Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Zanzibar

For one person, living is cheaper in Zanzibar: $577 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $27,300 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
28

Cost of Living Index in Zanzibar
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Zanzibar Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Zanzibar

🇹🇿 Tanzania

$577

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dubai and in Zanzibar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $577 in Zanzibar.

Dubai $2,854
Zanzibar $577

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $857 in Zanzibar.

Dubai $4,321
Zanzibar $857

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $1,137 in Zanzibar.

Dubai $5,788
Zanzibar $1,137

Living in Dubai is roughly 395% more expensive than in Zanzibar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dubai is 113% above, Zanzibar is 57% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$4.78 TZS 12.5K

172.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$21.74 TZS 57.0K

274.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$5.54 TZS 14.5K

68.23%

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$2.21 TZS 5,810

170.14%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$0.60 TZS 1,568

171.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$0.33 TZS 874

145.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

$1.91 TZS 4,999

614.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

$2.72 TZS 7,135

391.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$2.04 TZS 5,357

-11.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$0.72 TZS 1,902

118.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$0.83 TZS 2,185

200.00%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$2.68 TZS 7,044

22.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$7.54 TZS 19.8K

68.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$2.21 TZS 5,803

341.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$6.12 TZS 16.1K

115.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$2.86 TZS 7,493

-8.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$1.11 TZS 2,918

73.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$0.75 TZS 1,967

156.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$0.59 TZS 1,556

130.51%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$0.98 TZS 2,581

19.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.48 TZS 3,871

-31.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$0.75 TZS 1,960

101.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$0.49 TZS 1,283

26.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$2.06 TZS 5,403

183.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

$9.28 TZS 24.4K

73.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

$1.54 TZS 4,043

72.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

$1.31 TZS 3,428

125.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$0.31 TZS 817

429.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$3.70 TZS 9,701

-14.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$0.79 TZS 2,073

-10.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$2.62 TZS 6,862

203.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$1.27 TZS 3,339

-22.05%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$48.8K TZS 128.0M

-53.81%

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

$250 AED 920

$73.3 TZS 192.4K

241.52%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$11.35 TZS 29.8K

377.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$49.97 TZS 131.1K

83.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$29.66 TZS 77.8K

232.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$9.71 TZS 25.5K

65.09%

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

$843 AED 3,098

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$12.93 TZS 33.9K

425.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$17.28 TZS 45.3K

234.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$15.25 TZS 40.0K

560.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$13.08 TZS 34.3K

672.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$149 TZS 389.9K

1501.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$99.0 TZS 259.8K

1420.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$201 TZS 528.4K

2103.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$150 TZS 393.4K

1907.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$37.6K TZS 98.6M

-81.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$11.5K TZS 30.1M

-63.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$313 TZS 820.4K

984.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

-54.60%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Zanzibar: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Zanzibar

$99 17% 93.4% $1.4K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Zanzibar

$135 23.1% 66% $262

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Zanzibar

$100 17.2% 67.6% $209

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Zanzibar

$164 28.2% 43.9% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Zanzibar

$26 4.5% 82.1% $121

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Zanzibar

$49 8.4% 62.5% $82

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Zanzibar

$8.9 * 1.5% 89.8% $78

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 $2,380 in Dubai and $149 in Zanzibar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 984% 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: $81.0 in Dubai vs $22.00 in Zanzibar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $164 per month, with Zanzibar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇹🇿 Zanzibar

🕒 Local time

14:12 2:12 PM

13:12 1:12 PM

1 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

709,809

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Tanzanian Shilling TZS Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

10,000 TZS = 3.81 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TZS, USD, EUR 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).

Tanzanian Shilling exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2,624 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.81 USD). 1 EUR = 2,940 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dubai Zanzibar 3,880 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
Zanzibar

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 Zanzibar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zanzibar is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 395% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 984% 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: $2,380 in Dubai versus $149 in Zanzibar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 78% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Zanzibar – a meal for two runs $22.00 versus $81.0 in Dubai. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $577 in Zanzibar versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zanzibar but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Zanzibar the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Zanzibar 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 Zanzibar 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 Zanzibar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 395% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.