Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and the United Arab Emirates

For one person, living is cheaper in the United Arab Emirates: $2,227 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $21,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

London, United Kingdom
United Arab Emirates
London
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$4,048
/mo nomad
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
$2,227
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: London is 46.9% more expensive than the United Arab Emirates without rent, and 81.8% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: London is 54.9% more expensive than the United Arab Emirates without rent, and 70.7% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
London
United Arab Emirates
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$26.36 £19.59
$9.69 AED 35.59
172.03%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$109 £80.7
$62.7 AED 230
73.13%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.71 £7.96
$9.51 AED 34.91
12.62%
Cappuccino
$5.59 £4.15
$5.36 AED 19.69
4.29%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.00 £2.23
$1.06 AED 3.89
183.02%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.22 £1.65
$0.48 AED 1.78
362.50%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$9.65 £7.17
$11.34 AED 41.66
-14.90%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$8.26 £6.14
$12.40 AED 45.53
-33.39%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
London
United Arab Emirates
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.97 £1.46
$1.74 AED 6.38
13.22%
White Bread (500g)
$2.09 £1.55
$1.46 AED 5.36
43.15%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.59 £1.93
$2.24 AED 8.23
15.62%
Eggs
$5.37 £3.99
$3.32 AED 12.19
61.75%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$13.12 £9.75
$10.84 AED 39.81
21.03%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$11.03 £8.20
$8.89 AED 32.65
24.07%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$17.73 £13.18
$11.30 AED 41.51
56.90%
Apples (1kg)
$3.17 £2.36
$2.32 AED 8.51
36.64%
Banana (1kg)
$1.38 £1.03
$1.86 AED 6.84
-25.81%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.82 £2.10
$1.76 AED 6.45
60.23%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.36 £2.50
$1.41 AED 5.18
138.30%
Potato (1kg)
$1.70 £1.26
$1.08 AED 3.95
57.41%
Onion (1kg)
$1.78 £1.32
$1.03 AED 3.78
72.82%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.49 £1.11
$1.51 AED 5.54
-1.32%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.82 £1.35
$0.60 AED 2.21
203.33%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$23.85 £17.73
$6.24 AED 22.93
282.21%
Wine (Bottle)
$13.44 £9.99
$13.79 AED 50.6
-2.54%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$3.11 £2.31
$2.38 AED 8.75
30.67%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.49 £3.34
$2.69 AED 9.89
66.91%
🚌 Getting Around
London
United Arab Emirates
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$4.13 £3.07
$1.40 AED 5.14
195.00%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$266 £198
$40.12 AED 147
562.96%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.98 £4.45
$3.26 AED 11.97
83.44%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.39 £2.52
$0.55 AED 2.04
516.36%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$56.6 £42.03
$8.25 AED 30.29
585.45%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.21 £1.64
$0.93 AED 3.41
137.63%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.3K £28.4K
$32.8K AED 120.6K
16.56%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$41.0K £30.5K
$21.8K AED 79.9K
88.45%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
London
United Arab Emirates
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$372 £277
$186 AED 683
100.33%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$18.66 £13.87
$53.3 AED 196
-64.96%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.53 £30.13
$92.8 AED 341
-56.32%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
London
United Arab Emirates
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$56.0 £41.63
$70.7 AED 260
-20.76%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$17.10 £12.71
$34.31 AED 126
-50.16%
Cinema Ticket
$17.95 £13.34
$13.84 AED 50.8
29.70%
🧸 Childcare & Education
London
United Arab Emirates
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$2,946 £2,189
$622 AED 2,285
373.47%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$47.6K £35.4K
$12.5K AED 45.7K
282.50%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
London
United Arab Emirates
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$116 £86.4
$60.5 AED 222
92.10%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$56.9 £42.29
$59.6 AED 219
-4.56%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$128 £95.1
$101 AED 370
27.13%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$154 £114
$102 AED 376
50.16%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
London
United Arab Emirates
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,935 £2,182
$1,494 AED 5,487
96.47%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,258 £1,678
$1,076 AED 3,952
109.84%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$5,250 £3,902
$2,604 AED 9,564
101.61%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$3,859 £2,868
$2,082 AED 7,645
85.40%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$17.2K £12.8K
$5,532 AED 20.3K
210.63%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$8,278 £6,153
$3,058 AED 11.2K
170.67%
💵 Salaries & Financials
London
United Arab Emirates
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$5,621 £4,177
$2,862 AED 10.5K
96.40%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4.78
4.66
2.58%

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

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Last update for the United Arab Emirates: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
London
$2.3K
United Arab Emirates
$1.1K 52.3% $1.2K
Monthly Utilities & Internet
London
$432
United Arab Emirates
$332 23.1% $100
Eating Out
London
$396
United Arab Emirates
$258 34.8% $138
Groceries & Markets
London
$360
United Arab Emirates
$265 26.3% $95
Getting Around
London
$305
United Arab Emirates
$52 83.1% $254
Clothing & Footwear
London
$205
United Arab Emirates
$145 29% $59
Sport & Entertainment
London
$92
United Arab Emirates
$98 7% $6.5
Good to know
🇬🇧 London
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
🕒 Local time
20:44 8:44 PM
00:44 12:44 AM
4 h ahead of London
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
8,908,083 Capital
9,890,400
💱 Currency
UAE Dirham AED د.إ
Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

British Pound exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.743 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • London United Arab Emirates 5,470 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight
From you
  • London
  • United Arab Emirates

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

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