Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sweden and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Sweden: $1,889 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $11,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

91

Cost of Living Index in Sweden
Learn more

Sweden Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index

Jump to prices

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,889

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Sweden is 5.9% cheaper than Dubai without rent, and 33.8% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Sweden is 0.5% cheaper than Dubai without rent, and 33.2% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.57 SEK 146

$13.04 AED 47.89

11.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.8 SEK 807

$81.4 AED 299

-0.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.84 SEK 108

$9.32 AED 34.25

16.31%

Cappuccino

$4.55 SEK 45.45

$5.97 AED 21.93

-23.79%

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

$2.66 SEK 26.59

$1.63 AED 5.98

63.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 SEK 22.90

$0.81 AED 2.99

182.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.73 SEK 77.3

$13.65 AED 50.1

-43.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.31 SEK 73.1

$13.38 AED 49.15

-45.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 SEK 15.85

$1.81 AED 6.64

-12.15%

White Bread (500g)

$2.95 SEK 29.50

$1.57 AED 5.78

87.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.54 SEK 35.41

$2.49 AED 9.16

42.17%

Eggs

$4.05 SEK 40.44

$3.28 AED 12.04

23.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.65 SEK 116

$12.67 AED 46.53

-8.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.77 SEK 118

$9.75 AED 35.80

20.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.98 SEK 190

$13.18 AED 48.40

44.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 SEK 29.48

$2.61 AED 9.57

13.03%

Banana (1kg)

$2.50 SEK 25.01

$1.93 AED 7.09

29.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.93 SEK 29.30

$1.92 AED 7.05

52.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.31 SEK 43.11

$1.36 AED 5.00

216.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.73 SEK 17.34

$1.17 AED 4.29

47.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 SEK 15.90

$1.01 AED 3.71

57.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.26 SEK 22.62

$1.51 AED 5.56

49.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 SEK 14.15

$0.62 AED 2.29

129.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.68 SEK 76.8

$5.85 AED 21.50

31.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.98 SEK 110

$16.14 AED 59.3

-31.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 SEK 19.05

$2.65 AED 9.74

-27.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 SEK 21.39

$2.95 AED 10.82

-27.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.77 SEK 37.69

$1.64 AED 6.03

129.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$83.3 SEK 833

$73.6 AED 270

13.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.10 SEK 61.0

$3.17 AED 11.66

92.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.91 SEK 19.10

$0.71 AED 2.63

169.01%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$58.5 SEK 585

$7.96 AED 29.23

634.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 SEK 18.01

$0.99 AED 3.64

81.82%

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

$32.7K SEK 326.5K

$27.4K AED 100.5K

19.36%

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

$32.9K SEK 329.0K

$22.5K AED 82.8K

46.05%

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

$134 SEK 1,340

$250 AED 920

-46.45%

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

$26.39 SEK 264

$54.2 AED 199

-51.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.50 SEK 375

$91.8 AED 337

-59.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.19 SEK 392

$98.6 AED 362

-60.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.67 SEK 267

$42.61 AED 156

-37.41%

Cinema Ticket

$15.41 SEK 154

$16.03 AED 58.9

-3.87%

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

$148 SEK 1,477

$843 AED 3,098

-82.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,193 SEK 41.9K

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-77.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$93.6 SEK 935

$68.0 AED 250

37.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.22 SEK 422

$57.9 AED 213

-27.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 SEK 1,005

$101 AED 370

-0.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$142 SEK 1,422

$101 AED 371

40.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$857 SEK 8,561

$2,380 AED 8,741

-64.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$698 SEK 6,973

$1,506 AED 5,531

-53.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 SEK 13.9K

$4,437 AED 16.3K

-68.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,123 SEK 11.2K

$3,010 AED 11.1K

-62.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,069 SEK 50.7K

$7,121 AED 26.2K

-28.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,264 SEK 32.6K

$4,135 AED 15.2K

-21.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,004 SEK 30.0K

$3,391 AED 12.5K

-11.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.67

4.54

-19.16%

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

Last update for Sweden: October 6, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sweden

$698 37%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5% 116% $808

Groceries & Markets

Sweden

$360 19.1%

Dubai

$293 10.2% 18.6% $67

Eating Out

Sweden

$277 14.7%

Dubai

$309 10.8% 11.6% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sweden

$198 10.5%

Dubai

$396 13.8% 100% $198

Clothing & Footwear

Sweden

$170 9%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 13.5% $23

Getting Around

Sweden

$114 6%

Dubai

$87 3% 23.8% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Sweden

$70 3.7%

Dubai

$131 4.6% 86.7% $61

Good to know

🇸🇪 Sweden

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

07:11 7:11 AM

09:11 9:11 AM

2 h ahead of Sweden

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

10,587,710

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sweden Dubai 4,770 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Sweden
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

Sweden vs other spots: cost of living compared

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sweden and Dubai

AED, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

Sweden

Dubai

Sweden

Dubai

Sweden vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar countries

🇮🇹 Italy

🇫🇷 France

🇫🇮 Finland

🇶🇦 Qatar

🇵🇸 Palestine

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

🇸🇧 Solomon Islands

🇨🇼 Curacao