Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mishref and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Mishref: $1,409 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $17,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Mishref
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Mishref Living Index
140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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Mishref

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,409

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,409 in Mishref versus $2,896 in Dubai.

Mishref $1,409
Dubai $2,896

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,326 in Mishref versus $4,384 in Dubai.

Mishref $2,326
Dubai $4,384

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,243 in Mishref versus $5,872 in Dubai.

Mishref $3,243
Dubai $5,872

Living in Mishref costs roughly 51% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mishref 4% above, Dubai 115% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.70 KWD 3.91

$12.67 AED 46.55

0.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.3 KWD 20.10

$81.7 AED 300

-20.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.82 KWD 2.72

$9.34 AED 34.30

-5.57%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.12 KWD 0.96

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.77 KWD 1.47

Cappuccino

$5.09 KWD 1.57

$5.89 AED 21.62

-13.58%

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

$0.70 KWD 0.22

$1.69 AED 6.20

-58.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 KWD 0.09

$0.78 AED 2.86

-62.82%

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)

$1.56 KWD 0.48

$1.84 AED 6.78

-15.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 KWD 0.47

$1.50 AED 5.50

2.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.89 KWD 0.58

$2.57 AED 9.45

-26.46%

Eggs

$2.04 KWD 0.63

$3.32 AED 12.18

-38.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.39 KWD 1.35

$12.60 AED 46.28

-65.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.79 KWD 2.09

$9.66 AED 35.46

-29.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.28 KWD 3.17

$12.78 AED 46.93

-19.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.44 KWD 0.75

$2.60 AED 9.54

-6.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 KWD 0.57

$1.90 AED 6.99

-3.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 KWD 0.54

$1.91 AED 7.02

-7.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 KWD 0.47

$1.37 AED 5.02

11.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.31 KWD 0.40

$1.13 AED 4.14

15.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.43 KWD 0.44

$1.01 AED 3.71

41.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.30 KWD 0.71

$1.44 AED 5.30

59.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 KWD 0.18

$0.67 AED 2.48

-14.93%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.26 KWD 1.00

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 KWD 0.31

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 KWD 0.43

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.67 KWD 0.82

$5.88 AED 21.59

-54.59%

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)

$0.79 KWD 0.24

$1.60 AED 5.87

-50.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.84 KWD 1.49

$3.24 AED 11.91

49.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.13 KWD 0.96

$0.71 AED 2.61

340.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.12 KWD 4.97

$7.96 AED 29.22

102.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.35 KWD 0.11

$0.98 AED 3.62

-64.29%

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

$20.5K KWD 6,302

$27.4K AED 100.6K

-25.30%

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

$19.9K KWD 6,123

$22.0K AED 80.9K

-9.79%

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

$64.4 KWD 19.85

$249 AED 913

-74.08%

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

$22.30 KWD 6.87

$54.4 AED 200

-59.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.29 KWD 9.33

$91.5 AED 336

-66.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$101 KWD 31.01

$103 AED 380

-2.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.32 AED 155

Cinema Ticket

$11.32 KWD 3.49

$16.29 AED 59.8

-30.51%

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

$303 KWD 93.4

$844 AED 3,098

-64.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,536 KWD 2,938

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-47.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.54 KWD 11.57

$67.0 AED 246

-43.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.03 KWD 12.03

$57.9 AED 213

-32.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 KWD 29.56

$102 AED 375

-6.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.6 KWD 26.97

$98.7 AED 363

-11.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$715 KWD 220

$2,393 AED 8,788

-70.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$650 KWD 200

$1,533 AED 5,630

-57.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,795 KWD 553

$4,594 AED 16.9K

-60.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,371 KWD 422

$2,939 AED 10.8K

-53.36%

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)

$3,461 AED 12.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.53

4.54

43.83%

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

Last update for Mishref: 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

Mishref

$650 46.1%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9% 136% $883

Eating Out

Mishref

$193 13.7%

Dubai

$305 10.5% 58.1% $112

Groceries & Markets

Mishref

$185 13.2%

Dubai

$292 10.1% 57.3% $106

Sport & Entertainment

Mishref

$123 8.8%

Dubai

$136 4.7% 10.3% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Mishref

$117 8.3%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 25.2% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mishref

$117 8.3%

Dubai

$394 13.6% 237% $277

Getting Around

Mishref

$24 * 1.7%

Dubai

$89 3.1% 277% $65

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $715 in Mishref and $2,393 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $65.0 in Mishref vs $82.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $185 vs $292 per month, with Mishref cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇼 Mishref

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

01:40 1:40 AM

02:40 2:40 AM

1 h ahead of Mishref

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

40,945

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1 KWD = 3.25 USD

1 KWD = 2.89 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to KWD – Kuwaiti Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇼 Kuwaiti Dinar (د.ك)

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.25 USD). 1 EUR = 0.346 KWD (1 KWD = 2.89 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 KWD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mishref Dubai 850 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Mishref
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

Mishref vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mishref is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and leisure. The 106% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,114 in Mishref and $4,344 in Dubai to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $715 in Mishref versus $2,393 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 57% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,409 per month in Mishref versus $2,896 in Dubai – a 106% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,409 in Mishref versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Mishref but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Mishref the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Mishref 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, Mishref 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 Mishref gentler on the wallet – expenses run 106% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.