Cost of living in Dubai – Calculate online
One of the most frequently asked questions by future expatriate is “How much money do I need to live in Dubai?”. I have spent some time to make up a Dubai living cost calculator that would help you to decide whether your offer is good or not.
Prices here are based on statistics from Dubai’s property & car listing websites. Other costs such as utilities and food are coming from my own and my friends and colleagues’ experience. The page is printer-friendly, it means once you get the amount of money you must have to live in Dubai, just print the page like you would normally do. The header, menus and other stuff will go away.
If you find this useful, I would appreciate if you help other future Dubai expats by putting a link to this page on your blog or your favorite forum.
So, here you go. Just select the options and get the numbers in your currency.
Prices are as of: 21st of December.
Please choose your currency:
1. Housing
How many bedrooms do you need?
What kind of housing/location do you prefer?
Read more about locations in Housing in Dubai article.
Keep in mind that the housing prices on this page are market averages for the typical locations according to one of the most popular classifieds website. The prices may slightly vary throughout Dubai though.
Cheap
No ameneties, potentially in the middle of the desert. Based on an average price in International City
24000 AED / year
Fair
Pool in the building, parking, good location. Based on an average price in Dubai Marina
24000 AED / year
‘Expat’
All amenities, “expat” location. Based on an average price in Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR)
24000 AED / year
Villa
All amenities, good location. Based on an average price in Jumeirah. Min 2 bedrooms.
24000 AED / year
2. Transportation
The reality is that you cannot really live without a car here as there is almost no convenient transport infrastructure except for taxi (costs quite some money btw).
Transportation costs are given on an assumption you only have one car in the family and you buy it taking a loan in a bank for 5 years with no downpayment. So, basically the monthly prices is your future installment + 5% car price/year for insurance.
Car prices are estimates for a 1 year old car with low miliage, dealer’s warranty, driven by an expat.
If you don’t want to buy a car, consider renting one. The rent price for a Toyota Yaris will be around 1700 AED / month.
What class of car do you want to drive?
3. Living cost
Rougly this money should be enough for you to buy groceries, meat, vegetables, fruit, fresh juices and other good quality products. It will also be enough for eating in a cafe once a week.
I bet you want to know how much money you need to have a beer or two in a pub. That’s very straightforward. Average beer price is 30 AED for 0.5l. Now use your brain or a calculator 
Your family size:
December 23rd, 2009
Hi! The information is very useful.
Btw, couldn’t find anything about schooling here. How much would it be?
Cheers
Richard
Richard,
I am now working on getting education quotes in.
I haven’t got any kids myself, so don’t know how much it costs by heart. Going to check how much my colleagues pay.
Kind regards,
Ilya
Hi
This information is pretty useful. Thanks
Haris
Hello
Just a brief idea regarding school / university expenses.For School we may take roughly AED 1500 minimum per child and for University it should be around AED 3500 in midium category.
Hope this will help to move ahead.
Regards.
Nipul Tolia
Thanks
That is for a month I guess?
Kind regards,
Ilya
Thank you for putting this site together..I have found the information valuable. However your housing calculations seem quite low and wouldn’t apply to areas outside of JBR. We’ve been on a house-hunting trip for a week and have seen 27 apartments in a variety of areas and have found that 3 bedroom apartments for less than AED 200,000 are unacceptable: cheap finish-out, small/cramp, no storage, some have windows that don’t open, etc, particularly in the JBR district. Our agent and relocation specialist don’t recommend JBR for the reasons listed above (mainly for substandard finish-out and design). The apartments in JBR seem to be less expensive than Dubai Marina or Old Town areas, and there appears to be more availability in JBR than these other areas … this is great if one wants to live in JBR and don’t mind trading substandard quality for proximity to the sea. For example, you can get a huge 5000 square foot penthouse in JBR for AED 250,000 today, but the quality of the apartment is quite bad. The same size place would be AED 500,000 to 1,000,000 in other areas if you could find one that large. I certainly mean no offense and I’m happy for you that you love your JBR living. I thought it was important to mention that it isn’t the same throughout Dubai. Could you please let us know where you got your housing cost data? I’d be very interested to know since we’re tyring to negotiate with the company
.
Kind Regards,
Kim
Kim,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I have added a comment above the housing section to make it clearer.
I used dubizzle.com classified website to get the average numbers. I didn’t consider the floor, building, etc. It is only a market average according to one of the most popular Dubai classified website, which should provide the wanna-be expats with a bigger picture.
Keep in mind, that all prices in Dubai are negotiable, especially now. So that, the prices I got from dubizzle may in fact be lower than they are. I didn’t consider fancy penthouses though as most of the expats will not live in such apartments.
I agree with you that finishing in JBR may not be as good as it could be. My colleagues confirmed that as well. However, the finishing in Bahar and Rimal towers seems to be quite alright (I live in Bahar, two friends live in Rimal and we three are quite happy with the apartments). However, it may be quite inconsistent and every single appartment has to be looked at.
Kind regards,
Ilya
Dear Friend,
The inputs on this website is extremely good. I’ am 24 years old and got a job in BUR DUBAI for AED 3000. It is an administration clerk profile. Company promised me the shared batchelor accomodation and the rest including the food, transportation, etc at my cost. I don’t have any habit of drinking, smoking, etc and doesn’t have any intention to go for it. I’ am pure veg and not even habitual to drinking coffee, tea, milk, etc. How much i’ll be in a position to save and what could be my maximum expenditure per month. I would like to save atleast INR 20,000 a month. Is it possible…??
With Thanks & Regards,
CHANDRU
Chandru, I think you will be able to save at least 2000 AED a month. You may check how much it is in your currency on google.
Dearest Friend
Hi,
First of all thankyou for such information in this web site. Its very usefull
You are doing good jobs for anyone who in confusing for being expart to dubai.
I”ll be start to work by march, now still considering to leave or not for current employment.
Basically I have everything here but to be in dubai seduce me more.
Kindly please advise me for the following queries :
1) Does the economical crisis truly over? Has it impact to goverment company like DEWA or DUBAI WORLD?
2) Rent apartament include furniture?
3) How much living cost increasing in a year
Thankyou for everything, hopes I can see you when already there.
Thanks.
1) They seem to claim it is but it definitely isn’t. It have impacted the private sector a lot. Google Dubai world in news to get more information about their problems.
2) Normally it goes without any furniture.
3) I’ve been here for less than a year, so can’t really tell.
I don’t suppose you know the -/+ in cost in Sharjah? I’ve heard a rental for 18,000 AED P.A is totally possible.
Have to say… the only easy to read site i’ve found online so far.
Thanks for your comment. No idea on the cost of living in Sharjah, but I’ve heard that Sharjah is definitely cheaper than Dubai. Strange enough, local property websites mostly focus on Dubai.
Now, when I saw the Dubai living cost calculator, I’m not very happy because my salary will be 5300 AED, is enough to put something for me, I can to survive with half from this salary.I’m not drink cafee,smoke.
Thank again,
If you have housing paid, 5300 is not too bad actually. Anyway, good luck!
only first month I have housing paid.Anyway, we can talke much more on yahoo mess if you have.
Thanks.
First of all I would to thank you for your valuable work.
I have an offer of 7000 AED per month (plus health insurance and return air ticket once a year) for a Business Executive position in Dubai. Company is not providing accommodation. I want to move with my wife having no kids. Also I live a simple life without drink and smoke.
Is it possible to live a decent life with this package with a target saving of at least 1500 AED per month or should I negotiate for more?
Kindly help me in this regard.
Thanking you in advance
Hi Champak. Without accommodation it may be rather difficult. Negotiate for more or accommodation if you can.
Sir,
Thanks a lot for the reply. I will try to negotiate the offer to 8500 AED per month. Think it will be fine.
Also is it possible to live in Sharjah and work in Dubai?
Thanking you again.
Definitely! Many people do that.
hi,
I am planning to relocate to dubai on a
pay packet of 15,000 AED & 6000 AED
for housing .I have 2 kids aged 13 and 10
i am planning to relocate with my family .
will my expenses come under 9000AED or so
thanks,
deepti
I think it will very much depend on the schooling. You will not need too much money for food and buying a car. You need to understand what kind of school you want your kids to attend and check the prices with them.
Dear Lllya,
Good to see your instant replys to all quierys & happy faces wit satisfied answers
Well i will be joining in media city with pkg of 12000aed
please suggest which area will be suitable for me to find 1br accomodaton (i am indian) as i dont have driving licence
i got recently married please let me know the procedure for getting my wife in freezone visa
looking forward to hear form you
thanks & regards
Arshad
If you are in Media city, I would advise you to look in Dubai Marina and The Greens as they are very close to your work. Check the prices though. If you want something cheaper than check Al Quoz – the area is not an “expat” one but it costs much less and it is still close to your work.
It will be difficult for you without a car because there is no active metro station close to Media City. Better try to get your license to feel free in this country.
i have been offered ctc of 15500 uaed all inclusive in dubai
is this a good salary
Yes this is a good offer. You will not be able to buy a Bentley, or live in a big villa but you will definitely be able to find a neat apartment and even save some money.
Hi,
Congrats for creating such an useful site. I have been trying to get some recent cost of living figures and it has been difficult to find a reliable site.
The house rental figure that you provide here still seems to be on the lower side but may be that is because other sites have not been updated after the recent price fall.
I got an offer of around 20K pm as Financial Analyst with Single Residency Visa.
Is it a decent offer?
Congrats once more for your brilliant effort.
Regards.
Yes that’s quite a decent offer. Though if you don’t get a housing allowance on top of your salary, it is simply good
Would you be able to advise on the following:
I am Brit who is relocating to Dubai with a new role / employer. We are still negotiating the contract however we have a sticking point over the salary calculation!!
My new employer wants to set an annual amount in AED at a rate of £1 = 5.5 AED. As the AED currency rate had fluctuated so much over the last year due you, in your experience, think this is ‘fair’? Should the rate be higher / lower? Should my salary be linked to the US$?.
Many Thanks,
It would better be linked to the US dollar as the rate is fixed at $1 = 3.66 AED
Hi,
Thanks for the info. I am in the process of negotiating with a UK based company in Dubai as an expat. I’ve been offered $35000 per year which is around $130,000 (1USD = 3.67AED). The company is also providing housing and car and a paid trip to my country of residence. Few questions: Do you know if companies in Dubai offer a relocation package and if yes, how much does it range? How good/bad is the medical system of Dubai? Here in the US, if you do not have insurance, you would be ripped by the medical bills. And what should be the average commuting distance if you work in Dubai. The reason I ask this is because some distances might be only 15 mins during normal hrs but could well be 2 hrs in peak traffic.
Very glad you came up with this. This is very helpful for someone who is new to the region. Thanks.
Sorry, my bad. I meant USD35000 ~ AED 130,000.
I am not aware what normal practices of providing relocation packages are here. My company shipped all my stuff down here, and also gave me a cheque amounting to 1 monthly salary as my relocation allowance.
Medical system will be ripping you if you don’t get a medical insurance. Just for instance, my medical insurance wasn’t ready when I moved here, and my wife required some urgent treatment. We paid 7000 AED for 2 visits to a doctor, 1 MRI scan and a few tests. But I believe you will be provided with an insurance plan by your employer.
If your work will be in Deira or Bur Dubai, you may end up spending half a day in a traffic jam. Tell me where you are supposed to work, and I will try to assess the situation out there. I spend 45 minutes driving 45 kilometers. No traffic jams. But as I said, it depends.
Hi All,
I am Brit who is relocating to Dubai with a new role / employer.
We are still negotiating the contract however we have a sticking point over the salary calculation!!
My new employer wants to set an annual amount in AED at a rate of GBP £1 = 5.5 AED. As the AED currency rate had fluctuated so much over the last year, do you, in your experience, think this is a ‘fair’ rate? Should the rate be higher / lower?
I have a couple of follow-on questions also…
1. The company are providing 12 weeks of fully paid-for accommodation at the start of my new role / move to Dubai. How does 12 weeks compare with the current norms being offered pls?
2. Instead of the 12 weeks I am thinking of asking for 2 weeks of paid-for accommodation and taking 10 weeks of cash and finding my own place (as (1)I think I could use the money more efficiently and (2) I would enjoy a place a picked for myself more than a corprate apartment.
* How realistic is it to find and secure (contracts, etc) a 2 bd apartment or villa in 2 weeks of movoing to Dubai?
* How much money per week would be appropriate to ask for for each of those 10 weeks (i.e. average weekly rent for a 2 bd apartment / villa)?
3. I am being offered 36,500 AED as an annual car allowance. How good / generous is this in your experience pls (i.e. what does it get you ((does that include insurance and running costs))??
4. My monthly salary will be at least 60,000 AED. Are you able to provide a broad / general idea of how much money I could put away in savings each month whilst still allowing me to have a ‘good’ quality of life (nice home / drinks / dinners / holidays, etc)?
I appreciate any help you can provide.
Many Thanks,
Taz
Hi Taz, thanks for coming back.
1) Everybody in the company I am working for (a top-100 international brand) is being given 1 month. That’s more than enough.
2) Take a month. It should be enough to find a place. 2 weeks is too little. You should not underestimate the local specific. Sometimes people don’t do what they promise. 1 month will do. Check how much your employer is going to pay for the accommodation and divide it by 12
3) Your car allowance is quite good. E.g. I pay 2145 AED / month for my 2008 fully loaded Ford Mustang that I bought a year ago. All maintenance fees are covered by the dealership as the part of the deal the previous owner had with them, and the fuel is paid by the company, so the only run-cost I have is the paid roads and the insurance (6k AED/ year). The cheapest rent-a-car will cost you 1700 AED / month with all run-cost excluding the fuel included.
4) Your salary is a pretty high one. Depending on how often you are planning to travel, but you will be able to save at least (the very least!) 30k AED.
Cheers, Ilya