Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Tongi

For one person, living is cheaper in Tongi: $328 a month against $2,889 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $30,700 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
16

Cost of Living Index in Tongi
Learn more

Tongi Living Index

Jump to prices

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,889

/mo nomad

Tongi

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$328

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Tongi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,889 in Dubai versus $328 in Tongi.

Dubai $2,889
Tongi $328

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,444 in Dubai versus $534 in Tongi.

Dubai $4,444
Tongi $534

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,999 in Dubai versus $741 in Tongi.

Dubai $5,999
Tongi $741

Living in Dubai is roughly 781% more expensive than in Tongi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 114% above, Tongi is 76% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.94 AED 47.54

$2.02 ৳252

540.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.2 AED 306

$9.27 ৳1,158

797.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.35 AED 34.32

$4.64 ৳579

101.51%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 ৳375

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.21 ৳525

Cappuccino

$5.88 AED 21.60

$1.75 ৳219

236.00%

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

$1.57 AED 5.77

$0.35 ৳43.13

348.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 AED 3.47

$0.15 ৳18.80

526.67%

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

$0.71 ৳88.4

161.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 AED 5.73

$0.49 ৳60.7

218.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.64 AED 9.68

$0.63 ৳78.6

319.05%

Eggs

$3.53 AED 12.96

$1.15 ৳144

206.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.97 AED 47.62

$7.47 ৳932

73.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.94 AED 36.51

$2.43 ৳303

309.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.92 AED 47.45

$6.53 ৳815

97.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.55 AED 9.36

$2.40 ৳300

6.25%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 AED 7.54

$0.95 ৳119

115.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 AED 6.77

$1.96 ৳245

-6.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 AED 5.64

$0.58 ৳72.9

165.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.31

$0.26 ৳32.15

350.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 AED 3.76

$0.53 ৳66.7

92.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 AED 5.75

$0.41 ৳50.8

282.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.46

$0.23 ৳28.71

191.30%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$7.73 ৳965

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.48 ৳309

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.69 ৳585

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 AED 23.17

$3.01 ৳376

109.63%

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

$0.37 ৳45.93

278.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.4 AED 303

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.29 AED 12.07

$0.79 ৳98.6

316.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 AED 2.40

$0.38 ৳47.79

71.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 AED 29.84

$2.75 ৳343

195.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.00 AED 3.68

$1.23 ৳153

-18.70%

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

$26.3K AED 96.6K

$29.2K ৳3.6M

-9.88%

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

$22.0K AED 81.0K

$26.9K ৳3.4M

-18.11%

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

$239 AED 877

$29.56 ৳3,690

708.05%

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

$56.9 AED 209

$4.20 ৳525

1254.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$93.9 AED 345

$7.97 ৳995

1078.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$90.8 AED 334

$13.22 ৳1,650

587.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.38 AED 170

Cinema Ticket

$16.24 AED 59.6

$3.60 ৳450

351.11%

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

$934 AED 3,429

$25.01 ৳3,122

3633.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.9K AED 76.8K

$1,527 ৳190.6K

1270.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.7 AED 260

$22.05 ৳2,753

220.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.3 AED 225

$23.42 ৳2,923

161.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 AED 377

$31.59 ৳3,943

225.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 AED 426

$33.81 ৳4,220

243.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,487 AED 9,134

$86.6 ৳10.8K

2773.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,520 AED 5,581

$50.6 ৳6,311

2905.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,234 AED 19.2K

$168 ৳21.0K

3008.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,028 AED 11.1K

$116 ৳14.5K

2503.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,982 AED 25.6K

$756 ৳94.3K

823.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,433 AED 16.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,553 AED 13.0K

$98.7 ৳12.3K

3499.71%

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 Tongi: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.6%

Tongi

$51 15.4% 96.7% $1.5K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$390 13.5%

Tongi

$42 12.7% 89.3% $348

Eating Out

Dubai

$307 10.6%

Tongi

$53 16.2% 82.7% $253

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$297 10.3%

Tongi

$108 32.9% 63.7% $189

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$158 5.5%

Tongi

$50 15.2% 68.4% $108

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$123 4.3%

Tongi

$20 6.2% 83.4% $103

Getting Around

Dubai

$95 3.3%

Tongi

$4.2 * 1.3% 95.6% $90

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 $2,487 in Dubai and $87 in Tongi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays about 36 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $83 in Dubai vs $9 in Tongi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $108 per month, with Tongi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇧🇩 Tongi

🕒 Local time

20:13 8:13 PM

22:13 10:13 PM

2 h ahead of Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

406,420

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.01 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.13 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 = 0.242 EUR).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 125 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.01 USD). 1 EUR = 140 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.13 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Tongi 3,560 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Tongi

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 Tongi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tongi is about 89% 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 36 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 $87 in Tongi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 175% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $2,889 per month in Dubai versus $328 in Tongi – Tongi is about 89% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $328 in Tongi versus $2,889 in Dubai, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Tongi but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Tongi 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.

It comes down to priorities – Tongi wins on affordability, Dubai on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.