Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Vung Tau

For one person, living is cheaper in Vung Tau: $608 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $27,500 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Vung Tau
Learn more

Vung Tau Living Index

Jump to prices

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Vung Tau

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Vung Tau

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $608 in Vung Tau.

Dubai $2,896
Vung Tau $608

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $1,015 in Vung Tau.

Dubai $4,384
Vung Tau $1,015

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $1,423 in Vung Tau.

Dubai $5,872
Vung Tau $1,423

Living in Dubai is roughly 376% more expensive than in Vung Tau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, Vung Tau is 55% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$1.95 ₫50.5K

549.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$15.66 ₫405.5K

421.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$3.75 ₫97.0K

149.07%

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$1.84 ₫47.6K

220.11%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$0.41 ₫10.6K

312.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.33 ₫8,662

136.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

$0.78 ₫20.2K

1651.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

$1.01 ₫26.3K

1235.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$1.40 ₫36.3K

31.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$1.11 ₫28.7K

35.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$0.89 ₫23.1K

188.76%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$1.65 ₫42.8K

101.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$4.79 ₫124.0K

163.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$3.60 ₫93.1K

168.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$9.44 ₫244.4K

35.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$3.06 ₫79.3K

-15.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.24 ₫32.1K

53.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$0.63 ₫16.3K

203.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$1.29 ₫33.5K

6.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$1.15 ₫29.8K

-1.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.19 ₫30.8K

-15.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$0.60 ₫15.7K

140.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.43 ₫11.0K

55.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$1.20 ₫31.1K

390.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

$12.74 ₫329.7K

26.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

$0.81 ₫21.1K

235.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

$1.01 ₫26.2K

204.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$0.70 ₫18.1K

362.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$0.59 ₫15.3K

20.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$1.15 ₫29.7K

592.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$0.80 ₫20.7K

22.50%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$30.2K ₫782.2M

-9.36%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$31.4K ₫811.9M

-29.75%

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

$249 AED 913

$46.69 ₫1.2M

432.23%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$5.90 ₫152.7K

822.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$7.99 ₫206.9K

1044.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$17.04 ₫441.1K

506.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

$9.41 ₫243.6K

349.73%

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$3.54 ₫91.6K

360.17%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$117 ₫3.0M

622.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$9,586 ₫248.2M

90.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$21.13 ₫547.1K

217.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$18.89 ₫489.1K

206.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$92.2 ₫2.4M

10.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$67.9 ₫1.8M

45.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$304 ₫7.9M

686.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$199 ₫5.2M

670.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$752 ₫19.5M

510.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$504 ₫13.0M

483.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$7,301 ₫189.0M

-3.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$4,367 ₫113.1M

-3.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$572 ₫14.8M

505.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

8.64

-47.45%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Vung Tau: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Vung Tau

$199 32.7% 87% $1.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Vung Tau

$61 10% 84.6% $334

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Vung Tau

$58 9.5% 81.1% $247

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Vung Tau

$173 28.4% 40.8% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Vung Tau

$90 14.8% 38.6% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Vung Tau

$24 4% 82.3% $112

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Vung Tau

$3.7 * 0.6% 95.9% $85

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 $304 in Vung Tau. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 505% 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 $16.00 in Vung Tau for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $173 per month, with Vung Tau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇻🇳 Vung Tau

🕒 Local time

14:02 2:02 PM

17:02 5:02 PM

3 h ahead of Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

380,000

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, 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).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,108 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dubai Vung Tau 5,700 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Vung Tau

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 Vung Tau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Vung Tau is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 376% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 505% 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 $304 in Vung Tau. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 69% 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 $608 in Vung Tau – a 376% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $608 in Vung Tau versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Vung Tau but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Vung Tau the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Vung Tau 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 Vung Tau 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 Vung Tau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 376% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.