Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Solothurn and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Solothurn: $2,728 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Dubai outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

133

Cost of Living Index in Solothurn
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Solothurn Living Index
140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index

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Solothurn

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$2,728

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,728 in Solothurn versus $2,896 in Dubai.

Solothurn $2,728
Dubai $2,896

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,408 in Solothurn versus $4,384 in Dubai.

Solothurn $4,408
Dubai $4,384

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,088 in Solothurn versus $5,872 in Dubai.

Solothurn $6,088
Dubai $5,872

Living in Solothurn costs roughly 6% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Solothurn 102% above, Dubai 115% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.10 CHF 24.79

$12.67 AED 46.55

137.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$143 CHF 118

$81.7 AED 300

75.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.34 CHF 15.10

$9.34 AED 34.30

96.36%

Cappuccino

$6.40 CHF 5.27

$5.89 AED 21.62

8.66%

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

$5.50 CHF 4.53

$1.69 AED 6.20

225.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.11 CHF 4.21

$0.78 AED 2.86

555.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.42 CHF 5.28

$13.66 AED 50.2

-53.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.95 CHF 4.90

$13.49 AED 49.54

-55.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.20 CHF 1.81

$1.84 AED 6.78

19.57%

White Bread (500g)

$3.71 CHF 3.05

$1.50 AED 5.50

147.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.42 CHF 2.81

$2.57 AED 9.45

33.07%

Eggs

$8.35 CHF 6.88

$3.32 AED 12.18

151.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$22.38 CHF 18.43

$12.60 AED 46.28

77.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$26.23 CHF 21.61

$9.66 AED 35.46

171.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$62.0 CHF 51.1

$12.78 AED 46.93

385.21%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 CHF 2.30

$2.60 AED 9.54

7.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 CHF 1.16

$1.90 AED 6.99

-26.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.46 CHF 2.85

$1.91 AED 7.02

81.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.31 CHF 3.55

$1.37 AED 5.02

214.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.63 CHF 1.34

$1.13 AED 4.14

44.25%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 CHF 1.44

$1.01 AED 3.71

72.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.60 CHF 1.32

$1.44 AED 5.30

11.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 CHF 0.78

$0.67 AED 2.48

41.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.83 CHF 8.92

$5.88 AED 21.59

84.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.82 CHF 11.38

$16.15 AED 59.3

-14.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.76 CHF 2.27

$2.72 AED 10.00

1.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 CHF 2.50

$3.08 AED 11.32

-1.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.77 CHF 3.93

$1.60 AED 5.87

198.12%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.0 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.21 CHF 6.76

$3.24 AED 11.91

153.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.66 CHF 3.84

$0.71 AED 2.61

556.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$87.2 CHF 71.8

$7.96 AED 29.22

995.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.26 CHF 1.86

$0.98 AED 3.62

130.61%

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

$29.9K CHF 24.6K

$27.4K AED 100.6K

9.27%

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

$35.8K CHF 29.5K

$22.0K AED 80.9K

62.71%

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

$96.7 CHF 79.6

$249 AED 913

-61.11%

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

$30.46 CHF 25.09

$54.4 AED 200

-44.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.5 CHF 44.86

$91.5 AED 336

-40.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$90.0 CHF 74.2

$103 AED 380

-12.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.71 CHF 13.76

$42.32 AED 155

-60.52%

Cinema Ticket

$17.70 CHF 14.57

$16.29 AED 59.8

8.66%

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

$3,585 CHF 2,952

$844 AED 3,098

324.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K CHF 16.1K

$18.3K AED 67.1K

7.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$142 CHF 117

$67.0 AED 246

111.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.66 CHF 35.14

$57.9 AED 213

-26.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$162 CHF 134

$102 AED 375

58.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$251 CHF 206

$98.7 AED 363

153.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,132 CHF 933

$2,393 AED 8,788

-52.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,020 CHF 840

$1,533 AED 5,630

-33.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,823 CHF 1,501

$4,594 AED 16.9K

-60.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,760 CHF 1,449

$2,939 AED 10.8K

-40.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,738 CHF 8,021

$7,046 AED 25.9K

38.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,850 CHF 3,994

$4,222 AED 15.5K

14.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,725 CHF 5,538

$3,461 AED 12.7K

94.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.07

4.54

-54.41%

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

Last update for Solothurn: October 11, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Solothurn

$1K 37.4%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9% 50.2% $512

Groceries & Markets

Solothurn

$622 22.8%

Dubai

$292 10.1% 53.1% $330

Eating Out

Solothurn

$459 16.8%

Dubai

$305 10.5% 33.5% $154

Clothing & Footwear

Solothurn

$269 9.9%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 45.4% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Solothurn

$182 6.7%

Dubai

$394 13.6% 117% $213

Sport & Entertainment

Solothurn

$125 4.6%

Dubai

$136 4.7% 8.4% $11

Getting Around

Solothurn

$51 * 1.9%

Dubai

$89 3.1% 76.3% $39

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 $1,132 in Solothurn and $2,393 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Solothurn pays 94% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $143 in Solothurn vs $82.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $622 vs $292 per month, with Dubai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Solothurn

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

06:40 6:40 AM

08:40 8:40 AM

2 h ahead of Solothurn

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

16,599

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Solothurn Dubai 4,840 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Solothurn
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

Solothurn vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Solothurn is cheaper overall, especially in leisure, utilities, and transport. The 6% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 94% higher in Solothurn, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,132 in Solothurn versus $2,393 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Dubai pay roughly 113% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $2,728 per month in Solothurn versus $2,896 in Dubai – a 6% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Both cities are expensive relative to $3,000. Solothurn is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Solothurn 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, Solothurn 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 Solothurn gentler on the wallet – expenses run 6% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.