Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Veles and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Veles: $768 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $25,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Veles
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Veles Living Index
140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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Veles

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$768

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $768 in Veles versus $2,896 in Dubai.

Veles $768
Dubai $2,896

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,139 in Veles versus $4,384 in Dubai.

Veles $1,139
Dubai $4,384

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,510 in Veles versus $5,872 in Dubai.

Veles $1,510
Dubai $5,872

Living in Veles costs roughly 73% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Veles is 43% below, Dubai is 115% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.65 MKD 472

$12.67 AED 46.55

-31.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.00 MKD 982

$81.7 AED 300

-77.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.43 MKD 296

$9.34 AED 34.30

-41.86%

Cappuccino

$1.50 MKD 82.0

$5.89 AED 21.62

-74.53%

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

$1.32 MKD 72.0

$1.69 AED 6.20

-21.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.80 MKD 43.42

$0.78 AED 2.86

2.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.48 MKD 80.7

$13.66 AED 50.2

-89.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.03 MKD 165

$13.49 AED 49.54

-77.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.06 MKD 57.9

$1.84 AED 6.78

-42.39%

White Bread (500g)

$0.51 MKD 27.74

$1.50 AED 5.50

-66.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.45 MKD 79.2

$2.57 AED 9.45

-43.58%

Eggs

$2.48 MKD 135

$3.32 AED 12.18

-25.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.96 MKD 162

$12.60 AED 46.28

-76.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.07 MKD 222

$9.66 AED 35.46

-57.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.11 MKD 824

$12.78 AED 46.93

18.23%

Apples (1kg)

$1.41 MKD 77.0

$2.60 AED 9.54

-45.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 MKD 77.9

$1.90 AED 6.99

-24.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.38 MKD 75.2

$1.91 AED 7.02

-27.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.88 MKD 103

$1.37 AED 5.02

37.23%

Potato (1kg)

$0.85 MKD 46.16

$1.13 AED 4.14

-24.78%

Onion (1kg)

$0.83 MKD 45.33

$1.01 AED 3.71

-17.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.59 MKD 31.96

$1.44 AED 5.30

-59.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 MKD 32.06

$0.67 AED 2.48

-11.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.33 MKD 182

$5.88 AED 21.59

-43.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.44 MKD 351

$16.15 AED 59.3

-60.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 MKD 57.8

$2.72 AED 10.00

-61.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 MKD 81.0

$3.08 AED 11.32

-51.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 MKD 43.05

$1.60 AED 5.87

-50.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.23 MKD 1,267

$76.0 AED 279

-69.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.11 MKD 60.3

$3.24 AED 11.91

-65.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 MKD 33.44

$0.71 AED 2.61

-14.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.43 MKD 405

$7.96 AED 29.22

-6.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.46 MKD 79.8

$0.98 AED 3.62

48.98%

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

$26.8K MKD 1.5M

$27.4K AED 100.6K

-2.14%

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

$24.9K MKD 1.4M

$22.0K AED 80.9K

12.86%

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

$108 MKD 5,901

$249 AED 913

-56.47%

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

$17.34 MKD 946

$54.4 AED 200

-68.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.02 MKD 655

$91.5 AED 336

-86.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.47 MKD 1,389

$103 AED 380

-75.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.82 MKD 972

$42.32 AED 155

-57.89%

Cinema Ticket

$3.38 MKD 184

$16.29 AED 59.8

-79.25%

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

$221 MKD 12.1K

$844 AED 3,098

-73.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,716 MKD 311.8K

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-68.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$21.99 MKD 1,199

$67.0 AED 246

-67.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.42 MKD 1,005

$57.9 AED 213

-68.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.2 MKD 3,940

$102 AED 375

-29.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 MKD 5,987

$98.7 AED 363

11.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$218 MKD 11.9K

$2,393 AED 8,788

-90.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$170 MKD 9,300

$1,533 AED 5,630

-88.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$290 MKD 15.8K

$4,594 AED 16.9K

-93.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$236 MKD 12.9K

$2,939 AED 10.8K

-91.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,174 MKD 64.0K

$7,046 AED 25.9K

-83.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$933 MKD 50.9K

$4,222 AED 15.5K

-77.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$594 MKD 32.4K

$3,461 AED 12.7K

-82.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.23

4.54

-6.83%

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

Last update for Veles: October 12, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Veles

$171 22.3%

Dubai

$292 10.1% 70.3% $120

Accommodation & Living

Veles

$170 22.2%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.9% 799% $1.4K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Veles

$138 17.9%

Dubai

$394 13.6% 187% $257

Eating Out

Veles

$125 16.4%

Dubai

$305 10.5% 143% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Veles

$100 13%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 46.5% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Veles

$32 4.2%

Dubai

$136 4.7% 322% $104

Getting Around

Veles

$31 4%

Dubai

$89 3.1% 192% $59

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $218 in Veles and $2,393 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 482% 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: $18.00 in Veles vs $82.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $171 vs $292 per month, with Veles cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇰 Veles

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

03:35 3:35 AM

05:35 5:35 AM

2 h ahead of Veles

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,716

3,790,000

💱 Currency

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

100 MKD = 1.83 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.242 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to MKD – North Macedonian Denar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇰 North Macedonian Denar (ден)

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 54.55 MKD (100 MKD = 1.83 USD). 1 EUR = 61.33 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.13 AED (1 AED = 0.242 EUR).

USD to MKD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Veles Dubai 3,580 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Veles
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

Veles vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Veles is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 277% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 482% 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: $218 in Veles versus $2,393 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Veles runs roughly 227% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $221 in Veles versus $844 in Dubai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $768 in Veles versus $2,896 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Veles but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Veles the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Veles 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, Veles 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 Veles gentler on the wallet – expenses run 277% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.