Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stockholm and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Stockholm: $2,548 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Dubai outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

125

Cost of Living Index in Stockholm
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Stockholm Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index

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Stockholm

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,548

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,548 in Stockholm versus $2,854 in Dubai.

Stockholm $2,548
Dubai $2,854

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,806 in Stockholm versus $4,321 in Dubai.

Stockholm $3,806
Dubai $4,321

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,064 in Stockholm versus $5,788 in Dubai.

Stockholm $5,064
Dubai $5,788

Living in Stockholm costs roughly 11% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Stockholm 90% above, Dubai 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.26 SEK 182

$13.04 AED 47.89

40.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$97.8 SEK 978

$81.4 AED 299

20.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.71 SEK 117

$9.32 AED 34.25

25.64%

Cappuccino

$4.89 SEK 48.92

$5.97 AED 21.93

-18.09%

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

$3.72 SEK 37.15

$1.63 AED 5.98

128.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.03 SEK 30.29

$0.81 AED 2.99

274.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.16 SEK 81.5

$13.65 AED 50.1

-40.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.96 SEK 89.5

$13.38 AED 49.15

-33.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 SEK 18.05

$1.81 AED 6.64

White Bread (500g)

$3.84 SEK 38.41

$1.57 AED 5.78

144.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.75 SEK 37.52

$2.49 AED 9.16

50.60%

Eggs

$5.04 SEK 50.4

$3.28 AED 12.04

53.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.90 SEK 129

$12.67 AED 46.53

1.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.70 SEK 127

$9.75 AED 35.80

30.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.70 SEK 217

$13.18 AED 48.40

64.64%

Apples (1kg)

$3.61 SEK 36.03

$2.61 AED 9.57

38.31%

Banana (1kg)

$2.80 SEK 27.97

$1.93 AED 7.09

45.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.14 SEK 31.36

$1.92 AED 7.05

63.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.36 SEK 43.52

$1.36 AED 5.00

220.59%

Potato (1kg)

$1.70 SEK 16.99

$1.17 AED 4.29

45.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 SEK 17.83

$1.01 AED 3.71

76.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.51 SEK 25.06

$1.51 AED 5.56

66.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.43 SEK 24.33

$0.62 AED 2.29

291.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.52 SEK 85.1

$5.85 AED 21.50

45.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.83 SEK 118

$16.14 AED 59.3

-26.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.03 SEK 20.29

$2.65 AED 9.74

-23.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 SEK 25.49

$2.95 AED 10.82

-13.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.31 SEK 43.11

$1.64 AED 6.03

162.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$106 SEK 1,059

$73.6 AED 270

43.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.83 SEK 58.3

$3.17 AED 11.66

83.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.51 SEK 15.09

$0.71 AED 2.63

112.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.0 SEK 560

$7.96 AED 29.23

603.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 SEK 17.90

$0.99 AED 3.64

80.81%

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

$33.3K SEK 332.8K

$27.4K AED 100.5K

21.67%

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

$34.1K SEK 340.4K

$22.5K AED 82.8K

51.11%

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

$248 SEK 2,479

$250 AED 920

-0.93%

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

$21.17 SEK 212

$54.2 AED 199

-60.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.91 SEK 399

$91.8 AED 337

-56.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.51 SEK 475

$98.6 AED 362

-51.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$38.80 SEK 388

$42.61 AED 156

-8.94%

Cinema Ticket

$19.19 SEK 192

$16.03 AED 58.9

19.71%

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

$159 SEK 1,585

$843 AED 3,098

-81.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.4K SEK 163.7K

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-10.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$112 SEK 1,119

$68.0 AED 250

64.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.4 SEK 574

$57.9 AED 213

-0.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$134 SEK 1,340

$101 AED 370

33.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$181 SEK 1,809

$101 AED 371

79.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,694 SEK 16.9K

$2,380 AED 8,741

-28.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,088 SEK 10.9K

$1,506 AED 5,531

-27.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,985 SEK 29.8K

$4,437 AED 16.3K

-32.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,782 SEK 17.8K

$3,010 AED 11.1K

-40.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$11.1K SEK 111.4K

$7,121 AED 26.2K

56.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,326 SEK 63.2K

$4,135 AED 15.2K

52.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,501 SEK 35.0K

$3,391 AED 12.5K

3.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.37

4.54

-25.77%

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

Last update for Stockholm: 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

Stockholm

$1.1K 42.2%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5% 38.4% $418

Groceries & Markets

Stockholm

$415 16.1%

Dubai

$293 10.2% 29.4% $122

Eating Out

Stockholm

$326 12.6%

Dubai

$309 10.8% 5.2% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stockholm

$309 12%

Dubai

$396 13.8% 28.2% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Stockholm

$218 8.5%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 32.4% $71

Getting Around

Stockholm

$137 5.3%

Dubai

$87 3% 36.4% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Stockholm

$86 3.3%

Dubai

$131 4.6% 52.1% $45

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,694 in Stockholm and $2,380 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stockholm pays 3% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $98.0 in Stockholm vs $81.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $415 vs $293 per month, with Dubai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Stockholm

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

09:39 9:39 AM

11:39 11:39 AM

2 h ahead of Stockholm

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

984,748 Capital

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.01 USD

100 SEK = 8.92 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.99 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.21 SEK (100 SEK = 8.92 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 SEK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Stockholm Dubai 4,770 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Stockholm
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

Stockholm vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Stockholm is cheaper overall, especially in leisure and utilities. The 12% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 3% higher in Stockholm, 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: $1,694 in Stockholm 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 Stockholm runs roughly 44% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $159 in Stockholm versus $843 in Dubai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Stockholm is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Stockholm 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, Stockholm 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 Stockholm gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.