Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mogadishu and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Mogadishu: $618 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $26,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Mogadishu
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Mogadishu Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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Mogadishu

🇸🇴 Somalia

$618

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $618 in Mogadishu versus $2,854 in Dubai.

Mogadishu $618
Dubai $2,854

Estimated couple costs with rent: $951 in Mogadishu versus $4,321 in Dubai.

Mogadishu $951
Dubai $4,321

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,283 in Mogadishu versus $5,788 in Dubai.

Mogadishu $1,283
Dubai $5,788

Living in Mogadishu costs roughly 78% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mogadishu is 54% below, Dubai is 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.93 SOS 1,665

$13.04 AED 47.89

-77.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.64 SOS 19.7K

$81.4 AED 299

-57.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.40 SOS 2,501

$9.32 AED 34.25

-52.79%

Cappuccino

$1.94 SOS 1,103

$5.97 AED 21.93

-67.50%

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

$1.20 SOS 682

$1.63 AED 5.98

-26.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 SOS 302

$0.81 AED 2.99

-34.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 SOS 760

$1.81 AED 6.64

-25.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.66 SOS 940

$1.57 AED 5.78

5.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.75 SOS 428

$2.49 AED 9.16

-69.88%

Eggs

$1.93 SOS 1,096

$3.28 AED 12.04

-41.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.89 SOS 2,780

$12.67 AED 46.53

-61.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 SOS 2,252

$9.75 AED 35.80

-59.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.45 SOS 2,529

$13.18 AED 48.40

-66.24%

Apples (1kg)

$3.80 SOS 2,160

$2.61 AED 9.57

45.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.02 SOS 580

$1.93 AED 7.09

-47.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.04 SOS 1,724

$1.92 AED 7.05

58.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 SOS 721

$1.36 AED 5.00

-6.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.48 SOS 843

$1.17 AED 4.29

26.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.72 SOS 978

$1.01 AED 3.71

70.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 SOS 846

$1.51 AED 5.56

-1.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 SOS 301

$0.62 AED 2.29

-14.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.05 SOS 1,166

$2.65 AED 9.74

-22.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 SOS 291

$1.64 AED 6.03

-68.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.99 SOS 562

$3.17 AED 11.66

-68.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.56 SOS 318

$0.71 AED 2.63

-21.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.92 SOS 1,658

$7.96 AED 29.23

-63.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.92 SOS 523

$0.99 AED 3.64

-7.07%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

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

$6,416 SOS 3.6M

$22.5K AED 82.8K

-71.53%

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

$162 SOS 92.2K

$250 AED 920

-35.20%

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

$4.89 SOS 2,777

$54.2 AED 199

-90.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.5 SOS 37.2K

$91.8 AED 337

-28.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.12 SOS 18.2K

$98.6 AED 362

-67.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

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

$79.9 SOS 45.4K

$843 AED 3,098

-90.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$751 SOS 426.4K

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-95.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.79 SOS 7,832

$68.0 AED 250

-79.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$13.90 SOS 7,893

$57.9 AED 213

-75.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$24.66 SOS 14.0K

$101 AED 370

-75.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$32.82 SOS 18.6K

$101 AED 371

-67.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$198 SOS 112.6K

$2,380 AED 8,741

-91.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$77.6 SOS 44.1K

$1,506 AED 5,531

-94.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$475 SOS 269.6K

$4,437 AED 16.3K

-89.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$186 SOS 105.9K

$3,010 AED 11.1K

-93.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,242 SOS 1.8M

$7,121 AED 26.2K

-54.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,367 SOS 1.3M

$4,135 AED 15.2K

-42.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$276 SOS 156.6K

$3,391 AED 12.5K

-91.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

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

Last update for Mogadishu: October 5, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mogadishu

$233 37.8%

Dubai

$396 13.8% 70.4% $164

Groceries & Markets

Mogadishu

$163 * 26.4%

Dubai

$293 10.2% 80% $130

Accommodation & Living

Mogadishu

$78 12.6%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5% 1842% $1.4K

Eating Out

Mogadishu

$67 * 10.9%

Dubai

$309 10.8% 362% $242

Clothing & Footwear

Mogadishu

$38 6.2%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 285% $109

Sport & Entertainment

Mogadishu

$32 * 5.2%

Dubai

$131 4.6% 307% $99

Getting Around

Mogadishu

$5.8 * 1%

Dubai

$87 3% 1389% $81

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 $198 in Mogadishu and $2,380 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 1130% 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: $35.00 in Mogadishu vs $81.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $163 vs $293 per month, with Mogadishu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇴 Mogadishu

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

09:27 9:27 AM

10:27 10:27 AM

1 h ahead of Mogadishu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,610,000 Capital

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Somali Shilling SOS Sh

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 SOS = 1.76 USD

1,000 SOS = 1.57 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to SOS – Somali Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇴 Somali Shilling (Sh)

Somali Shilling exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 568 SOS (1,000 SOS = 1.76 USD). 1 EUR = 637 SOS (1,000 SOS = 1.57 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 SOS in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Mogadishu Dubai 2,770 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Mogadishu
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

Mogadishu vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mogadishu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and eating out. The 362% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 1130% 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: $198 in Mogadishu versus $2,380 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 80% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $618 per month in Mogadishu versus $2,854 in Dubai – a 362% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $618 in Mogadishu versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Mogadishu but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Mogadishu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Mogadishu 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, Mogadishu 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 Mogadishu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 362% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.