Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and The Hague

For one person, living is cheaper in The Hague: $2,685 a month against $2,854 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.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index
133

Cost of Living Index in The Hague
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The Hague Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

The Hague

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$2,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in The Hague

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $2,685 in The Hague.

Dubai $2,854
The Hague $2,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $4,047 in The Hague.

Dubai $4,321
The Hague $4,047

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $5,409 in The Hague.

Dubai $5,788
The Hague $5,409

Living in Dubai is roughly 6% more expensive than in The Hague, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 113% above, The Hague 100% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$22.22 €19.83

-41.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$89.9 €80.2

-9.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$15.31 €13.66

-39.12%

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$4.32 €3.86

38.19%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$4.26 €3.80

-61.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$4.19 €3.74

-80.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

$7.14 €6.37

91.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

$7.81 €6.97

71.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$1.49 €1.33

21.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$2.28 €2.03

-31.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$2.53 €2.26

-1.58%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$4.55 €4.06

-27.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$14.90 €13.30

-14.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$12.82 €11.44

-23.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$19.01 €16.97

-30.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$2.63 €2.35

-0.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$2.21 €1.97

-12.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$2.05 €1.83

-6.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$3.58 €3.20

-62.01%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$1.36 €1.22

-13.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.29 €1.15

-21.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$1.18 €1.06

27.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$0.87 €0.78

-28.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$14.60 €13.03

-59.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

$5.81 €5.18

177.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

$1.29 €1.15

105.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

$1.89 €1.69

56.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$4.43 €3.95

-62.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$93.7 €83.6

-21.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$4.62 €4.12

-31.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$3.44 €3.07

-79.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$34.21 €30.53

-76.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$2.63 €2.34

-62.36%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$41.2K €36.8K

-33.60%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$39.2K €35.0K

-42.51%

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

$250 AED 920

$280 €250

-10.59%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$28.43 €25.37

90.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$54.2 €48.40

69.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$50.2 €44.82

96.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$24.51 €21.87

73.85%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$17.03 €15.20

-5.87%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$2,418 €2,157

-65.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$11.9K €10.6K

53.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$93.3 €83.3

-27.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$43.31 €38.65

33.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$106 €94.5

-4.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$139 €124

-27.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$1,666 €1,487

42.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$1,300 €1,160

15.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$2,799 €2,498

58.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$2,275 €2,030

32.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$6,156 €5,494

15.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$4,536 €4,048

-8.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$4,034 €3,600

-15.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

3.4

33.53%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for The Hague: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

The Hague

$1.3K 47.4% 13.7% $206

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

The Hague

$363 13.2% 8.5% $34

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

The Hague

$361 13.2% 16.8% $52

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

The Hague

$328 12% 12.1% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

The Hague

$172 6.3% 16.4% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

The Hague

$84 3.1% 35.5% $46

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

The Hague

$133 4.9% 53.3% $46

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,380 in Dubai and $1,666 in The Hague. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

The Hague pays 19% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $81.0 in Dubai vs $90.0 in The Hague for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $328 per month, with Dubai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇳🇱 The Hague

🕒 Local time

12:17 12:17 PM

10:17 10:17 AM

2 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

562,839

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dubai The Hague 5,200 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
The Hague

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 The Hague: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

On paper, salaries run 19% lower in The Hague. 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: $2,380 in Dubai versus $1,666 in The Hague. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in The Hague runs roughly 27% 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 $2,418 in The Hague. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

For families, The Hague 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 The Hague 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 The Hague 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.