Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kenya and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Kenya: $703 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $25,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Kenya
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Kenya Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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🇰🇪 Kenya

$703

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Kenya is 54.1% cheaper than Dubai without rent, and 75.4% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Kenya is 54.9% cheaper than Dubai without rent, and 71.5% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.81 KES 494

$13.04 AED 47.89

-70.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.03 KES 4,024

$81.4 AED 299

-61.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.76 KES 877

$9.32 AED 34.25

-27.47%

Cappuccino

$2.41 KES 313

$5.97 AED 21.93

-59.63%

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

$0.63 KES 82.1

$1.63 AED 5.98

-61.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 KES 74.6

$0.81 AED 2.99

-29.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.32 KES 301

$13.65 AED 50.1

-83.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 KES 354

$13.38 AED 49.15

-79.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.74 KES 96.0

$1.81 AED 6.64

-59.12%

White Bread (500g)

$0.54 KES 70.0

$1.57 AED 5.78

-65.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 KES 205

$2.49 AED 9.16

-36.55%

Eggs

$1.61 KES 209

$3.28 AED 12.04

-50.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.47 KES 1,229

$12.67 AED 46.53

-25.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.06 KES 787

$9.75 AED 35.80

-37.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.47 KES 709

$13.18 AED 48.40

-58.50%

Apples (1kg)

$2.84 KES 369

$2.61 AED 9.57

8.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.01 KES 131

$1.93 AED 7.09

-47.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 KES 215

$1.92 AED 7.05

-13.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.85 KES 111

$1.36 AED 5.00

-37.50%

Potato (1kg)

$0.85 KES 110

$1.17 AED 4.29

-27.35%

Onion (1kg)

$0.90 KES 117

$1.01 AED 3.71

-10.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 KES 93.3

$1.51 AED 5.56

-52.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 KES 74.2

$0.62 AED 2.29

-8.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.41 KES 443

$5.85 AED 21.50

-41.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.65 KES 1,511

$16.14 AED 59.3

-27.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.08 KES 270

$2.65 AED 9.74

-21.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 KES 335

$2.95 AED 10.82

-12.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 KES 102

$1.64 AED 6.03

-51.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.71 KES 5,929

$73.6 AED 270

-37.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.55 KES 201

$3.17 AED 11.66

-51.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 KES 194

$0.71 AED 2.63

111.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.45 KES 448

$7.96 AED 29.23

-56.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 KES 196

$0.99 AED 3.64

52.53%

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

$19.1K KES 2.5M

$27.4K AED 100.5K

-30.32%

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

$18.9K KES 2.5M

$22.5K AED 82.8K

-16.18%

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

$53.1 KES 6,883

$250 AED 920

-78.81%

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

$12.79 KES 1,659

$54.2 AED 199

-76.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.17 KES 4,821

$91.8 AED 337

-59.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.29 KES 4,966

$98.6 AED 362

-61.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.44 KES 2,003

$42.61 AED 156

-63.76%

Cinema Ticket

$7.77 KES 1,008

$16.03 AED 58.9

-51.53%

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

$174 KES 22.5K

$843 AED 3,098

-79.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,530 KES 1.2M

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-47.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.58 KES 2,410

$68.0 AED 250

-72.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.09 KES 2,735

$57.9 AED 213

-63.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$42.17 KES 5,470

$101 AED 370

-58.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.07 KES 5,327

$101 AED 371

-59.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$288 KES 37.4K

$2,380 AED 8,741

-87.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$155 KES 20.2K

$1,506 AED 5,531

-89.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$775 KES 100.5K

$4,437 AED 16.3K

-82.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$396 KES 51.3K

$3,010 AED 11.1K

-86.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,241 KES 161.0K

$7,121 AED 26.2K

-82.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$921 KES 119.4K

$4,135 AED 15.2K

-77.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$349 KES 45.3K

$3,391 AED 12.5K

-89.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.64

4.54

200.44%

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

Last update for Kenya: October 6, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kenya

$185 26%

Dubai

$293 10.2% 58.4% $108

Accommodation & Living

Kenya

$155 21.8%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5% 869% $1.4K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kenya

$103 14.5%

Dubai

$396 13.8% 285% $293

Eating Out

Kenya

$102 14.3%

Dubai

$309 10.8% 204% $207

Getting Around

Kenya

$58 8.1%

Dubai

$87 3% 50.2% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Kenya

$55 7.8%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 167% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Kenya

$54 7.6%

Dubai

$131 4.6% 143% $77

Good to know

🇰🇪 Kenya

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

06:53 6:53 AM

07:53 7:53 AM

1 h ahead of Kenya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

48,468,138

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.87 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.87 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 KES in detail →

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Cost of Living Comparison Between Kenya and Dubai

AED, USD, EUR to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

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Kenya vs other spots: cost of living compared

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