Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between the United Arab Emirates and London

For one person, living is cheaper in the United Arab Emirates: $2,227 a month against $4,048 in London, rent and utilities included – about $21,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

United Arab Emirates
London, United Kingdom
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
$2,227
/mo nomad
London
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$4,048
/mo nomad
🙂 Solo nomad: The United Arab Emirates is 31.9% cheaper than London without rent, and 45% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: The United Arab Emirates is 35.4% cheaper than London without rent, and 41.4% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
United Arab Emirates
London
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$9.69 AED 35.59
$26.36 £19.59
-63.24%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$62.7 AED 230
$109 £80.7
-42.24%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$9.51 AED 34.91
$10.71 £7.96
-11.20%
Cappuccino
$5.36 AED 19.69
$5.59 £4.15
-4.11%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.06 AED 3.89
$3.00 £2.23
-64.67%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.48 AED 1.78
$2.22 £1.65
-78.38%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$11.34 AED 41.66
$9.65 £7.17
17.51%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$12.40 AED 45.53
$8.26 £6.14
50.12%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
United Arab Emirates
London
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.74 AED 6.38
$1.97 £1.46
-11.68%
White Bread (500g)
$1.46 AED 5.36
$2.09 £1.55
-30.14%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.24 AED 8.23
$2.59 £1.93
-13.51%
Eggs
$3.32 AED 12.19
$5.37 £3.99
-38.18%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$10.84 AED 39.81
$13.12 £9.75
-17.38%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.89 AED 32.65
$11.03 £8.20
-19.40%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.30 AED 41.51
$17.73 £13.18
-36.27%
Apples (1kg)
$2.32 AED 8.51
$3.17 £2.36
-26.81%
Banana (1kg)
$1.86 AED 6.84
$1.38 £1.03
34.78%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.76 AED 6.45
$2.82 £2.10
-37.59%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.41 AED 5.18
$3.36 £2.50
-58.04%
Potato (1kg)
$1.08 AED 3.95
$1.70 £1.26
-36.47%
Onion (1kg)
$1.03 AED 3.78
$1.78 £1.32
-42.13%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.51 AED 5.54
$1.49 £1.11
1.34%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.60 AED 2.21
$1.82 £1.35
-67.03%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.24 AED 22.93
$23.85 £17.73
-73.84%
Wine (Bottle)
$13.79 AED 50.6
$13.44 £9.99
2.60%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.38 AED 8.75
$3.11 £2.31
-23.47%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.69 AED 9.89
$4.49 £3.34
-40.09%
🚌 Getting Around
United Arab Emirates
London
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.40 AED 5.14
$4.13 £3.07
-66.10%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$40.12 AED 147
$266 £198
-84.92%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.26 AED 11.97
$5.98 £4.45
-45.48%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.55 AED 2.04
$3.39 £2.52
-83.78%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$8.25 AED 30.29
$56.6 £42.03
-85.41%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$0.93 AED 3.41
$2.21 £1.64
-57.92%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$32.8K AED 120.6K
$38.3K £28.4K
-14.21%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$21.8K AED 79.9K
$41.0K £30.5K
-46.94%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
United Arab Emirates
London
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$186 AED 683
$372 £277
-50.08%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$53.3 AED 196
$18.66 £13.87
185.37%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$92.8 AED 341
$40.53 £30.13
128.92%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
United Arab Emirates
London
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$70.7 AED 260
$56.0 £41.63
26.20%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$34.31 AED 126
$17.10 £12.71
100.64%
Cinema Ticket
$13.84 AED 50.8
$17.95 £13.34
-22.90%
🧸 Childcare & Education
United Arab Emirates
London
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$622 AED 2,285
$2,946 £2,189
-78.88%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$12.5K AED 45.7K
$47.6K £35.4K
-73.86%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
United Arab Emirates
London
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$60.5 AED 222
$116 £86.4
-47.94%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$59.6 AED 219
$56.9 £42.29
4.78%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$101 AED 370
$128 £95.1
-21.34%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$102 AED 376
$154 £114
-33.40%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
United Arab Emirates
London
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,494 AED 5,487
$2,935 £2,182
-49.10%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,076 AED 3,952
$2,258 £1,678
-52.35%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,604 AED 9,564
$5,250 £3,902
-50.40%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,082 AED 7,645
$3,859 £2,868
-46.06%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$5,532 AED 20.3K
$17.2K £12.8K
-67.81%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,058 AED 11.2K
$8,278 £6,153
-63.06%
💵 Salaries & Financials
United Arab Emirates
London
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$2,862 AED 10.5K
$5,621 £4,177
-49.08%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4.66
4.78
-2.51%

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

Last update for the United Arab Emirates: November 3, 2026

Last update for London: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
United Arab Emirates
$1.1K
London
$2.3K 110% $1.2K
Monthly Utilities & Internet
United Arab Emirates
$332
London
$432 30% $100
Groceries & Markets
United Arab Emirates
$265
London
$360 35.8% $95
Eating Out
United Arab Emirates
$258
London
$396 53.3% $138
Clothing & Footwear
United Arab Emirates
$145
London
$205 40.7% $59
Sport & Entertainment
United Arab Emirates
$98
London
$92 6.6% $6.5
Getting Around
United Arab Emirates
$52
London
$305 490% $254
Good to know
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
🇬🇧 London
🕒 Local time
01:43 1:43 AM
21:43 9:43 PM
4 h behind the United Arab Emirates
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
9,890,400
8,908,083 Capital
💱 Currency
UAE Dirham AED د.إ
Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.743 GBP (1 GBP = 1.35 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • United Arab Emirates London 5,470 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight
From you
  • United Arab Emirates
  • London

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

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