Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Yanbu

For one person, living is cheaper in Yanbu: $1,031 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $22,400 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Yanbu
Learn more

Yanbu Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Yanbu

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,031

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Yanbu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,896 in Dubai versus $1,031 in Yanbu.

Dubai $2,896
Yanbu $1,031

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,384 in Dubai versus $1,633 in Yanbu.

Dubai $4,384
Yanbu $1,633

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,872 in Dubai versus $2,236 in Yanbu.

Dubai $5,872
Yanbu $2,236

Living in Dubai is roughly 181% more expensive than in Yanbu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 115% above, Yanbu is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.67 AED 46.55

$6.26 SAR 23.48

102.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.7 AED 300

$37.63 SAR 141

117.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.34 AED 34.30

$6.63 SAR 24.87

40.87%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.57 SAR 5.87

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 SAR 6.10

Cappuccino

$5.89 AED 21.62

$3.89 SAR 14.61

51.41%

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

$1.69 AED 6.20

$0.86 SAR 3.24

96.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 AED 2.86

$0.20 SAR 0.76

290.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 AED 6.78

$1.74 SAR 6.53

5.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 AED 5.50

$0.92 SAR 3.47

63.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.57 AED 9.45

$2.16 SAR 8.12

18.98%

Eggs

$3.32 AED 12.18

$2.41 SAR 9.04

37.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 AED 46.28

$6.51 SAR 24.44

93.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.66 AED 35.46

$8.27 SAR 31.02

16.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.78 AED 46.93

$12.89 SAR 48.36

-0.85%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 AED 9.54

$2.05 SAR 7.68

26.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 AED 6.99

$1.74 SAR 6.54

9.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 AED 7.02

$1.50 SAR 5.62

27.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 AED 5.02

$1.69 SAR 6.33

-18.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 AED 4.14

$1.12 SAR 4.21

0.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.05 SAR 3.94

-3.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 AED 5.30

$1.09 SAR 4.09

32.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 AED 2.48

$0.54 SAR 2.03

24.07%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.31 SAR 4.92

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 SAR 5.10

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 SAR 8.20

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.88 AED 21.59

$6.53 SAR 24.51

-9.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

$1.05 SAR 3.93

52.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

$36.72 SAR 138

106.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.24 AED 11.91

$3.13 SAR 11.76

3.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.61

$0.83 SAR 3.12

-14.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.22

$13.99 SAR 52.5

-43.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.62

$0.58 SAR 2.18

68.97%

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

$27.4K AED 100.6K

$46.8K SAR 175.5K

-41.43%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$21.6K SAR 80.9K

2.22%

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

$249 AED 913

$90.7 SAR 340

173.92%

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

$54.4 AED 200

$22.55 SAR 84.6

141.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.5 AED 336

$68.7 SAR 258

33.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

$98.7 SAR 370

4.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

$26.18 SAR 98.2

61.65%

Cinema Ticket

$16.29 AED 59.8

$11.97 SAR 44.91

36.09%

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

$844 AED 3,098

$268 SAR 1,007

214.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$3,785 SAR 14.2K

382.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 AED 246

$74.5 SAR 279

-10.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$56.8 SAR 213

2.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 AED 375

$98.0 SAR 368

4.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 AED 363

$93.7 SAR 352

5.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

$308 SAR 1,156

676.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

$216 SAR 810

609.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

$602 SAR 2,261

662.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

$424 SAR 1,592

592.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

$2,369 SAR 8,890

197.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

$1,269 SAR 4,763

232.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

$3,510 SAR 13.2K

-1.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

5.39

-15.77%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Yanbu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Yanbu

$216 21% 85.9% $1.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$394 13.6%

Yanbu

$182 17.7% 53.9% $212

Eating Out

Dubai

$305 10.5%

Yanbu

$121 11.7% 60.4% $184

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$292 10.1%

Yanbu

$196 19% 32.8% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Yanbu

$145 14.1% 0.8% $1.2

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$136 4.7%

Yanbu

$123 11.9% 9.8% $13

Getting Around

Dubai

$89 3.1%

Yanbu

$48 4.7% 45.9% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,393 in Dubai and $308 in Yanbu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Yanbu pays 1% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $82.0 in Dubai vs $38.00 in Yanbu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $292 vs $196 per month, with Yanbu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇸🇦 Yanbu

🕒 Local time

16:26 4:26 PM

15:26 3:26 PM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

233,236

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Yanbu 1,730 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Yanbu

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 Yanbu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yanbu is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 181% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 1% lower in Yanbu. 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: $2,393 in Dubai versus $308 in Yanbu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Yanbu runs roughly 107% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $844 in Dubai versus $268 in Yanbu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,031 in Yanbu versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Yanbu but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Yanbu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Yanbu 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 Yanbu 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 Yanbu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 181% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.