Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ethiopia and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Ethiopia: $1,221 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $19,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Ethiopia
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Ethiopia Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

Jump to prices

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

$1,221

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Ethiopia is 35.2% cheaper than Dubai without rent, and 57.2% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Ethiopia is 41.7% cheaper than Dubai without rent, and 58.5% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.96 ETB 637

$13.04 AED 47.89

-69.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.04 ETB 6,755

$81.4 AED 299

-48.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.50 ETB 1,044

$9.32 AED 34.25

-30.26%

Cappuccino

$0.93 ETB 149

$5.97 AED 21.93

-84.42%

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

$0.56 ETB 90.4

$1.63 AED 5.98

-65.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 ETB 89.7

$0.81 AED 2.99

-30.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.82 ETB 132

$13.65 AED 50.1

-93.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 ETB 328

$13.38 AED 49.15

-84.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 ETB 164

$1.81 AED 6.64

-43.65%

White Bread (500g)

$0.96 ETB 155

$1.57 AED 5.78

-38.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 ETB 290

$2.49 AED 9.16

-27.71%

Eggs

$1.80 ETB 290

$3.28 AED 12.04

-45.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.37 ETB 1,185

$12.67 AED 46.53

-41.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.36 ETB 1,665

$9.75 AED 35.80

6.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.24 ETB 1,646

$13.18 AED 48.40

-22.31%

Apples (1kg)

$4.43 ETB 711

$2.61 AED 9.57

69.73%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 ETB 117

$1.93 AED 7.09

-62.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.44 ETB 392

$1.92 AED 7.05

27.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.67 ETB 108

$1.36 AED 5.00

-50.74%

Potato (1kg)

$0.55 ETB 88.3

$1.17 AED 4.29

-52.99%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ETB 218

$1.01 AED 3.71

34.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.81 ETB 131

$1.51 AED 5.56

-46.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ETB 93.2

$0.62 AED 2.29

-6.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.96 ETB 1,279

$5.85 AED 21.50

36.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.34 ETB 858

$16.14 AED 59.3

-66.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 ETB 127

$2.65 AED 9.74

-70.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 ETB 243

$2.95 AED 10.82

-48.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.38 ETB 60.6

$1.64 AED 6.03

-76.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.79 ETB 2,697

$73.6 AED 270

-77.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.36 ETB 218

$3.17 AED 11.66

-57.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 ETB 47.21

$0.71 AED 2.63

-59.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.95 ETB 313

$7.96 AED 29.23

-75.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 ETB 151

$0.99 AED 3.64

-5.05%

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

$52.9K ETB 8.5M

$27.4K AED 100.5K

93.13%

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

$55.3K ETB 8.9M

$22.5K AED 82.8K

145.32%

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

$140 ETB 22.4K

$250 AED 920

-44.26%

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

$9.83 ETB 1,579

$54.2 AED 199

-81.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$228 ETB 36.7K

$91.8 AED 337

148.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.23 ETB 6,946

$98.6 AED 362

-56.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.64 ETB 5,726

$42.61 AED 156

-16.36%

Cinema Ticket

$5.11 ETB 821

$16.03 AED 58.9

-68.12%

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

$118 ETB 19.0K

$843 AED 3,098

-85.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.9K ETB 4.8M

$18.3K AED 67.1K

63.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.22 ETB 5,660

$68.0 AED 250

-48.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.0 ETB 9,959

$57.9 AED 213

7.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 ETB 12.6K

$101 AED 370

-22.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.8 ETB 14.1K

$101 AED 371

-13.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$647 ETB 103.9K

$2,380 AED 8,741

-72.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$353 ETB 56.7K

$1,506 AED 5,531

-76.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,771 ETB 284.6K

$4,437 AED 16.3K

-60.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$712 ETB 114.4K

$3,010 AED 11.1K

-76.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,804 ETB 289.8K

$7,121 AED 26.2K

-74.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,013 ETB 162.8K

$4,135 AED 15.2K

-75.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$199 ETB 32.0K

$3,391 AED 12.5K

-94.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

274.45%

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

Last update for Ethiopia: October 3, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ethiopia

$378 31.2%

Dubai

$396 13.8% 4.9% $19

Accommodation & Living

Ethiopia

$353 29.2%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5% 327% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Ethiopia

$211 17.4%

Dubai

$293 10.2% 38.9% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Ethiopia

$118 9.8%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 24.4% $29

Eating Out

Ethiopia

$75 6.2%

Dubai

$309 10.8% 311% $234

Sport & Entertainment

Ethiopia

$53 4.4%

Dubai

$131 4.6% 145% $77

Getting Around

Ethiopia

$21 1.8%

Dubai

$87 3% 312% $66

Good to know

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

10:16 10:16 AM

11:16 11:16 AM

1 h ahead of Ethiopia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

128,691,692

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Ethiopian Birr ETB Br

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD

1,000 ETB = 5.55 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to ETB – Ethiopian Birr Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇹 Ethiopian Birr (Br)

Ethiopian Birr exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 161 ETB (1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD). 1 EUR = 180 ETB (1,000 ETB = 5.55 EUR).

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).

USD to ETB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ethiopia Dubai 2,490 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Ethiopia
Dubai

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

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Cost of Living Comparison Between Ethiopia and Dubai

AED, USD, EUR to ETB – Ethiopian Birr Converter

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

Ethiopia

Dubai

Ethiopia

Dubai

Ethiopia vs other spots: cost of living compared

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