Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lusail and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Lusail: $749 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $25,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Lusail
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Lusail Living Index
140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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Lusail

🇶🇦 Qatar

$749

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $749 in Lusail versus $2,896 in Dubai.

Lusail $749
Dubai $2,896

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,273 in Lusail versus $4,384 in Dubai.

Lusail $1,273
Dubai $4,384

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,797 in Lusail versus $5,872 in Dubai.

Lusail $1,797
Dubai $5,872

Living in Lusail costs roughly 74% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lusail is 45% below, Dubai is 115% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.35 QAR 30.39

$12.67 AED 46.55

-34.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.5 QAR 249

$81.7 AED 300

-16.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.06 QAR 29.33

$9.34 AED 34.30

-13.70%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.99 QAR 29.08

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.33 QAR 33.97

Cappuccino

$5.51 QAR 20.04

$5.89 AED 21.62

-6.45%

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

$0.85 QAR 3.08

$1.69 AED 6.20

-49.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 QAR 0.94

$0.78 AED 2.86

-66.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.66 AED 50.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 AED 49.54

Milk (1 liter)

$2.15 QAR 7.81

$1.84 AED 6.78

16.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 QAR 4.93

$1.50 AED 5.50

-9.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 QAR 5.10

$2.57 AED 9.45

-45.53%

Eggs

$3.34 QAR 12.16

$3.32 AED 12.18

0.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.29 QAR 41.09

$12.60 AED 46.28

-10.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.06 QAR 29.36

$9.66 AED 35.46

-16.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.28 QAR 41.05

$12.78 AED 46.93

-11.74%

Apples (1kg)

$2.22 QAR 8.07

$2.60 AED 9.54

-14.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 QAR 6.73

$1.90 AED 6.99

-2.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 QAR 5.69

$1.91 AED 7.02

-18.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.57 QAR 2.08

$1.37 AED 5.02

-58.39%

Potato (1kg)

$0.56 QAR 2.06

$1.13 AED 4.14

-50.44%

Onion (1kg)

$0.53 QAR 1.93

$1.01 AED 3.71

-47.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 QAR 5.04

$1.44 AED 5.30

-3.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 QAR 1.99

$0.67 AED 2.48

-17.91%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$9.88 QAR 35.96

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 QAR 6.65

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 QAR 8.01

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.48 QAR 23.59

$5.88 AED 21.59

10.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.15 AED 59.3

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.72 AED 10.00

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 AED 11.32

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 AED 5.87

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.98 QAR 7.19

$3.24 AED 11.91

-38.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.12 QAR 7.72

$0.71 AED 2.61

198.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.46 QAR 48.99

$7.96 AED 29.22

69.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.54 QAR 1.97

$0.98 AED 3.62

-44.90%

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

$28.4K QAR 103.5K

$27.4K AED 100.6K

3.78%

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

$22.6K QAR 82.2K

$22.0K AED 80.9K

2.56%

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

$86.8 QAR 316

$249 AED 913

-65.09%

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

$34.93 QAR 127

$54.4 AED 200

-35.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$86.0 QAR 313

$91.5 AED 336

-5.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$103 AED 380

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

Cinema Ticket

$12.26 QAR 44.64

$16.29 AED 59.8

-24.74%

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

$682 QAR 2,484

$844 AED 3,098

-19.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,690 QAR 35.3K

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-46.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.5 QAR 224

$67.0 AED 246

-8.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.2 QAR 194

$57.9 AED 213

-8.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.4 QAR 358

$102 AED 375

-3.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.0 QAR 313

$98.7 AED 363

-12.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,393 AED 8,788

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,533 AED 5,630

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,594 AED 16.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,939 AED 10.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,046 AED 25.9K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,222 AED 15.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,393 QAR 5,071

$3,461 AED 12.7K

-59.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.92

4.54

30.40%

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

Last update for Lusail: October 11, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Lusail

$208 27.8%

Dubai

$292 10.1% 40.1% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lusail

$208 27.7%

Dubai

$394 13.6% 89.9% $187

Eating Out

Lusail

$161 21.6%

Dubai

$305 10.5% 89% $144

Clothing & Footwear

Lusail

$135 18%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 8.9% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Lusail

$25 * 3.3%

Dubai

$136 4.7% 454% $111

Getting Around

Lusail

$13 * 1.7%

Dubai

$89 3.1% 609% $77

Accommodation & Living

Lusail

- * 0%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dubai pays 148% 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: $69.0 in Lusail vs $82.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $208 vs $292 per month, with Lusail cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇶🇦 Lusail

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

05:56 5:56 AM

06:56 6:56 AM

1 h ahead of Lusail

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

198,600

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Qatari Riyal QAR ر.ق

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1 QAR = 0.275 USD

1 QAR = 0.244 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to QAR – Qatari Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇶🇦 Qatari Riyal (ر.ق)

Qatari Riyal exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.64 QAR (1 QAR = 0.275 USD). 1 EUR = 4.09 QAR (1 QAR = 0.244 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

USD to QAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lusail Dubai 370 km

From you

Lusail
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

Lusail vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lusail is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 287% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 148% 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 40% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $749 per month in Lusail versus $2,896 in Dubai – a 287% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $749 in Lusail versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lusail but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Lusail the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Lusail 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, Lusail 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 Lusail gentler on the wallet – expenses run 287% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.