Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Tartus

For one person, living is cheaper in Tartus: $637 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $27,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Tartus
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Tartus Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Tartus

🇸🇾 Syria

$637

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Tartus

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $637 in Tartus.

Dubai $2,896
Tartus $637

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $991 in Tartus.

Dubai $4,384
Tartus $991

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $1,345 in Tartus.

Dubai $5,872
Tartus $1,345

Living in Dubai is roughly 354% more expensive than in Tartus, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, Tartus is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$10.13 SYP 1,231

25.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$42.29 SYP 5,139

93.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$6.90 SYP 838

35.36%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$3.70 SYP 450

59.19%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$2.29 SYP 279

-26.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.89 SYP 108

-12.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$1.96 SYP 238

596.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$3.90 SYP 474

245.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$0.48 SYP 58.3

283.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$0.41 SYP 50.2

265.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$0.80 SYP 97.6

221.25%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$0.79 SYP 96.1

320.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$3.88 SYP 471

224.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$3.14 SYP 381

207.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$13.62 SYP 1,655

-6.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$1.07 SYP 130

142.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.36 SYP 166

39.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$1.14 SYP 138

67.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$0.22 SYP 26.60

522.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$0.22 SYP 26.68

413.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$0.30 SYP 36.27

236.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$0.41 SYP 49.80

251.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.61 SYP 74.7

9.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$2.75 SYP 334

113.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$6.09 SYP 740

165.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$1.11 SYP 135

145.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$2.83 SYP 343

8.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$0.30 SYP 36.12

433.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$1.03 SYP 125

214.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$1.48 SYP 180

-52.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$7.62 SYP 925

4.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$3.72 SYP 452

-73.66%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$14.9K SYP 1.8M

83.77%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$19.5K SYP 2.4M

13.04%

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

$249 AED 913

$141 SYP 17.1K

76.54%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$9.90 SYP 1,204

449.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$19.67 SYP 2,390

365.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$5.74 SYP 697

1701.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$5.37 SYP 653

203.35%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$9.36 SYP 1,137

8911.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$1,772 SYP 215.3K

930.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$11.62 SYP 1,412

476.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$40.15 SYP 4,879

44.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$45.36 SYP 5,513

125.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$15.54 SYP 1,888

535.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$114 SYP 13.9K

1995.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$77.5 SYP 9,415

1878.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$230 SYP 28.0K

1893.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$116 SYP 14.1K

2437.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$49.08 SYP 5,964

6951.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

14.25

-68.14%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Tartus: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Tartus

$77 12.2% 94.9% $1.5K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Tartus

$170 26.7% 56.8% $224

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Tartus

$176 27.7% 42.2% $129

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Tartus

$136 21.4% 53.3% $155

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Tartus

$51 8% 65.4% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Tartus

$16 2.6% 87.9% $119

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Tartus

$9.6 * 1.5% 89.2% $80

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 $114 in Tartus. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 6951% 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 $42.00 in Tartus for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $136 per month, with Tartus cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇸🇾 Tartus

🕒 Local time

22:55 10:55 PM

21:55 9:55 PM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

115,769

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Syrian Pound SYP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD

1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SYP, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Syrian Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 122 SYP (1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 137 SYP (1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Tartus 2,150 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Tartus

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 Tartus: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tartus is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 354% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 6951% 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: $2,393 in Dubai versus $114 in Tartus. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 114% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,896 per month in Dubai versus $637 in Tartus – a 354% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $637 in Tartus versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Tartus but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Tartus the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Tartus 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 Tartus 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 Tartus gentler on the wallet – expenses run 354% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.