Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hawassa and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Hawassa: $834 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $24,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Hawassa
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Hawassa Living Index
140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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Hawassa

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

$834

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hawassa 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 Hawassa and in Dubai actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $834 in Hawassa versus $2,896 in Dubai.

Hawassa $834
Dubai $2,896

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,199 in Hawassa versus $4,384 in Dubai.

Hawassa $1,199
Dubai $4,384

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,564 in Hawassa versus $5,872 in Dubai.

Hawassa $1,564
Dubai $5,872

Living in Hawassa costs roughly 71% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Hawassa is 38% below, Dubai is 115% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.90 ETB 625

$12.67 AED 46.55

-69.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.11 ETB 6,758

$81.7 AED 300

-48.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.56 ETB 1,054

$9.34 AED 34.30

-29.76%

Cappuccino

$0.95 ETB 153

$5.89 AED 21.62

-83.87%

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

$0.63 ETB 102

$1.69 AED 6.20

-62.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 ETB 110

$0.78 AED 2.86

-11.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.83 ETB 133

$13.66 AED 50.2

-93.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 ETB 370

$13.49 AED 49.54

-82.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.07 ETB 172

$1.84 AED 6.78

-41.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.17 ETB 188

$1.50 AED 5.50

-22.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ETB 163

$2.57 AED 9.45

-60.70%

Eggs

$1.58 ETB 253

$3.32 AED 12.18

-52.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.40 ETB 1,188

$12.60 AED 46.28

-41.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.07 ETB 1,616

$9.66 AED 35.46

4.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.09 ETB 1,458

$12.78 AED 46.93

-28.87%

Apples (1kg)

$5.35 ETB 859

$2.60 AED 9.54

105.77%

Banana (1kg)

$0.68 ETB 109

$1.90 AED 6.99

-64.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.13 ETB 341

$1.91 AED 7.02

11.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.66 ETB 106

$1.37 AED 5.02

-51.82%

Potato (1kg)

$0.50 ETB 80.5

$1.13 AED 4.14

-55.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.06 ETB 169

$1.01 AED 3.71

4.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 ETB 110

$1.44 AED 5.30

-52.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 ETB 91.3

$0.67 AED 2.48

-14.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.18 ETB 1,312

$5.88 AED 21.59

39.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.55 ETB 891

$16.15 AED 59.3

-65.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 ETB 106

$2.72 AED 10.00

-75.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 ETB 206

$3.08 AED 11.32

-58.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.31 ETB 210

$3.24 AED 11.91

-59.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.27 ETB 42.86

$0.71 AED 2.61

-61.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.03 ETB 326

$7.96 AED 29.22

-74.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.92 ETB 147

$0.98 AED 3.62

-6.12%

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

$54.6K ETB 8.8M

$27.4K AED 100.6K

99.41%

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

$56.4K ETB 9.0M

$22.0K AED 80.9K

155.87%

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

$202 ETB 32.5K

$249 AED 913

-18.64%

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

$7.21 ETB 1,158

$54.4 AED 200

-86.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$213 ETB 34.2K

$91.5 AED 336

133.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

Cinema Ticket

$3.84 ETB 616

$16.29 AED 59.8

-76.43%

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

$136 ETB 21.9K

$844 AED 3,098

-83.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.2K ETB 4.9M

$18.3K AED 67.1K

65.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.37 ETB 5,356

$67.0 AED 246

-50.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$70.7 ETB 11.3K

$57.9 AED 213

22.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.6 ETB 12.6K

$102 AED 375

-23.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.6 ETB 13.4K

$98.7 AED 363

-15.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$494 ETB 79.3K

$4,222 AED 15.5K

-88.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

18.5

4.54

307.49%

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

Last update for Hawassa: October 10, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hawassa

$423 50.6%

Dubai

$394 13.6% 6.7% $28

Groceries & Markets

Hawassa

$205 24.6%

Dubai

$292 10.1% 42% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Hawassa

$120 14.4%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 22.4% $27

Eating Out

Hawassa

$76 9.2%

Dubai

$305 10.5% 300% $229

Sport & Entertainment

Hawassa

$7.7 * 0.9%

Dubai

$136 4.7% 1673% $128

Getting Around

Hawassa

$2.6 * 0.3%

Dubai

$89 3.1% 3276% $86

Accommodation & Living

Hawassa

- * 0%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $42.00 in Hawassa vs $82.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $205 vs $292 per month, with Hawassa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇹 Hawassa

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

10:07 10:07 AM

11:07 11:07 AM

1 h ahead of Hawassa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

160,000

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Ethiopian Birr ETB Br

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 ETB = 6.23 USD

1,000 ETB = 5.54 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 160 ETB (1,000 ETB = 6.23 USD). 1 EUR = 180 ETB (1,000 ETB = 5.54 EUR).

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).

USD to ETB in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Hawassa Dubai 2,680 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Hawassa
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

Hawassa vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hawassa is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 247% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,252 in Hawassa and $4,344 in Dubai to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $834 per month in Hawassa versus $2,896 in Dubai – a 247% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $834 in Hawassa versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Hawassa but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Hawassa the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Hawassa 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, Hawassa and Dubai 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 Hawassa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 247% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.