Cost of living comparison

Aruba

compared to

United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates vs. Aruba Cost of Living Summary

United Arab Emirates is 1.3% more expensive than Aruba overall.

Restaurants: pay 45.3% less in United Arab Emirates
Groceries: pay 52.5% less in United Arab Emirates
Transportation: pay 21.4% less in United Arab Emirates
Housing: pay 33.0% more in United Arab Emirates
Childcare: pay 68.0% more in United Arab Emirates
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.0% more in United Arab Emirates
Clothing: pay 3.6% less in United Arab Emirates

The cost of childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports in United Arab Emirates are more expensive than in Aruba. Expenses including groceries, restaurants, transportation, and clothing are lower in United Arab Emirates.

United Arab Emirates vs. Aruba Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of Aruba, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 45.3% less for restaurants

	Aruba	United Arab Emirates
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.00 AWG28.80	$8.01 AED29.44	-49.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.14 AWG18.24	$8.22 AED30.19	-18.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.80 AWG3.24	$1.02 AED3.73	-43.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.82 AWG3.28	$0.57 AED2.09	-68.8%
Average			-45.3%

Aruba vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 52.5% less for groceries

	Aruba	United Arab Emirates
Bread 1 loaf	$3.44 AWG6.20	$1.26 AED4.64	-63.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$11.00 AWG19.80	$5.08 AED18.66	-53.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.65 AWG13.77	$6.80 AED24.96	-11.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.24 AWG9.44	$2.47 AED9.07	-52.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.10 AWG7.38	$3.33 AED12.22	-18.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.25 AWG4.06	$0.94 AED3.47	-58.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.11 AWG1.99	$0.74 AED2.72	-33.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.49 AWG4.49	$0.72 AED2.64	-71.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$3.18 AWG5.72	$0.56 AED2.07	-82.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 AWG2.59	$0.45 AED1.64	-68.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.30 AWG2.35	$0.47 AED1.74	-63.7%
Average			-52.5%

Aruba vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.4% less for transportation

	Aruba	United Arab Emirates
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.48 AWG9.86	$3.06 AED11.23	-44.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$40.00 AWG72.00	$48.60 AED178.50	+21.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,000.00 AWG63,000.00	$42,240.06 AED155,149.86	+20.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$51.10 AWG91.97	$8.46 AED31.07	-83.4%
Average			-21.4%

Aruba vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 33.0% more for housing

	Aruba	United Arab Emirates
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$79.65 AWG143.37	$95.75 AED351.70	+20.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$705.36 AWG1,269.65	$1,395.59 AED5,126.05	+97.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$655.25 AWG1,179.45	$985.52 AED3,619.88	+50.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$182.10 AWG327.77	$115.48 AED424.16	-36.6%
Average			+33.0%

Aruba vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 68.0% more for childcare

	Aruba	United Arab Emirates
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$225.00 AWG405.00	$507.75 AED1,865.01	+125.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,404.07 AWG13,327.32	$8,162.28 AED29,980.46	+10.2%
Average			+68.0%

Aruba vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 31.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Aruba	United Arab Emirates
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.62 AWG6.53	$10.55 AED38.75	+191.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.24 AWG7.64	$5.03 AED18.46	+18.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.75 AWG24.75	$6.23 AED22.88	-54.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.72 AWG172.30	$84.91 AED311.88	-11.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.50 AWG20.70	$12.83 AED47.13	+11.6%
Average			+31.0%

Aruba vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.6% less for clothing

	Aruba	United Arab Emirates
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$65.00 AWG117.00	$64.14 AED235.60	-1.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$57.37 AWG103.27	$64.91 AED238.43	+13.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$116.59 AWG209.86	$93.31 AED342.72	-20.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.90 AWG185.22	$96.50 AED354.44	-6.2%
Average			-3.6%

Aruba vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: April 2025

More cost comparisons

Aruba vs.

Italy

Aruba vs.

Thailand

Aruba vs.

China

Aruba vs.

Ecuador

Aruba vs.

Vietnam

Aruba vs.

Austria

Aruba vs.

Ireland

Aruba vs.

France

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Oranjestad vs. Abu Dhabi

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Aruba

Add prices for United Arab Emirates

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about United Arab Emirates or Aruba. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.