

Cinema Ticket

$16.24 AED 59.6

$4.04 ৳503

301.98%

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

$934 AED 3,429

$28.34 ৳3,531

3194.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.9K AED 76.8K

$955 ৳118.9K

2091.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.7 AED 260

$15.35 ৳1,912

360.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.3 AED 225

$15.79 ৳1,968

288.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 AED 377

$35.54 ৳4,428

189.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 AED 426

$30.30 ৳3,776

283.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,487 AED 9,134

$129 ৳16.1K

1828.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,520 AED 5,581

$55.5 ৳6,913

2639.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,234 AED 19.2K

$175 ৳21.8K

2890.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,028 AED 11.1K

$158 ৳19.7K

1815.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,982 AED 25.6K

$689 ৳85.8K

913.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,433 AED 16.3K

$346 ৳43.1K

1180.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,553 AED 13.0K

$225 ৳28.0K

1481.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.57

10.79

-57.65%

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

Last update for Dubai: November 2, 2026

Last update for Sylhet: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.6%

Sylhet

$55 15.4% 96.3% $1.5K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$390 13.5%

Sylhet

$40 11.1% 89.8% $350

Eating Out

Dubai

$307 10.6%

Sylhet

$58 16.1% 81.1% $249

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$297 10.3%

Sylhet

$117 32.4% 60.7% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$158 5.5%

Sylhet

$44 12.1% 72.4% $114

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$123 4.3%

Sylhet

$17 4.7% 86.3% $106

Getting Around

Dubai

$95 3.3%

Sylhet

$30 8.2% 68.8% $65

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,487 in Dubai and $129 in Sylhet. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays about 16 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $83 in Dubai vs $11 in Sylhet for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $117 per month, with Sylhet cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇧🇩 Sylhet

🕒 Local time

05:29 5:29 AM

07:29 7:29 AM

2 h ahead of Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

526,412

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.03 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.15 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 125 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.03 USD). 1 EUR = 140 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.15 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Sylhet 3,690 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Sylhet

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 Sylhet: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sylhet is about 88% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Dubai is about 16 times higher, 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: $2,487 in Dubai versus $129 in Sylhet. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Sylhet runs roughly 70% less than in Dubai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $934 in Dubai versus $28 in Sylhet. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $360 in Sylhet versus $2,889 in Dubai, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Sylhet but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Sylhet the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Sylhet gentler on the wallet – expenses run 88% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.