Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sylhet and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Sylhet: $360 a month against $2,889 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $30,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

17

Cost of Living Index in Sylhet
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Sylhet Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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Sylhet

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$360

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,889

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $360 in Sylhet versus $2,889 in Dubai.

Sylhet $360
Dubai $2,889

Estimated couple costs with rent: $609 in Sylhet versus $4,444 in Dubai.

Sylhet $609
Dubai $4,444

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $858 in Sylhet versus $5,999 in Dubai.

Sylhet $858
Dubai $5,999

Living in Sylhet costs roughly 88% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sylhet is 73% below, Dubai is 114% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.45 ৳305

$12.94 AED 47.54

-81.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.20 ৳1,396

$83.2 AED 306

-86.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.04 ৳503

$9.35 AED 34.32

-56.79%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.80 ৳598

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.50 ৳561

Cappuccino

$2.04 ৳254

$5.88 AED 21.60

-65.31%

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

$0.32 ৳39.52

$1.57 AED 5.77

-79.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.37

$0.94 AED 3.47

-82.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.44 AED 49.38

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.57 AED 49.84

Milk (1 liter)

$0.82 ৳102

$1.86 AED 6.83

-55.91%

White Bread (500g)

$0.59 ৳73.8

$1.56 AED 5.73

-62.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.58 ৳72.2

$2.64 AED 9.68

-78.03%

Eggs

$1.18 ৳147

$3.53 AED 12.96

-66.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.71 ৳960

$12.97 AED 47.62

-40.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.13 ৳391

$9.94 AED 36.51

-68.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.46 ৳805

$12.92 AED 47.45

-50.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.68 ৳334

$2.55 AED 9.36

5.10%

Banana (1kg)

$0.91 ৳113

$2.05 AED 7.54

-55.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.32 ৳289

$1.84 AED 6.77

26.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.64 ৳79.2

$1.54 AED 5.64

-58.44%

Potato (1kg)

$0.22 ৳27.24

$1.17 AED 4.31

-81.20%

Onion (1kg)

$0.50 ৳62.2

$1.02 AED 3.76

-50.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 ৳41.41

$1.57 AED 5.75

-78.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.27 ৳33.54

$0.67 AED 2.46

-59.70%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.80 ৳349

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 ৳247

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.95 ৳493

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.77 ৳345

$6.31 AED 23.17

-56.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.16 AED 59.4

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.58 AED 9.48

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 AED 10.60

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ৳93.7

$1.40 AED 5.15

-46.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.52 ৳3,055

$82.4 AED 303

-70.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.24 ৳155

$3.29 AED 12.07

-62.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.15 ৳18.44

$0.65 AED 2.40

-76.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 ৳144

$8.13 AED 29.84

-85.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.03 ৳129

$1.00 AED 3.68

3.00%

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

$28.9K ৳3.6M

$26.3K AED 96.6K

9.83%

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

$31.3K ৳3.9M

$22.0K AED 81.0K

41.94%

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

$25.04 ৳3,120

$239 AED 877

-89.52%

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

$4.18 ৳521

$56.9 AED 209

-92.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.58 ৳1,318

$93.9 AED 345

-88.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$8.86 ৳1,104

$90.8 AED 334

-90.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.07 ৳507

$46.38 AED 170

-91.22%

Cinema Ticket

$4.04 ৳503

$16.24 AED 59.6

-75.12%

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

$28.34 ৳3,531

$934 AED 3,429

-96.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$955 ৳118.9K

$20.9K AED 76.8K

-95.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$15.35 ৳1,912

$70.7 AED 260

-78.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.79 ৳1,968

$61.3 AED 225

-74.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$35.54 ৳4,428

$103 AED 377

-65.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$30.30 ৳3,776

$116 AED 426

-73.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$129 ৳16.1K

$2,487 AED 9,134

-94.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$55.5 ৳6,913

$1,520 AED 5,581

-96.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$175 ৳21.8K

$5,234 AED 19.2K

-96.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$158 ৳19.7K

$3,028 AED 11.1K

-94.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$689 ৳85.8K

$6,982 AED 25.6K

-90.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$346 ৳43.1K

$4,433 AED 16.3K

-92.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$225 ৳28.0K

$3,553 AED 13.0K

-93.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.79

4.57

136.11%

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

Last update for Sylhet: November 3, 2026

Last update for Dubai: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sylhet

$117 32.4%

Dubai

$297 10.3% 154% $180

Eating Out

Sylhet

$58 16.1%

Dubai

$307 10.6% 428% $249

Accommodation & Living

Sylhet

$55 15.4%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.6% 2639% $1.5K

Clothing & Footwear

Sylhet

$44 12.1%

Dubai

$158 5.5% 262% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sylhet

$40 11.1%

Dubai

$390 13.5% 879% $350

Getting Around

Sylhet

$30 8.2%

Dubai

$95 3.3% 221% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Sylhet

$17 4.7%

Dubai

$123 4.3% 628% $106

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $129 in Sylhet and $2,487 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays about 16 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $11 in Sylhet vs $83 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $117 vs $297 per month, with Sylhet cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Sylhet

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

07:29 7:29 AM

05:29 5:29 AM

2 h behind Sylhet

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

526,412

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.03 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.15 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Taka (৳)

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 125 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.03 USD). 1 EUR = 140 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.15 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sylhet Dubai 3,690 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Sylhet
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

Sylhet vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sylhet is about 88% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 94% lower in Sylhet. 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: $129 in Sylhet versus $2,487 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Sylhet runs roughly 70% less than in Dubai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $28 in Sylhet versus $934 in Dubai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $360 in Sylhet versus $2,889 in Dubai, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Sylhet but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Sylhet the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Sylhet gentler on the wallet – expenses run 88% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.