Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Windhoek and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Windhoek: $1,171 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $20,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

57

Cost of Living Index in Windhoek
Learn more

Windhoek Living Index
139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
Learn more

Dubai Living Index

Jump to prices

Windhoek

🇳🇦 Namibia

$1,171

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,171 in Windhoek versus $2,854 in Dubai.

Windhoek $1,171
Dubai $2,854

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,979 in Windhoek versus $4,321 in Dubai.

Windhoek $1,979
Dubai $4,321

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,787 in Windhoek versus $5,788 in Dubai.

Windhoek $2,787
Dubai $5,788

Living in Windhoek costs roughly 59% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Windhoek is 13% below, Dubai is 113% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.46 NAD 189

$13.04 AED 47.89

-12.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.0 NAD 1,040

$81.4 AED 299

-22.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.84 NAD 96.4

$9.32 AED 34.25

-37.34%

Cappuccino

$2.35 NAD 38.73

$5.97 AED 21.93

-60.64%

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

$0.87 NAD 14.32

$1.63 AED 5.98

-46.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.87 NAD 14.41

$0.81 AED 2.99

7.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.98 NAD 32.67

$13.65 AED 50.1

-85.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 NAD 34.95

$13.38 AED 49.15

-84.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 NAD 25.27

$1.81 AED 6.64

-15.47%

White Bread (500g)

$0.95 NAD 15.62

$1.57 AED 5.78

-39.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 NAD 31.81

$2.49 AED 9.16

-22.49%

Eggs

$3.17 NAD 52.3

$3.28 AED 12.04

-3.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.47 NAD 156

$12.67 AED 46.53

-25.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.63 NAD 109

$9.75 AED 35.80

-32.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 NAD 125

$13.18 AED 48.40

-42.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 NAD 35.47

$2.61 AED 9.57

-17.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 NAD 31.21

$1.93 AED 7.09

-2.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 NAD 31.07

$1.92 AED 7.05

-2.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 NAD 32.61

$1.36 AED 5.00

45.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 NAD 33.07

$1.17 AED 4.29

70.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 NAD 30.00

$1.01 AED 3.71

80.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.95 NAD 32.14

$1.51 AED 5.56

29.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 NAD 17.64

$0.62 AED 2.29

72.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.32 NAD 54.8

$5.85 AED 21.50

-43.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.78 NAD 112

$16.14 AED 59.3

-57.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 NAD 23.19

$2.65 AED 9.74

-46.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 NAD 23.47

$2.95 AED 10.82

-51.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 NAD 12.25

$1.64 AED 6.03

-54.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.69 NAD 803

$73.6 AED 270

-33.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.82 NAD 13.50

$3.17 AED 11.66

-74.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.87 NAD 14.34

$0.71 AED 2.63

22.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.56 NAD 257

$7.96 AED 29.23

95.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 NAD 22.10

$0.99 AED 3.64

35.35%

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

$24.3K NAD 400.3K

$27.4K AED 100.5K

-11.38%

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

$27.1K NAD 447.1K

$22.5K AED 82.8K

20.22%

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

$139 NAD 2,287

$250 AED 920

-44.66%

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

$25.91 NAD 428

$54.2 AED 199

-52.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.4 NAD 847

$91.8 AED 337

-44.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.58 NAD 620

$98.6 AED 362

-61.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.56 NAD 174

$42.61 AED 156

-75.22%

Cinema Ticket

$5.32 NAD 87.7

$16.03 AED 58.9

-66.81%

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

$209 NAD 3,445

$843 AED 3,098

-75.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,376 NAD 88.7K

$18.3K AED 67.1K

-70.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 NAD 890

$68.0 AED 250

-20.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.95 NAD 560

$57.9 AED 213

-41.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.0 NAD 1,501

$101 AED 370

-9.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.4 NAD 1,574

$101 AED 371

-5.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$492 NAD 8,120

$2,380 AED 8,741

-79.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$357 NAD 5,885

$1,506 AED 5,531

-76.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,138 NAD 18.8K

$4,437 AED 16.3K

-74.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$868 NAD 14.3K

$3,010 AED 11.1K

-71.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,615 NAD 26.6K

$7,121 AED 26.2K

-77.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$601 NAD 9,922

$4,135 AED 15.2K

-85.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$989 NAD 16.3K

$3,391 AED 12.5K

-70.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.42

4.54

151.54%

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

Last update for Windhoek: October 5, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Windhoek

$357 30.2%

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5% 322% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Windhoek

$223 18.8%

Dubai

$293 10.2% 31.4% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Windhoek

$216 18.3%

Dubai

$396 13.8% 83.7% $181

Eating Out

Windhoek

$159 13.4%

Dubai

$309 10.8% 94.8% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Windhoek

$123 10.4%

Dubai

$147 5.1% 19.4% $24

Getting Around

Windhoek

$57 4.8%

Dubai

$87 3% 53% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Windhoek

$48 4.1%

Dubai

$131 4.6% 171% $82

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $492 in Windhoek and $2,380 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 243% 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: $63.0 in Windhoek vs $81.0 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $223 vs $293 per month, with Windhoek cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇦 Windhoek

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

07:25 7:25 AM

09:25 9:25 AM

2 h ahead of Windhoek

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

322,500 Capital

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Namibian Dollar NAD $

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

100 NAD = 6.06 USD

100 NAD = 5.4 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to NAD – Namibian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇦 Namibian Dollar ($)

Namibian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 NAD (100 NAD = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.51 NAD (100 NAD = 5.4 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 NAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Windhoek Dubai 6,700 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Windhoek
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

Windhoek vs Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Windhoek is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 144% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 243% 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: $492 in Windhoek 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 Windhoek runs roughly 51% less than in Dubai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $209 in Windhoek versus $843 in Dubai. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,171 in Windhoek versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Windhoek but tight or insufficient in Dubai. The gap between the two cities makes Windhoek the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Windhoek 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, Windhoek 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 Windhoek gentler on the wallet – expenses run 144% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.