Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between the Netherlands and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in the Netherlands: $2,659 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Dubai outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

130

Cost of Living Index in the Netherlands
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Netherlands Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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🇳🇱 Netherlands

$2,659

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: The Netherlands is 3.2% more expensive than Dubai without rent, and 6.8% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: The Netherlands is 6.2% more expensive than Dubai without rent, and 10.3% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.46 €20.04

$13.04 AED 47.89

72.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.9 €80.2

$81.4 AED 299

10.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.89 €12.39

$9.32 AED 34.25

49.03%

Cappuccino

$4.16 €3.71

$5.97 AED 21.93

-30.32%

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

$3.69 €3.30

$1.63 AED 5.98

126.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 €2.81

$0.81 AED 2.99

288.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.62 €5.91

$13.65 AED 50.1

-51.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.48 €4.89

$13.38 AED 49.15

-59.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 €1.19

$1.81 AED 6.64

-26.52%

White Bread (500g)

$2.26 €2.01

$1.57 AED 5.78

43.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.76 €2.46

$2.49 AED 9.16

10.84%

Eggs

$4.93 €4.40

$3.28 AED 12.04

50.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.92 €12.42

$12.67 AED 46.53

9.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.32 €12.78

$9.75 AED 35.80

46.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.09 €15.25

$13.18 AED 48.40

29.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.63 €2.34

$2.61 AED 9.57

0.77%

Banana (1kg)

$2.48 €2.22

$1.93 AED 7.09

28.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.07 €1.85

$1.92 AED 7.05

7.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.24 €3.79

$1.36 AED 5.00

211.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.87 €1.67

$1.17 AED 4.29

59.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.88 €1.67

$1.01 AED 3.71

86.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 €1.13

$1.51 AED 5.56

-15.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 €0.80

$0.62 AED 2.29

45.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.89 €12.40

$5.85 AED 21.50

137.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.79 €6.06

$16.14 AED 59.3

-57.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 €1.36

$2.65 AED 9.74

-42.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 €2.33

$2.95 AED 10.82

-11.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.88 €3.46

$1.64 AED 6.03

136.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.1 €84.8

$73.6 AED 270

29.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.53 €4.04

$3.17 AED 11.66

42.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.04 €2.71

$0.71 AED 2.63

328.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.23 €29.66

$7.96 AED 29.23

317.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.50 €2.23

$0.99 AED 3.64

152.53%

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

$40.8K €36.4K

$27.4K AED 100.5K

49.15%

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

$39.2K €35.0K

$22.5K AED 82.8K

73.88%

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

$261 €233

$250 AED 920

4.35%

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

$22.50 €20.08

$54.2 AED 199

-58.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.3 €45.76

$91.8 AED 337

-44.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.47 €37.90

$98.6 AED 362

-56.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.73 €22.96

$42.61 AED 156

-39.62%

Cinema Ticket

$15.43 €13.77

$16.03 AED 58.9

-3.74%

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

$2,256 €2,014

$843 AED 3,098

167.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,006 €8,037

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-50.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$95.9 €85.6

$68.0 AED 250

41.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.51 €37.93

$57.9 AED 213

-26.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 €94.1

$101 AED 370

4.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 €119

$101 AED 371

31.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,625 €1,450

$2,380 AED 8,741

-31.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,316 €1,174

$1,506 AED 5,531

-12.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,570 €2,293

$4,437 AED 16.3K

-42.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,022 €1,804

$3,010 AED 11.1K

-32.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,529 €5,826

$7,121 AED 26.2K

-8.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,871 €4,347

$4,135 AED 15.2K

17.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,761 €3,356

$3,391 AED 12.5K

10.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.86

4.54

-14.98%

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

Last update for the Netherlands: October 4, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Netherlands

$1.3K 48.6%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5% 14.4% $190

Eating Out

Netherlands

$343 12.7%

Dubai

$309 10.8% 9.9% $34

Groceries & Markets

Netherlands

$340 12.6%

Dubai

$293 10.2% 14% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Netherlands

$335 12.4%

Dubai

$396 13.8% 18.3% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Netherlands

$170 6.3%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 13.2% $22

Getting Around

Netherlands

$130 4.8%

Dubai

$87 3% 33.3% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Netherlands

$73 2.7%

Dubai

$131 4.6% 78.2% $57

Good to know

🇳🇱 Netherlands

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

05:15 5:15 AM

07:15 7:15 AM

2 h ahead of the Netherlands

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,100,715

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Netherlands Dubai 5,170 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Netherlands
Dubai

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

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