Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sanaa and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Sanaa: $1,040 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $21,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Sanaa
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Sanaa Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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Sanaa

🇾🇪 Yemen

$1,040

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,040 in Sanaa versus $2,854 in Dubai.

Sanaa $1,040
Dubai $2,854

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,608 in Sanaa versus $4,321 in Dubai.

Sanaa $1,608
Dubai $4,321

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,175 in Sanaa versus $5,788 in Dubai.

Sanaa $2,175
Dubai $5,788

Living in Sanaa costs roughly 64% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sanaa is 22% below, Dubai is 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.46 YER 1,524

$13.04 AED 47.89

-50.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.31 YER 5,969

$81.4 AED 299

-68.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.75 YER 2,300

$9.32 AED 34.25

4.61%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.96 YER 462

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 YER 611

Cappuccino

$3.82 YER 900

$5.97 AED 21.93

-36.01%

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

$1.17 YER 277

$1.63 AED 5.98

-28.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.60 YER 141

$0.81 AED 2.99

-25.93%

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)

$1.98 YER 468

$1.81 AED 6.64

9.39%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 YER 387

$1.57 AED 5.78

4.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.09 YER 492

$2.49 AED 9.16

-16.06%

Eggs

$3.57 YER 842

$3.28 AED 12.04

8.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.52 YER 4,131

$12.67 AED 46.53

38.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.41 YER 1,984

$9.75 AED 35.80

-13.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.10 YER 4,504

$13.18 AED 48.40

44.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.40 YER 802

$2.61 AED 9.57

30.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.05 YER 249

$1.93 AED 7.09

-45.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.21 YER 521

$1.92 AED 7.05

15.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.67 YER 393

$1.36 AED 5.00

22.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 YER 357

$1.17 AED 4.29

29.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 YER 326

$1.01 AED 3.71

36.63%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 YER 284

$1.51 AED 5.56

-20.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 YER 160

$0.62 AED 2.29

9.68%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.48 YER 584

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 YER 423

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 YER 602

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.66 YER 1,336

$5.85 AED 21.50

-3.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.43 YER 102

$1.64 AED 6.03

-73.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.3 YER 20.4K

$73.6 AED 270

17.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.19 YER 988

$3.17 AED 11.66

32.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.10 YER 494

$0.71 AED 2.63

195.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.22 YER 1,704

$7.96 AED 29.23

-9.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 YER 486

$0.99 AED 3.64

108.08%

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

$16.9K YER 4.0M

$27.4K AED 100.5K

-38.28%

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

$34.6K YER 8.2M

$22.5K AED 82.8K

53.49%

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

$109 YER 25.6K

$250 AED 920

-56.59%

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

$23.35 YER 5,506

$54.2 AED 199

-56.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$102 YER 24.0K

$91.8 AED 337

10.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.1 YER 15.8K

$98.6 AED 362

-31.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.03 YER 3,779

$42.61 AED 156

-62.38%

Cinema Ticket

$5.97 YER 1,407

$16.03 AED 58.9

-62.76%

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

$118 YER 27.7K

$843 AED 3,098

-86.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,130 YER 502.3K

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-88.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.48 YER 10.0K

$68.0 AED 250

-37.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$121 YER 28.5K

$57.9 AED 213

108.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$47.63 YER 11.2K

$101 AED 370

-52.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.69 YER 9,594

$101 AED 371

-59.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$222 YER 52.4K

$2,380 AED 8,741

-90.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$94.7 YER 22.3K

$1,506 AED 5,531

-93.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$408 YER 96.2K

$4,437 AED 16.3K

-90.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$276 YER 65.0K

$3,010 AED 11.1K

-90.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,240 YER 999.9K

$7,121 AED 26.2K

-40.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$825 YER 194.6K

$4,135 AED 15.2K

-80.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$197 YER 46.4K

$3,391 AED 12.5K

-94.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.25

4.54

147.80%

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

Last update for Sanaa: October 4, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sanaa

$272 26.4%

Dubai

$293 10.2% 7.8% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sanaa

$234 22.7%

Dubai

$396 13.8% 69.6% $163

Eating Out

Sanaa

$134 13%

Dubai

$309 10.8% 131% $175

Clothing & Footwear

Sanaa

$113 11%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 30.2% $34

Getting Around

Sanaa

$103 10%

Dubai

$87 3% 15.4% $16

Accommodation & Living

Sanaa

$95 9.2%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5% 1490% $1.4K

Sport & Entertainment

Sanaa

$79 7.7%

Dubai

$131 4.6% 65.4% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $222 in Sanaa and $2,380 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 1624% 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: $25.00 in Sanaa vs $81.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $293 per month, with Sanaa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇾🇪 Sanaa

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

10:04 10:04 AM

11:04 11:04 AM

1 h ahead of Sanaa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,527,861 Capital

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to YER – Yemeni Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇾🇪 Yemeni Rial (﷼)

Yemeni Rial exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 236 YER (1,000 YER = 4.24 USD). 1 EUR = 264 YER (1,000 YER = 3.78 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 YER in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sanaa Dubai 1,570 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sanaa
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

Sanaa vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sanaa is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 174% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 1624% 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: $222 in Sanaa 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 Sanaa runs roughly 17% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $118 in Sanaa versus $843 in Dubai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,040 in Sanaa versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Sanaa but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Sanaa the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Sanaa 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, Sanaa 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 Sanaa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 174% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.