Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between South Africa and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in South Africa: $1,182 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $20,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in South Africa
Learn more

South Africa Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index

Jump to prices

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,182

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: South Africa is 38.6% cheaper than Dubai without rent, and 58.6% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: South Africa is 38.5% cheaper than Dubai without rent, and 56.4% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.64 R 176

$13.04 AED 47.89

-18.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.40 R 683

$81.4 AED 299

-49.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 R 92.4

$9.32 AED 34.25

-39.91%

Cappuccino

$2.28 R 37.63

$5.97 AED 21.93

-61.81%

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

$1.16 R 19.17

$1.63 AED 5.98

-28.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 R 15.22

$0.81 AED 2.99

13.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.45 R 40.40

$13.65 AED 50.1

-82.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 R 48.69

$13.38 AED 49.15

-77.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R 19.63

$1.81 AED 6.64

-34.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 R 18.42

$1.57 AED 5.78

-28.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 R 29.58

$2.49 AED 9.16

-28.11%

Eggs

$2.48 R 40.88

$3.28 AED 12.04

-24.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.08 R 133

$12.67 AED 46.53

-36.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.13 R 84.7

$9.75 AED 35.80

-47.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.81 R 129

$13.18 AED 48.40

-40.74%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 R 30.78

$2.61 AED 9.57

-28.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.42

$1.93 AED 7.09

-13.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.15

$1.92 AED 7.05

-7.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R 29.67

$1.36 AED 5.00

32.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.17 AED 4.29

27.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 R 24.71

$1.01 AED 3.71

48.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.16

$1.51 AED 5.56

-15.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 R 17.97

$0.62 AED 2.29

75.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.22 R 53.2

$5.85 AED 21.50

-44.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.93 R 81.3

$16.14 AED 59.3

-69.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 R 24.47

$2.65 AED 9.74

-44.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 R 33.09

$2.95 AED 10.82

-31.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 R 26.39

$1.64 AED 6.03

-2.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.7 R 1,001

$73.6 AED 270

-17.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.09 R 17.98

$3.17 AED 11.66

-65.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 R 16.23

$0.71 AED 2.63

38.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.42 R 122

$7.96 AED 29.23

-6.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 R 24.63

$0.99 AED 3.64

50.51%

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

$35.0K R 578.2K

$27.4K AED 100.5K

28.04%

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

$31.6K R 521.1K

$22.5K AED 82.8K

40.14%

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

$131 R 2,168

$250 AED 920

-47.52%

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

$34.71 R 573

$54.2 AED 199

-36.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.94 R 659

$91.8 AED 337

-56.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.88 R 559

$98.6 AED 362

-65.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.39 R 188

$42.61 AED 156

-73.27%

Cinema Ticket

$7.31 R 121

$16.03 AED 58.9

-54.40%

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

$225 R 3,715

$843 AED 3,098

-73.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,485 R 90.5K

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-69.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.0 R 858

$68.0 AED 250

-23.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.30 R 549

$57.9 AED 213

-42.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.4 R 1,640

$101 AED 370

-1.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.4 R 1,441

$101 AED 371

-13.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$480 R 7,918

$2,380 AED 8,741

-79.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$406 R 6,692

$1,506 AED 5,531

-73.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$935 R 15.4K

$4,437 AED 16.3K

-78.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$796 R 13.1K

$3,010 AED 11.1K

-73.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,111 R 18.3K

$7,121 AED 26.2K

-84.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$777 R 12.8K

$4,135 AED 15.2K

-81.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,476 R 24.4K

$3,391 AED 12.5K

-56.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.23

4.54

147.36%

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

Last update for South Africa: October 3, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

South Africa

$406 33.6%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5% 271% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

South Africa

$206 17.1%

Dubai

$396 13.8% 92.4% $190

Groceries & Markets

South Africa

$196 16.2%

Dubai

$293 10.2% 49.5% $97

Eating Out

South Africa

$156 12.9%

Dubai

$309 10.8% 98.1% $153

Clothing & Footwear

South Africa

$122 10.1%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 20.4% $25

Getting Around

South Africa

$73 6.1%

Dubai

$87 3% 18.9% $14

Sport & Entertainment

South Africa

$49 4%

Dubai

$131 4.6% 169% $82

Good to know

🇿🇦 South Africa

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

10:00 10:00 AM

12:00 12:00 PM

2 h ahead of South Africa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

62,027,503

3,790,000

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 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 ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

South Africa Dubai 6,770 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

South Africa
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

South Africa vs other spots: cost of living compared

Cost of Living Comparison Between South Africa and Dubai

AED, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

South Africa

Dubai

South Africa

Dubai

South Africa vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar countries

🇹🇷 Turkey

🇷🇺 Russia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

🇷🇸 Serbia

🇹🇼 Taiwan

🇦🇱 Albania

🇲🇩 Moldova

🇪🇹 Ethiopia