Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Longyearbyen and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Longyearbyen: $2,733 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Dubai outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

134

Cost of Living Index in Longyearbyen
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Longyearbyen Living Index
140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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Longyearbyen

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,733

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,733 in Longyearbyen versus $2,896 in Dubai.

Longyearbyen $2,733
Dubai $2,896

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,180 in Longyearbyen versus $4,384 in Dubai.

Longyearbyen $4,180
Dubai $4,384

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,627 in Longyearbyen versus $5,872 in Dubai.

Longyearbyen $5,627
Dubai $5,872

Living in Longyearbyen costs roughly 6% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Longyearbyen 102% above, Dubai 115% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.05 NOK 189

$12.67 AED 46.55

58.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 NOK 996

$81.7 AED 300

29.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.00 NOK 169

$9.34 AED 34.30

92.72%

Cappuccino

$6.85 NOK 64.5

$5.89 AED 21.62

16.30%

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

$6.11 NOK 57.5

$1.69 AED 6.20

261.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.58 NOK 52.5

$0.78 AED 2.86

615.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.43 NOK 70.0

$13.66 AED 50.2

-45.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.96 NOK 84.3

$13.49 AED 49.54

-33.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.40 NOK 22.57

$1.84 AED 6.78

30.43%

White Bread (500g)

$3.71 NOK 34.95

$1.50 AED 5.50

147.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.33 NOK 40.78

$2.57 AED 9.45

68.48%

Eggs

$4.97 NOK 46.82

$3.32 AED 12.18

49.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.26 NOK 134

$12.60 AED 46.28

13.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$20.30 NOK 191

$9.66 AED 35.46

110.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$31.52 NOK 297

$12.78 AED 46.93

146.64%

Apples (1kg)

$6.42 NOK 60.5

$2.60 AED 9.54

146.92%

Banana (1kg)

$2.55 NOK 24.03

$1.90 AED 6.99

34.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.85 NOK 64.5

$1.91 AED 7.02

258.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.66 NOK 62.7

$1.37 AED 5.02

386.13%

Potato (1kg)

$5.49 NOK 51.7

$1.13 AED 4.14

385.84%

Onion (1kg)

$4.53 NOK 42.66

$1.01 AED 3.71

348.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$4.51 NOK 42.50

$1.44 AED 5.30

213.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.53 NOK 33.23

$0.67 AED 2.48

426.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.34 NOK 163

$5.88 AED 21.59

194.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.45 NOK 136

$16.15 AED 59.3

-10.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.54 NOK 33.31

$2.72 AED 10.00

30.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.24 NOK 39.93

$3.08 AED 11.32

37.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.27 NOK 49.65

$1.60 AED 5.87

229.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.2 NOK 811

$76.0 AED 279

13.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.06 NOK 85.3

$3.24 AED 11.91

179.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.80 NOK 16.93

$0.71 AED 2.61

153.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$73.7 NOK 694

$7.96 AED 29.22

825.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 NOK 20.05

$0.98 AED 3.62

117.35%

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

$50.3K NOK 473.1K

$27.4K AED 100.6K

83.53%

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

$41.3K NOK 388.9K

$22.0K AED 80.9K

87.54%

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

$242 NOK 2,274

$249 AED 913

-2.80%

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

$32.99 NOK 311

$54.4 AED 200

-39.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.1 NOK 509

$91.5 AED 336

-40.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.5 NOK 475

$103 AED 380

-51.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.19 NOK 341

$42.32 AED 155

-14.48%

Cinema Ticket

$14.85 NOK 140

$16.29 AED 59.8

-8.84%

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

$200 NOK 1,887

$844 AED 3,098

-76.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.2K NOK 133.8K

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-22.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 NOK 981

$67.0 AED 246

55.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.3 NOK 530

$57.9 AED 213

-2.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$125 NOK 1,179

$102 AED 375

22.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$154 NOK 1,447

$98.7 AED 363

55.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 NOK 10.4K

$2,393 AED 8,788

-53.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,017 NOK 9,569

$1,533 AED 5,630

-33.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,983 NOK 18.7K

$4,594 AED 16.9K

-56.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,698 NOK 16.0K

$2,939 AED 10.8K

-42.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,197 NOK 58.3K

$7,046 AED 25.9K

-12.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,017 NOK 37.8K

$4,222 AED 15.5K

-4.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,931 NOK 27.6K

$3,461 AED 12.7K

-15.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

4.54

8.81%

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

Last update for Longyearbyen: October 13, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Longyearbyen

$1K 37.2%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9% 50.8% $516

Groceries & Markets

Longyearbyen

$586 21.5%

Dubai

$292 10.1% 50.3% $295

Eating Out

Longyearbyen

$398 14.6%

Dubai

$305 10.5% 23.4% $93

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Longyearbyen

$329 12%

Dubai

$394 13.6% 20% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Longyearbyen

$198 7.2%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 25.9% $51

Getting Around

Longyearbyen

$125 4.6%

Dubai

$89 3.1% 28.9% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Longyearbyen

$80 2.9%

Dubai

$136 4.7% 69.6% $56

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,104 in Longyearbyen and $2,393 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 18% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $106 in Longyearbyen vs $82.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $586 vs $292 per month, with Dubai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Longyearbyen

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

16:42 4:42 PM

18:42 6:42 PM

2 h ahead of Longyearbyen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,400

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.62 USD

100 NOK = 9.45 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 9.41 NOK (1 NOK = 0.106 USD). 1 EUR = 10.58 NOK (100 NOK = 9.45 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Longyearbyen Dubai 6,240 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Longyearbyen
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

Longyearbyen vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Longyearbyen is cheaper overall, especially in utilities and leisure. The 6% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 18% lower in Dubai. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,104 in Longyearbyen versus $2,393 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Longyearbyen runs roughly 13% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $200 in Longyearbyen versus $844 in Dubai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,500. Longyearbyen is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Longyearbyen 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, Longyearbyen 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 Longyearbyen gentler on the wallet – expenses run 6% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.