Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Luanda and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Luanda: $995 a month against $2,889 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $22,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Luanda
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Luanda Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index

Jump to prices

Luanda

🇦🇴 Angola

$995

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,889

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $995 in Luanda versus $2,889 in Dubai.

Luanda $995
Dubai $2,889

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,882 in Luanda versus $4,444 in Dubai.

Luanda $1,882
Dubai $4,444

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,768 in Luanda versus $5,999 in Dubai.

Luanda $2,768
Dubai $5,999

Living in Luanda costs roughly 66% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Luanda is 26% below, Dubai is 114% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.39 AOA 4,921

$12.94 AED 47.54

-58.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.68 AOA 33.5K

$83.2 AED 306

-55.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.45 AOA 5,890

$9.35 AED 34.32

-31.02%

Cappuccino

$2.64 AOA 2,411

$5.88 AED 21.60

-55.10%

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

$1.33 AOA 1,212

$1.57 AED 5.77

-15.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.20 AOA 1,093

$0.94 AED 3.47

27.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.60 AOA 1,459

$13.44 AED 49.38

-88.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 AOA 1,524

$13.57 AED 49.84

-87.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.96 AOA 1,793

$1.86 AED 6.83

5.38%

White Bread (500g)

$0.95 AOA 865

$1.56 AED 5.73

-39.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 AOA 1,531

$2.64 AED 9.68

-36.36%

Eggs

$1.88 AOA 1,716

$3.53 AED 12.96

-46.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.42 AOA 8,597

$12.97 AED 47.62

-27.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.41 AOA 3,113

$9.94 AED 36.51

-65.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.86 AOA 7,179

$12.92 AED 47.45

-39.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.22 AOA 2,031

$2.55 AED 9.36

-12.94%

Banana (1kg)

$0.99 AOA 904

$2.05 AED 7.54

-51.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.77 AOA 2,525

$1.84 AED 6.77

50.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 AOA 1,639

$1.54 AED 5.64

16.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.54 AOA 1,402

$1.17 AED 4.31

31.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 AOA 1,373

$1.02 AED 3.76

47.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.74 AOA 1,587

$1.57 AED 5.75

10.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.34 AOA 308

$0.67 AED 2.46

-49.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.60 AOA 1,457

$6.31 AED 23.17

-74.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.07 AOA 5,541

$16.16 AED 59.4

-62.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 AOA 392

$2.58 AED 9.48

-83.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 AOA 842

$2.89 AED 10.60

-68.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 AOA 237

$1.40 AED 5.15

-81.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.32 AOA 28.6K

$82.4 AED 303

-62.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.10 AOA 1,008

$3.29 AED 12.07

-66.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.89 AOA 808

$0.65 AED 2.40

36.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.32 AOA 4,857

$8.13 AED 29.84

-34.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.35 AOA 315

$1.00 AED 3.68

-65.00%

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

$14.1K AOA 12.9M

$26.3K AED 96.6K

-46.30%

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

$22.1K AOA 20.2M

$22.0K AED 81.0K

0.45%

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

$102 AOA 93.1K

$239 AED 877

-57.28%

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

$17.97 AOA 16.4K

$56.9 AED 209

-68.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$76.6 AOA 69.9K

$93.9 AED 345

-18.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.00 AOA 41.1K

$90.8 AED 334

-50.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.02 AOA 13.7K

$46.38 AED 170

-67.62%

Cinema Ticket

$3.46 AOA 3,154

$16.24 AED 59.6

-78.69%

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

$752 AOA 686.3K

$934 AED 3,429

-19.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.5K AOA 14.2M

$20.9K AED 76.8K

-25.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$109 AOA 99.8K

$70.7 AED 260

54.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.1 AOA 56.7K

$61.3 AED 225

1.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.5 AOA 89.0K

$103 AED 377

-5.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$197 AOA 179.6K

$116 AED 426

69.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$387 AOA 352.9K

$2,487 AED 9,134

-84.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$200 AOA 182.4K

$1,520 AED 5,581

-86.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,106 AOA 1.9M

$5,234 AED 19.2K

-59.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,049 AOA 957.5K

$3,028 AED 11.1K

-65.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$11.8K AOA 10.7M

$6,982 AED 25.6K

68.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$873 AOA 796.7K

$4,433 AED 16.3K

-80.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,426 AOA 1.3M

$3,553 AED 13.0K

-59.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.57

359.52%

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

Last update for Luanda: November 2, 2026

Last update for Dubai: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Clothing & Footwear

Luanda

$210 21.1%

Dubai

$158 5.5% 24.6% $52

Accommodation & Living

Luanda

$200 20.1%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.6% 660% $1.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Luanda

$197 19.8%

Dubai

$390 13.5% 98.2% $193

Groceries & Markets

Luanda

$184 18.5%

Dubai

$297 10.3% 61.4% $113

Eating Out

Luanda

$116 11.6%

Dubai

$307 10.6% 165% $191

Sport & Entertainment

Luanda

$52 5.2%

Dubai

$123 4.3% 138% $71

Getting Around

Luanda

$38 3.8%

Dubai

$95 3.3% 150% $57

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $387 in Luanda and $2,487 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays about 2.5 times 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: $37 in Luanda vs $83 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $184 vs $297 per month, with Luanda cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇴 Luanda

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

19:30 7:30 PM

22:30 10:30 PM

3 h ahead of Luanda

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,600,000 Capital

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Angolan Kwanza AOA Kz

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 AOA = 10.96 USD

10,000 AOA = 9.75 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to AOA – Angolan Kwanza Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇴 Angolan Kwanza (Kz)

Angolan Kwanza exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 913 AOA (1,000 AOA = 1.1 USD). 1 EUR = 1,026 AOA (10,000 AOA = 9.75 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

USD to AOA in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Luanda Dubai 5,900 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Luanda
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

Luanda vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Luanda is about 66% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 60% lower in Luanda. 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: $387 in Luanda versus $2,487 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Luanda runs roughly 62% less than in Dubai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $752 in Luanda versus $934 in Dubai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $995 in Luanda versus $2,889 in Dubai, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Luanda but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Luanda the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Luanda gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.