Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Julians and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in St. Julians: $2,257 a month against $2,883 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

109

Cost of Living Index in St. Julians
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St. Julians Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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St. Julians

🇲🇹 Malta

$2,257

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,883

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,257 in St. Julians versus $2,883 in Dubai.

St. Julians $2,257
Dubai $2,883

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,588 in St. Julians versus $4,403 in Dubai.

St. Julians $3,588
Dubai $4,403

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,919 in St. Julians versus $5,923 in Dubai.

St. Julians $4,919
Dubai $5,923

Living in St. Julians costs roughly 22% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: St. Julians 67% above, Dubai 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.12 €17.90

$12.99 AED 47.72

54.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$99.0 €88.1

$81.9 AED 301

20.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.09 €9.87

$9.64 AED 35.40

15.04%

Cappuccino

$3.27 €2.91

$6.09 AED 22.38

-46.31%

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

$3.06 €2.72

$1.61 AED 5.93

90.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.69

$0.75 AED 2.76

153.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.57 €4.06

$13.79 AED 50.6

-66.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 €4.06

$13.41 AED 49.25

-66.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 €1.10

$1.86 AED 6.83

-33.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.75 €1.56

$1.53 AED 5.62

14.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.38 €3.00

$2.55 AED 9.38

32.55%

Eggs

$4.54 €4.04

$3.28 AED 12.06

38.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.83 €16.75

$12.14 AED 44.57

55.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.64 €9.46

$9.15 AED 33.62

16.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.95 €15.97

$12.80 AED 47.00

40.23%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 €2.70

$2.56 AED 9.39

18.36%

Banana (1kg)

$2.05 €1.83

$1.91 AED 7.03

7.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.88 €2.56

$1.82 AED 6.69

58.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 €3.55

$1.43 AED 5.26

179.02%

Potato (1kg)

$2.43 €2.16

$1.10 AED 4.04

120.91%

Onion (1kg)

$2.39 €2.12

$0.92 AED 3.40

159.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.91 €1.70

$1.52 AED 5.58

25.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$0.69 AED 2.54

28.99%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.77 €6.02

$6.41 AED 23.55

5.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.21 €6.42

$16.52 AED 60.7

-56.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 €1.44

$2.56 AED 9.41

-36.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.35 €2.09

$3.08 AED 11.32

-23.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.55 €2.27

$1.58 AED 5.82

61.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.9 AED 279

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.59 €4.09

$3.19 AED 11.72

43.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.65 €1.47

$0.71 AED 2.62

132.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.13 €34.80

$8.21 AED 30.13

376.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.01 AED 3.73

52.48%

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

$27.5K €24.5K

$26.1K AED 96.0K

5.23%

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

$39.5K €35.2K

$21.8K AED 80.2K

80.97%

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

$76.7 €68.2

$245 AED 900

-68.72%

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

$35.28 €31.38

$57.5 AED 211

-38.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.16 €31.27

$91.3 AED 335

-61.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$94.5 €84.1

$105 AED 385

-9.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$39.97 €35.56

$46.58 AED 171

-14.19%

Cinema Ticket

$11.39 €10.13

$16.04 AED 58.9

-28.99%

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

$618 €550

$873 AED 3,206

-29.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.9K €12.4K

$18.0K AED 66.2K

-22.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$146 €130

$70.8 AED 260

106.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.1 €49.02

$62.3 AED 229

-11.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 €108

$106 AED 390

14.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$164 €146

$102 AED 376

60.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,391 €1,237

$2,454 AED 9,014

-43.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,124 €999

$1,510 AED 5,545

-25.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,555 €2,273

$4,640 AED 17.0K

-44.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,042 €1,816

$2,961 AED 10.9K

-31.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,727 €5,094

$7,219 AED 26.5K

-20.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,143 €2,796

$4,232 AED 15.5K

-25.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,426 €2,158

$3,584 AED 13.2K

-32.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.22

4.54

-29.07%

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

Last update for St. Julians: October 19, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St. Julians

$1.1K 49.8%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.4% 34.4% $386

Groceries & Markets

St. Julians

$342 15.1%

Dubai

$288 10% 15.7% $54

Eating Out

St. Julians

$285 12.6%

Dubai

$311 10.8% 9.1% $26

Clothing & Footwear

St. Julians

$219 9.7%

Dubai

$154 5.3% 29.7% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Julians

$147 6.5%

Dubai

$394 13.7% 168% $247

Sport & Entertainment

St. Julians

$117 5.2%

Dubai

$137 4.8% 16.6% $20

Getting Around

St. Julians

$23 * 1%

Dubai

$89 3.1% 286% $66

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 $1,391 in St. Julians and $2,454 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 48% 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: $99.0 in St. Julians vs $82.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $342 vs $288 per month, with Dubai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇹 St. Julians

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

22:21 10:21 PM

00:21 12:21 AM

2 h ahead of St. Julians

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,792

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 = 0.242 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

St. Julians Dubai 4,050 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

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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

St. Julians vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St. Julians is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, leisure, and utilities. The 28% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 48% 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: $1,391 in St. Julians versus $2,454 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Dubai pay roughly 19% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $2,257 per month in St. Julians versus $2,883 in Dubai – a 28% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,257 in St. Julians versus $2,883 in Dubai, a $3,000 budget is realistic in St. Julians but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes St. Julians the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, St. Julians 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, St. Julians 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 St. Julians gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.