Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gabes and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Gabes: $522 a month against $2,889 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $28,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Gabes
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Gabes Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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Gabes

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$522

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,889

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Gabes and in Dubai

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Gabes and in Dubai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $522 in Gabes versus $2,889 in Dubai.

Gabes $522
Dubai $2,889

Estimated couple costs with rent: $831 in Gabes versus $4,444 in Dubai.

Gabes $831
Dubai $4,444

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,140 in Gabes versus $5,999 in Dubai.

Gabes $1,140
Dubai $5,999

Living in Gabes costs roughly 82% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Gabes is 61% below, Dubai is 114% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.80 TND 8.31

$12.94 AED 47.54

-78.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.81 TND 49.88

$83.2 AED 306

-79.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.49 TND 10.35

$9.35 AED 34.32

-62.67%

Cappuccino

$0.84 TND 2.48

$5.88 AED 21.59

-85.71%

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

$0.69 TND 2.05

$1.57 AED 5.77

-56.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 TND 0.74

$0.94 AED 3.47

-73.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.15 TND 3.40

$13.44 AED 49.37

-91.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.52 TND 4.51

$13.57 AED 49.84

-88.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.43 TND 1.28

$1.86 AED 6.83

-76.88%

White Bread (500g)

$0.26 TND 0.76

$1.56 AED 5.73

-83.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 TND 5.34

$2.64 AED 9.68

-31.82%

Eggs

$1.44 TND 4.28

$3.53 AED 12.96

-59.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.05 TND 35.75

$12.97 AED 47.62

-7.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.77 TND 17.14

$9.94 AED 36.51

-41.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.67 TND 43.53

$12.92 AED 47.45

13.54%

Apples (1kg)

$1.60 TND 4.76

$2.55 AED 9.36

-37.25%

Banana (1kg)

$2.91 TND 8.64

$2.05 AED 7.54

41.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.87 TND 2.58

$1.84 AED 6.77

-52.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.95 TND 2.82

$1.54 AED 5.64

-38.31%

Potato (1kg)

$0.90 TND 2.69

$1.17 AED 4.31

-23.08%

Onion (1kg)

$0.60 TND 1.78

$1.02 AED 3.76

-41.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.34 TND 1.02

$1.57 AED 5.75

-78.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.29 TND 0.85

$0.67 AED 2.46

-56.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.43 TND 10.19

$6.31 AED 23.17

-45.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.41 TND 10.13

$16.16 AED 59.4

-78.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 TND 2.18

$2.58 AED 9.48

-71.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 TND 2.39

$2.89 AED 10.60

-71.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.20 TND 0.59

$1.40 AED 5.15

-85.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$6.77 TND 20.10

$82.4 AED 303

-91.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 TND 0.86

$3.29 AED 12.07

-91.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.17 TND 0.50

$0.65 AED 2.40

-73.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.28 TND 12.72

$8.13 AED 29.84

-47.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 TND 2.46

$1.00 AED 3.68

-17.00%

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

$38.8K TND 115.1K

$26.3K AED 96.6K

47.52%

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

$28.2K TND 83.8K

$22.0K AED 81.0K

28.01%

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

$43.96 TND 130

$239 AED 877

-81.60%

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

$7.66 TND 22.72

$56.9 AED 209

-86.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.43 TND 48.77

$93.9 AED 345

-82.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.34 TND 93.0

$90.8 AED 334

-65.50%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.74 TND 14.07

$46.38 AED 170

-89.78%

Cinema Ticket

$3.45 TND 10.23

$16.24 AED 59.6

-78.76%

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

$56.8 TND 169

$934 AED 3,429

-93.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,944 TND 5,768

$20.9K AED 76.8K

-90.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.06 TND 95.2

$70.7 AED 260

-54.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.67 TND 118

$61.3 AED 225

-35.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.3 TND 226

$103 AED 377

-25.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.5 TND 197

$116 AED 426

-42.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$112 TND 333

$2,487 AED 9,134

-95.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$71.3 TND 212

$1,520 AED 5,581

-95.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$197 TND 585

$5,234 AED 19.2K

-96.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$116 TND 344

$3,028 AED 11.1K

-96.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$946 TND 2,809

$6,982 AED 25.6K

-86.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$611 TND 1,815

$4,433 AED 16.3K

-86.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$416 TND 1,235

$3,553 AED 13.0K

-88.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.57

162.58%

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

Last update for Gabes: November 2, 2026

Last update for Dubai: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Gabes

$183 35.2%

Dubai

$297 10.3% 62.1% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Gabes

$97 18.5%

Dubai

$158 5.5% 63.6% $61

Accommodation & Living

Gabes

$71 13.7%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.6% 2031% $1.4K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gabes

$68 13.1%

Dubai

$390 13.5% 473% $322

Eating Out

Gabes

$55 10.6%

Dubai

$307 10.6% 453% $251

Sport & Entertainment

Gabes

$38 7.3%

Dubai

$123 4.3% 223% $85

Getting Around

Gabes

$8.7 1.7%

Dubai

$95 3.3% 987% $86

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $112 in Gabes and $2,487 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays about 8.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $17 in Gabes vs $83 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $183 vs $297 per month, with Gabes cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇳 Gabes

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

05:41 5:41 AM

08:41 8:41 AM

3 h ahead of Gabes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

130,984

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1 TND = 0.337 USD

1 TND = 0.3 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to TND – Tunisian Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇳 Tunisian Dinar (د.ت)

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 2.97 TND (1 TND = 0.337 USD). 1 EUR = 3.33 TND (1 TND = 0.3 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

USD to TND in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Gabes Dubai 4,440 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Gabes
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

Gabes vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gabes is about 82% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, utilities, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 88% lower in Gabes. 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: $112 in Gabes versus $2,487 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Gabes runs roughly 92% less than in Dubai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $57 in Gabes versus $934 in Dubai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $522 in Gabes versus $2,889 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Gabes but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Gabes the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Gabes gentler on the wallet – expenses run 82% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.