Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Italy and the United Arab Emirates

Name: United Arab Emirates
Address: AE

For one person, living is cheaper in Italy: $1,804 a month against $2,266 in the United Arab Emirates, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Italy
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Italy Living Index
110

Cost of Living Index in the United Arab Emirates
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United Arab Emirates Living Index

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🇮🇹 Italy

$1,804

/mo nomad

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,266

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Italy and in the United Arab Emirates

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,804 in Italy versus $2,266 in the United Arab Emirates.

Italy $1,804
United Arab Emirates $2,266

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,778 in Italy versus $3,384 in the United Arab Emirates.

Italy $2,778
United Arab Emirates $3,384

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,752 in Italy versus $4,501 in the United Arab Emirates.

Italy $3,752
United Arab Emirates $4,501

Italy ($1,035–$2,560) and the United Arab Emirates ($1,446–$3,252) have similar cost spreads. Where you settle within each country has roughly equal impact on the budget.

Living in Italy costs about 20% less than in the United Arab Emirates on average.

Both countries sit above the global median: Italy 34% above, the United Arab Emirates 68% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.89 €17.70

$9.45 AED 34.69

110.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$77.0 €68.5

$59.5 AED 218

29.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.00 €9.78

$9.28 AED 34.09

18.53%

Cappuccino

$1.99 €1.77

$5.36 AED 19.67

-62.87%

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

$2.96 €2.63

$1.11 AED 4.08

166.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.25

$0.50 AED 1.83

182.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.60 €4.98

$12.07 AED 44.33

-53.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.67 €5.05

$12.22 AED 44.87

-53.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 €1.43

$1.75 AED 6.42

-8.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.30 €2.05

$1.47 AED 5.39

56.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.99 €2.66

$2.14 AED 7.85

39.72%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$3.11 AED 11.44

30.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.23 €15.33

$10.85 AED 39.84

58.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.68 €11.28

$9.01 AED 33.09

40.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.36 €18.11

$11.56 AED 42.47

76.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.54 €2.26

$2.38 AED 8.75

6.72%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.86 AED 6.85

15.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.56 €2.28

$1.75 AED 6.44

46.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.22 €2.86

$1.38 AED 5.08

133.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 €1.70

$1.07 AED 3.93

79.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 €1.64

$1.08 AED 3.95

70.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 €1.34

$1.45 AED 5.32

4.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$0.59 AED 2.17

-6.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.81 €6.06

$6.39 AED 23.47

6.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.03 €7.15

$13.76 AED 50.5

-41.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 €1.53

$2.34 AED 8.60

-26.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 €2.11

$2.64 AED 9.69

-10.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.88 €1.67

$1.61 AED 5.93

16.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.31 €38.52

$46.73 AED 172

-7.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.57 €4.95

$3.28 AED 12.05

69.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 €1.45

$0.65 AED 2.37

150.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.78 €30.04

$8.28 AED 30.40

307.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 €1.81

$0.97 AED 3.56

110.31%

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

$35.6K €31.7K

$43.9K AED 161.1K

-18.78%

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

$35.4K €31.5K

$22.2K AED 81.5K

59.52%

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

$222 €198

$195 AED 714

14.35%

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

$11.43 €10.17

$53.6 AED 197

-78.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.65 €27.26

$89.7 AED 330

-65.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 €46.89

$75.0 AED 275

-29.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.82 €21.19

$32.77 AED 120

-27.31%

Cinema Ticket

$10.51 €9.35

$13.73 AED 50.4

-23.45%

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

$541 €481

$583 AED 2,142

-7.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.7K €10.4K

$12.1K AED 44.4K

-3.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.0 €80.0

$60.2 AED 221

49.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.08 €34.76

$56.5 AED 208

-30.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 €90.2

$99.8 AED 366

1.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$132 €117

$99.3 AED 365

33.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$805 €716

$1,570 AED 5,767

-48.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 €550

$1,100 AED 4,040

-43.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 €1,235

$2,653 AED 9,743

-47.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,050 €934

$2,032 AED 7,464

-48.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,623 €3,223

$5,737 AED 21.1K

-36.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,229 €1,983

$2,888 AED 10.6K

-22.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,889 €1,680

$2,782 AED 10.2K

-32.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.56

4.63

-23.11%

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

Last update for Italy: October 11, 2026

Last update for the United Arab Emirates: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Italy

$619 34.3%

United Arab Emirates

$1.1K 48.5% 77.8% $481

Groceries & Markets

Italy

$347 19.2%

United Arab Emirates

$265 11.7% 23.5% $82

Eating Out

Italy

$273 15.1%

United Arab Emirates

$259 11.4% 5.1% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Italy

$265 14.7%

United Arab Emirates

$338 14.9% 27.7% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Italy

$163 9%

United Arab Emirates

$142 6.3% 12.9% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Italy

$74 4.1%

United Arab Emirates

$102 4.5% 38.9% $29

Getting Around

Italy

$65 3.6%

United Arab Emirates

$60 2.6% 7.5% $4.8

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $721 in Italy, $1,267 in the United Arab Emirates. Capital cities: $1,222 in Rome vs $1,947 in Abu Dhabi.

National salary averages: $1,888 in Italy, $2,854 in the United Arab Emirates. Higher pay doesn't always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 76% higher in the United Arab Emirates.

Dining out costs 49% more in Italy.

Salaries are 51% higher in the United Arab Emirates, and purchasing power comes out stronger in the United Arab Emirates.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Italy

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

🕒 Local time

07:42 7:42 AM

09:42 9:42 AM

2 h ahead of Italy

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,850,717

9,890,400

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Italy United Arab Emirates 4,300 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Italy
United Arab Emirates

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

Italy vs United Arab Emirates: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $1,804 per month in Italy and $2,266 in the United Arab Emirates, there's a 26% gap. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $1,267 in the United Arab Emirates and $721 in Italy. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

In Italy, $2,500 covers most cities easily; in the United Arab Emirates it stretches only to regional areas and falls short in the capital – you'll need to make trade-offs on housing or lifestyle.

It depends on what you're after: Italy wins on affordability; the United Arab Emirates may offer higher salaries, better infrastructure, and different cultural perks. Both attract large expat communities for different reasons.