Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kampong Thom and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Kampong Thom: $599 a month against $2,883 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $27,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Kampong Thom
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Kampong Thom Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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Kampong Thom

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$599

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,883

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $599 in Kampong Thom versus $2,883 in Dubai.

Kampong Thom $599
Dubai $2,883

Estimated couple costs with rent: $979 in Kampong Thom versus $4,403 in Dubai.

Kampong Thom $979
Dubai $4,403

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,359 in Kampong Thom versus $5,923 in Dubai.

Kampong Thom $1,359
Dubai $5,923

Living in Kampong Thom costs roughly 79% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kampong Thom is 56% below, Dubai is 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.90 ៛15.8K

$12.99 AED 47.72

-69.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.16 ៛159.1K

$81.9 AED 301

-52.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.19 ៛29.2K

$9.64 AED 35.40

-25.41%

Cappuccino

$2.87 ៛11.7K

$6.09 AED 22.38

-52.87%

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

$1.78 ៛7,244

$1.61 AED 5.93

10.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.61 ៛2,478

$0.75 AED 2.76

-18.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.02 ៛4,140

$13.79 AED 50.6

-92.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 ៛12.1K

$13.41 AED 49.25

-77.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.19 ៛8,891

$1.86 AED 6.83

17.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 ៛6,398

$1.53 AED 5.62

3.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.11 ៛4,508

$2.55 AED 9.38

-56.47%

Eggs

$1.76 ៛7,158

$3.28 AED 12.06

-46.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.96 ៛60.8K

$12.14 AED 44.57

23.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.07 ៛16.5K

$9.15 AED 33.62

-55.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.97 ៛36.4K

$12.80 AED 47.00

-29.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.83 ៛15.5K

$2.56 AED 9.39

49.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ៛6,893

$1.91 AED 7.03

-10.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.23 ៛17.2K

$1.82 AED 6.69

132.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.10 ៛8,518

$1.43 AED 5.26

46.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.64 ៛6,648

$1.10 AED 4.04

49.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ៛5,143

$0.92 AED 3.40

38.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ៛4,665

$1.52 AED 5.58

-24.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.78 ៛3,156

$0.69 AED 2.54

13.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.92 ៛7,809

$6.41 AED 23.55

-70.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.83 ៛44.0K

$16.52 AED 60.7

-34.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ៛3,891

$2.56 AED 9.41

-62.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 ៛7,381

$3.08 AED 11.32

-40.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.58 AED 5.82

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.9 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.12 ៛4,550

$3.19 AED 11.72

-64.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ៛3,960

$0.71 AED 2.62

38.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.04 ៛20.5K

$8.21 AED 30.13

-38.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 ៛5,583

$1.01 AED 3.73

35.64%

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

$35.0K ៛142.3M

$26.1K AED 96.0K

34.01%

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

$44.2K ៛179.6M

$21.8K AED 80.2K

102.39%

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

$104 ៛424.4K

$245 AED 900

-57.36%

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

$7.37 ៛29.9K

$57.5 AED 211

-87.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.42 ៛99.2K

$91.3 AED 335

-73.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$105 AED 385

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$46.58 AED 171

Cinema Ticket

$5.02 ៛20.4K

$16.04 AED 58.9

-68.70%

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

$659 ៛2.7M

$873 AED 3,206

-24.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K ៛44.6M

$18.0K AED 66.2K

-39.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.64 ៛112.3K

$70.8 AED 260

-60.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.04 ៛97.6K

$62.3 AED 229

-61.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.7 ៛364.4K

$106 AED 390

-15.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.0 ៛235.8K

$102 AED 376

-43.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,454 AED 9,014

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,510 AED 5,545

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,640 AED 17.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,961 AED 10.9K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,219 AED 26.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,232 AED 15.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,584 AED 13.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.07

4.54

77.75%

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

Last update for Kampong Thom: October 19, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kampong Thom

$249 41.6%

Dubai

$288 10% 15.5% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kampong Thom

$136 22.7%

Dubai

$394 13.7% 189% $258

Eating Out

Kampong Thom

$108 18%

Dubai

$311 10.8% 189% $203

Clothing & Footwear

Kampong Thom

$90 15%

Dubai

$154 5.3% 71.3% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Kampong Thom

$10 * 1.7%

Dubai

$137 4.8% 1262% $127

Getting Around

Kampong Thom

$6 * 1%

Dubai

$89 3.1% 1384% $83

Accommodation & Living

Kampong Thom

- * 0%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.4%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $39.00 in Kampong Thom vs $82.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $249 vs $288 per month, with Kampong Thom cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇭 Kampong Thom

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

21:52 9:52 PM

18:52 6:52 PM

3 h behind Kampong Thom

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

19,951

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to KHR – Cambodian Riel Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇭 Cambodian Riel (៛)

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4,062 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD). 1 EUR = 4,567 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

USD to KHR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kampong Thom Dubai 5,380 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Kampong Thom
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

Kampong Thom vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kampong Thom is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 381% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $899 in Kampong Thom and $4,324 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 16% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $599 per month in Kampong Thom versus $2,883 in Dubai – a 381% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $599 in Kampong Thom versus $2,883 in Dubai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Kampong Thom but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Kampong Thom the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Kampong Thom 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, Kampong Thom 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 Kampong Thom gentler on the wallet – expenses run 381% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.