Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lund and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Lund: $1,777 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $12,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

85

Cost of Living Index in Lund
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Lund Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index

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Lund

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,777

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,777 in Lund versus $2,854 in Dubai.

Lund $1,777
Dubai $2,854

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,922 in Lund versus $4,321 in Dubai.

Lund $2,922
Dubai $4,321

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,067 in Lund versus $5,788 in Dubai.

Lund $4,067
Dubai $5,788

Living in Lund costs roughly 38% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lund 33% above, Dubai 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.72 SEK 127

$13.04 AED 47.89

-2.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.0 SEK 909

$81.4 AED 299

11.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.72 SEK 117

$9.32 AED 34.25

25.75%

Cappuccino

$4.60 SEK 46.01

$5.97 AED 21.93

-22.95%

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

$2.79 SEK 27.88

$1.63 AED 5.98

71.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 SEK 20.65

$0.81 AED 2.99

155.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.18 SEK 81.7

$13.65 AED 50.1

-40.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.79 SEK 67.9

$13.38 AED 49.15

-49.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 SEK 16.28

$1.81 AED 6.64

-9.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.55 SEK 25.47

$1.57 AED 5.78

62.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.38 SEK 33.74

$2.49 AED 9.16

35.74%

Eggs

$4.57 SEK 45.63

$3.28 AED 12.04

39.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.53 SEK 125

$12.67 AED 46.53

-1.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.84 SEK 118

$9.75 AED 35.80

21.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.33 SEK 153

$13.18 AED 48.40

16.31%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 SEK 30.63

$2.61 AED 9.57

17.24%

Banana (1kg)

$2.58 SEK 25.82

$1.93 AED 7.09

33.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 SEK 28.26

$1.92 AED 7.05

47.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.68 SEK 46.78

$1.36 AED 5.00

244.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 SEK 16.98

$1.17 AED 4.29

45.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.43 SEK 14.25

$1.01 AED 3.71

41.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.55 SEK 25.50

$1.51 AED 5.56

68.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 SEK 15.20

$0.62 AED 2.29

145.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.10 SEK 81.0

$5.85 AED 21.50

38.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.15 SEK 111

$16.14 AED 59.3

-30.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 SEK 18.50

$2.65 AED 9.74

-30.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 SEK 27.27

$2.95 AED 10.82

-7.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.28 SEK 32.79

$1.64 AED 6.03

100.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$63.3 SEK 632

$73.6 AED 270

-14.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.08 SEK 50.7

$3.17 AED 11.66

60.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.10 SEK 11.02

$0.71 AED 2.63

54.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.40 SEK 414

$7.96 AED 29.23

420.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 SEK 17.97

$0.99 AED 3.64

81.82%

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

$33.1K SEK 331.0K

$27.4K AED 100.5K

21.01%

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

$32.8K SEK 328.1K

$22.5K AED 82.8K

45.64%

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

$76.4 SEK 764

$250 AED 920

-69.48%

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

$28.05 SEK 280

$54.2 AED 199

-48.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.33 SEK 413

$91.8 AED 337

-54.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.07 SEK 381

$98.6 AED 362

-61.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.39 SEK 274

$42.61 AED 156

-35.72%

Cinema Ticket

$15.11 SEK 151

$16.03 AED 58.9

-5.74%

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

$157 SEK 1,571

$843 AED 3,098

-81.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.5 SEK 785

$68.0 AED 250

15.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.6 SEK 566

$57.9 AED 213

-2.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.7 SEK 976

$101 AED 370

-2.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 SEK 1,213

$101 AED 371

20.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$826 SEK 8,255

$2,380 AED 8,741

-65.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$672 SEK 6,716

$1,506 AED 5,531

-55.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,697 SEK 17.0K

$4,437 AED 16.3K

-61.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,365 SEK 13.6K

$3,010 AED 11.1K

-54.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,116 SEK 61.1K

$7,121 AED 26.2K

-14.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,597 SEK 35.9K

$4,135 AED 15.2K

-13.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,871 SEK 28.7K

$3,391 AED 12.5K

-15.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.03

4.54

-33.26%

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

Last update for Lund: October 5, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lund

$672 38.3%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5% 124% $834

Groceries & Markets

Lund

$355 20.3%

Dubai

$293 10.2% 17.6% $63

Eating Out

Lund

$266 15.2%

Dubai

$309 10.8% 16% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Lund

$159 9.1%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 7.5% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lund

$146 8.3%

Dubai

$396 13.8% 172% $251

Getting Around

Lund

$87 5%

Dubai

$87 3% 0.1% $0

Sport & Entertainment

Lund

$68 3.9%

Dubai

$131 4.6% 91.4% $62

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $826 in Lund and $2,380 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: $91.0 in Lund vs $81.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $355 vs $293 per month, with Dubai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Lund

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

05:08 5:08 AM

07:08 7:08 AM

2 h ahead of Lund

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

82,800

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.01 USD

100 SEK = 8.92 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.99 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.21 SEK (100 SEK = 8.92 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 SEK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lund Dubai 4,800 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Lund
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

Lund vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lund is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, utilities, and leisure. The 61% 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: $826 in Lund versus $2,380 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Lund runs roughly 16% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $157 in Lund versus $843 in Dubai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,777 in Lund versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lund but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Lund the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Lund 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, Lund 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 Lund gentler on the wallet – expenses run 61% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.