Travel budget and cost of living in the United Arab Emirates how much does a trip cost?
Are you planning to go to the United Arab Emirates and need to budget for your trip? On this page you can see sample prices. This enables you to get to grips with actual prices and the cost of living in the United Arab Emirates. Then, why not use our free tool to calculate your United Arab Emirates travel budget.
Travel budget in the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: calculate your travel budget
United Arab Emirates: sample budgets by traveller type
These example budgets assume a 2-week holiday in the United Arab Emirates for 2 people.
Low budget
(backpacker)
Daily budget:
- $ 53 for 2 ppl.
- $ 10.3 per person
- $ 5.3 per person
- Free activities
Total budget:
$ 1171* (4354 AED)
Average budget
(traveller)
Daily budget:
- $ 106 for 2 ppl.
- $ 33 per person
- $ 8.5 per person
- $ 11 per person
Total budget:
$ 2912* (10808 AED)
High budget
(tourist)
Daily budget:
- $ 118 for 2 ppl.
- $ 59 per person
- $ 14 per person
- $ 22 per person
Total budget:
$ 4244* (15750 AED)
* Estimated local budget for 2 people for 2 weeks. This represents an average across the country (budget may vary depending on the city or region visited).
Cost of living in the United Arab Emirates in 2021
Cost of living: United Arab Emirates VS United States
On average, the cost of living in the United Arab Emirates in 2021 is 3% less than in the United States (USA).
The graphic below shows the percentage of variation between prices United States in in the United States (USA) and United States by types of expenses:
Explore each type of expense in detail:
Cost of living in the United Arab Emirates by city
See the table below for the variation in the cost of living in different cities in the United Arab Emirates compared to the national average.
Cities | /United Arab Emirates | View Details |
---|---|---|
Dubai | 17% more | Travel budget and cost of living in Dubai |
Abu Dhabi | 9% more | Travel budget and cost of living in Abu Dhabi |
Sharjah | 1% more | Travel budget and cost of living in Sharjah |
Ajman | 5% less | Travel budget and cost of living in Ajman |
Local prices in the United Arab Emirates by expense type
United Arab Emirates: Restaurant budget

($ 4.1 to $ 17)
45% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 14 to $ 59)
6% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 6.7 to $ 9.3)
5% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 6.7 to $ 14)
117% more than in the United States (USA)


($ 1.9 to $ 11)
69% more than in the United States (USA)


($ 2.2 to $ 6.7)
15% more than in the United States (USA)


($ 0.7 to $ 2.6)
48% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 0.2 to $ 1.3)
74% less than in the United States (USA)

United Arab Emirates: Hotel and accommodation budget

($ 61 to $ 124)
26% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 79 to $ 132)
20% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 84 to $ 157)
38% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 89 to $ 182)
52% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 161 to $ 420)
49% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 51 to $ 61)
54% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 141 to $ 257)
11% more than in the United States (USA)


($ 103 to $ 254)
1% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 174 to $ 371)
9% more than in the United States (USA)


($ 143 to $ 514)
67% more than in the United States (USA)

United Arab Emirates: Supermarket food budget

($ 1.1 to $ 2.6)
85% more than in the United States (USA)


($ 0.7 to $ 2.3)
53% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 1.1 to $ 4.1)
52% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 1.3 to $ 4.8)
11% more than in the United States (USA)


($ 5.4 to $ 28)
15% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 3 to $ 12)
27% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 1.3 to $ 2.6)
55% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 1.1 to $ 3.2)
55% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 0.8 to $ 2.6)
67% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 0.6 to $ 1.3)
62% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 0.6 to $ 2.6)
0% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 0.4 to $ 0.8)
66% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 5.9 to $ 17)
20% less than in the United States (USA)

United Arab Emirates: Public and private transport budget

($ 0.6 to $ 2.6)
39% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 22 to $ 95)
6% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 0.4 to $ 1.3)
67% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 0.5 to $ 0.8)
14% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 1.3 to $ 3.6)
1% more than in the United States (USA)


($ 6 to $ 73)
48% less than in the United States (USA)

United Arab Emirates: Budget for living and housing

($ 108 to $ 269)
1% more than in the United States (USA)


($ 0.1 to $ 0.2)
0% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 82 to $ 134)
47% more than in the United States (USA)


($ 647 to $ 2143)
3% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 435 to $ 1340)
19% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 1152 to $ 4016)
12% more than in the United States (USA)


($ 814 to $ 2946)
0% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 39 to $ 134)
88% more than in the United States (USA)


($ 269 to $ 991)
44% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 4819 to $ 16061)
40% less than in the United States (USA)

United Arab Emirates: Leisure activity budget

($ 9.3 to $ 14)
9% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 14 to $ 54)
88% more than in the United States (USA)

United Arab Emirates: Budget for clothes and price of cigarettes

($ 5.4 to $ 6.7)
25% less than in the United States (USA)


($ 22 to $ 108)
23% more than in the United States (USA)


($ 22 to $ 95)
38% more than in the United States (USA)


($ 41 to $ 134)
12% more than in the United States (USA)


($ 41 to $ 134)
13% less than in the United States (USA)

Plane ticket budget

(fair price: $ 444)

(fair price: $ 374)

(fair price: $ 427)

(fair price: $ 385)

(fair price: $ 468)

(fair price: $ 796)

(fair price: $ 478)

(fair price: $ 851)

(fair price: $ 846)

(fair price: $ 443)

(fair price: $ 907)

(fair price: $ 938)

(fair price: $ 894)

(fair price: $ 916)

(fair price: $ 998)

(fair price: $ 989)

(fair price: $ 469)

(fair price: $ 1065)

(fair price: $ 934)

(fair price: $ 984)

(fair price: $ 1091)

(fair price: $ 965)

(fair price: $ 1157)

(fair price: $ 1323)
About the information on the cost of living in the United Arab Emirates
The information about the cost of living in the United Arab Emirates shown on this page comes from multiple sources, including : Numbeo, Easyvoyage and Hotels.com.
Information about cost of living in the United Arab Emirates updated on 27-02-2021.