Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sharjah and Toronto

For one person, living is cheaper in Sharjah: $1,841 a month against $2,530 in Toronto, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Sharjah
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Sharjah Living Index
125

Cost of Living Index in Toronto
Learn more

Toronto Living Index

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Sharjah

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$1,841

/mo nomad

Toronto

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,530

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sharjah and in Toronto

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Sharjah and in Toronto actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,841 in Sharjah versus $2,530 in Toronto.

Sharjah $1,841
Toronto $2,530

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,576 in Sharjah versus $3,646 in Toronto.

Sharjah $2,576
Toronto $3,646

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,312 in Sharjah versus $4,761 in Toronto.

Sharjah $3,312
Toronto $4,761

Living in Sharjah costs roughly 27% less than in Toronto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sharjah 37% above, Toronto 89% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.97 AED 21.92

$17.67 CA$25.19

-66.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.91 AED 121

$77.4 CA$110

-57.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.29 AED 30.45

$10.47 CA$14.93

-20.82%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.54 AED 35.05

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.35 AED 34.35

Cappuccino

$3.82 AED 14.02

$4.08 CA$5.81

-6.37%

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

$0.80 AED 2.93

$2.12 CA$3.02

-62.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 AED 1.05

$1.76 CA$2.51

-83.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.17 CA$8.80

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.89 CA$9.82

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 AED 5.64

$2.43 CA$3.46

-36.63%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 AED 4.38

$2.75 CA$3.92

-56.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 AED 6.71

$2.23 CA$3.18

-17.94%

Eggs

$3.21 AED 11.80

$3.45 CA$4.91

-6.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.64 AED 31.73

$8.93 CA$12.73

-3.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.63 AED 24.36

$11.44 CA$16.31

-42.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.46 AED 42.09

$14.61 CA$20.83

-21.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 AED 8.33

$3.75 CA$5.34

-39.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 AED 6.12

$1.15 CA$1.64

45.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.30 AED 4.78

$3.55 CA$5.06

-63.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.28 AED 4.72

$4.28 CA$6.10

-70.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 AED 3.79

$1.85 CA$2.63

-44.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 AED 4.12

$1.67 CA$2.38

-32.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 AED 5.26

$2.22 CA$3.16

-35.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 AED 2.23

$1.21 CA$1.72

-49.59%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$15.53 AED 57.0

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 AED 8.88

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 AED 9.50

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 AED 23.19

$13.88 CA$19.78

-54.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.25 CA$20.31

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.20 CA$3.13

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 CA$3.45

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.16 AED 7.92

$2.42 CA$3.44

-10.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.07 AED 99.4

$111 CA$158

-75.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.65 AED 13.42

$2.90 CA$4.13

25.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 AED 1.91

$1.26 CA$1.80

-58.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.07 AED 44.33

$22.03 CA$31.40

-45.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 AED 3.46

$1.22 CA$1.74

-22.95%

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

$45.2K AED 166.0K

$27.6K CA$39.4K

63.58%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$19.8K CA$28.3K

11.11%

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

$208 AED 766

$122 CA$174

71.06%

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

$49.40 AED 181

$32.03 CA$45.66

54.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$96.1 AED 353

$47.92 CA$68.3

100.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.5 AED 196

$38.90 CA$55.5

37.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.29 AED 81.9

$23.24 CA$33.12

-4.09%

Cinema Ticket

$13.54 AED 49.72

$12.61 CA$17.97

7.38%

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

$325 AED 1,194

$834 CA$1,189

-61.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,433 AED 31.0K

$23.3K CA$33.3K

-63.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.6 AED 212

$52.6 CA$75.0

9.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$78.0 AED 286

$40.26 CA$57.4

93.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 AED 401

$96.2 CA$137

13.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.1 AED 353

$123 CA$175

-21.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$823 AED 3,024

$1,598 CA$2,278

-48.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 AED 3,329

$1,435 CA$2,045

-36.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,797 AED 6,598

$2,657 CA$3,787

-32.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 AED 5,148

$2,096 CA$2,988

-33.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,241 AED 30.3K

$8,033 CA$11.5K

2.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,748 AED 10.1K

$6,557 CA$9,347

-58.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,191 AED 8,045

$3,743 CA$5,335

-41.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.5

4.47

0.67%

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

Last update for Sharjah: October 5, 2026

Last update for Toronto: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sharjah

$906 49%

Toronto

$1.4K 55.4% 58.3% $528

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sharjah

$354 19.1%

Toronto

$202 7.8% 43% $152

Groceries & Markets

Sharjah

$192 10.4%

Toronto

$340 13.1% 77% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Sharjah

$153 8.3%

Toronto

$140 5.4% 8.5% $13

Eating Out

Sharjah

$123 6.6%

Toronto

$282 10.9% 130% $159

Sport & Entertainment

Sharjah

$81 4.4%

Toronto

$64 2.5% 20.4% $16

Getting Around

Sharjah

$42 2.3%

Toronto

$130 5% 209% $88

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $823 in Sharjah and $1,598 in Toronto. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Toronto pays 71% 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: $33.00 in Sharjah vs $77.0 in Toronto for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $192 vs $340 per month, with Sharjah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Sharjah

🇨🇦 Toronto

🕒 Local time

14:27 2:27 PM

06:27 6:27 AM

8 h behind Sharjah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,400,000

2,731,571

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

1 CAD = 0.702 USD

1 CAD = 0.626 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

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).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 CAD (1 CAD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.626 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sharjah Toronto 11,070 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Sharjah
Toronto

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

Sharjah vs Toronto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sharjah and Toronto differ by about 37% in total monthly costs ($1,841 vs $2,530 including rent). Sharjah is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 71% lower in Toronto. 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: $823 in Sharjah versus $1,598 in Toronto. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Sharjah – a meal for two runs $33.00 versus $77.0 in Toronto. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,841 per month in Sharjah versus $2,530 in Toronto – a 37% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,841 in Sharjah versus $2,530 in Toronto, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Sharjah but tight or insufficient in Toronto. The gap between the two cities makes Sharjah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Sharjah and Toronto 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 Sharjah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Toronto. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.