Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Tumba

For one person, living is cheaper in Tumba: $1,896 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $12,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Dubai outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index
91

Cost of Living Index in Tumba
Learn more

Tumba Living Index

Jump to prices

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Tumba

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,896

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Tumba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $1,896 in Tumba.

Dubai $2,896
Tumba $1,896

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,468 in Dubai versus $2,899 in Tumba.

Dubai $4,468
Tumba $2,899

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,040 in Dubai versus $3,901 in Tumba.

Dubai $6,040
Tumba $3,901

Living in Dubai is roughly 53% more expensive than in Tumba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 113% above, Tumba 39% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.73 AED 46.74

$14.20 SEK 141

-10.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.5 AED 299

$64.9 SEK 645

25.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.68 AED 35.55

$9.95 SEK 98.8

-2.71%

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$4.29 SEK 42.62

39.16%

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

$1.66 AED 6.10

$2.65 SEK 26.32

-37.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 AED 3.00

$2.21 SEK 21.98

-62.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.38 AED 49.13

$7.17 SEK 71.2

86.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.60 AED 49.94

$6.91 SEK 68.6

96.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.66

$1.79 SEK 17.74

1.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 AED 5.68

$3.05 SEK 30.32

-49.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.57

$3.75 SEK 37.26

-30.67%

Eggs

$3.58 AED 13.16

$5.03 SEK 49.99

-28.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.12 AED 44.52

$13.00 SEK 129

-6.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.50 AED 34.90

$13.25 SEK 132

-28.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.88 AED 51.0

$17.49 SEK 174

-20.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.63 AED 9.67

$3.25 SEK 32.26

-19.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.97

$2.68 SEK 26.65

-29.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.85 AED 6.81

$2.06 SEK 20.45

-10.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.50 AED 5.51

$4.50 SEK 44.71

-66.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.19 AED 4.36

$1.45 SEK 14.40

-17.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.70

$1.80 SEK 17.92

-43.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.66 AED 6.10

$2.30 SEK 22.87

-27.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.27

$1.88 SEK 18.70

-67.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.11 AED 22.42

$7.15 SEK 71.0

-14.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.08 AED 59.1

$10.04 SEK 99.7

60.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.71 AED 9.95

$2.01 SEK 19.99

34.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 AED 11.10

$2.25 SEK 22.37

34.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.47 AED 5.39

$4.26 SEK 42.31

-65.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.0 AED 246

$103 SEK 1,022

-34.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.35 AED 12.31

$5.79 SEK 57.5

-42.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.68 AED 2.48

$1.48 SEK 14.67

-54.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.24 AED 30.24

$57.1 SEK 567

-85.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.92 AED 3.40

$1.81 SEK 17.99

-49.17%

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

$26.0K AED 95.5K

$33.4K SEK 332.0K

-22.24%

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

$21.5K AED 79.0K

$34.0K SEK 337.3K

-36.64%

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

$248 AED 910

$176 SEK 1,746

40.91%

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

$56.2 AED 206

$21.42 SEK 213

162.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$93.8 AED 344

$48.20 SEK 479

94.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$91.1 AED 335

$40.34 SEK 401

125.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$45.35 AED 167

$26.36 SEK 262

72.04%

Cinema Ticket

$16.58 AED 60.9

$16.89 SEK 168

-1.84%

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

$949 AED 3,486

$158 SEK 1,569

500.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K AED 62.8K

$5,131 SEK 51.0K

233.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.5 AED 259

$113 SEK 1,123

-37.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.7 AED 227

$53.6 SEK 532

15.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$94.8 SEK 941

6.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 AED 419

$186 SEK 1,843

-38.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,510 AED 9,217

$792 SEK 7,866

216.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,537 AED 5,644

$599 SEK 5,953

156.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,106 AED 18.8K

$1,375 SEK 13.7K

271.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,110 AED 11.4K

$1,011 SEK 10.0K

207.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,216 AED 26.5K

$3,992 SEK 39.6K

80.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,383 AED 16.1K

$2,784 SEK 27.6K

57.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,556 AED 13.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

2.8

62.14%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 26, 2026

Last update for Tumba: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 53.1%

Tumba

$599 31.6% 61% $937

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$398 13.7%

Tumba

$245 12.9% 38.3% $152

Eating Out

Dubai

$307 10.6%

Tumba

$264 13.9% 13.9% $43

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$295 10.2%

Tumba

$379 20% 28.5% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$156 5.4%

Tumba

$201 10.6% 28.8% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$124 4.3%

Tumba

$74 3.9% 40.4% $50

Getting Around

Dubai

$80 2.8%

Tumba

$133 7% 67.2% $54

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,510 in Dubai and $792 in Tumba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $81 in Dubai vs $65 in Tumba. Groceries flip the comparison at $295 vs $379, with Dubai cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇸🇪 Tumba

🕒 Local time

22:35 10:35 PM

19:35 7:35 PM

3 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

42,344

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.245 EUR

100 SEK = 10.07 USD

100 SEK = 9.05 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.09 AED (1 AED = 0.245 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.93 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.06 SEK (100 SEK = 9.05 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Tumba 4,770 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Tumba

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 Tumba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tumba is cheaper overall, especially in utilities, leisure, and eating out. The 53% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $4,343 in Dubai and $2,844 in Tumba to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,510 in Dubai versus $792 in Tumba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Dubai runs roughly 35% less than in Tumba. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $949 in Dubai versus $158 in Tumba. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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.

Safety-wise, Dubai and Tumba are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.