Cost of living comparison

Macau

compared to

United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates vs. Macau Cost of Living Summary

United Arab Emirates is 21.5% more expensive than Macau overall.

Restaurants: pay 20.8% more in United Arab Emirates
Groceries: pay 41.1% less in United Arab Emirates
Transportation: pay 46.3% more in United Arab Emirates
Housing: pay 83.0% more in United Arab Emirates
Childcare: pay 32.2% less in United Arab Emirates
Entertainment and Sports: pay 19.1% more in United Arab Emirates
Clothing: pay 54.5% more in United Arab Emirates

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

United Arab Emirates vs. Macau Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 20.8% more for restaurants

	Macau	United Arab Emirates
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.21 MOP49.74	$8.01 AED29.44	+29.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.18 MOP49.49	$8.22 AED30.19	+33.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 MOP6.12	$1.02 AED3.73	+33.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.65 MOP5.17	$0.57 AED2.09	-11.9%
Average			+20.8%

Macau vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants

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pay 41.1% less for groceries

	Macau	United Arab Emirates
Bread 1 loaf	$2.21 MOP17.73	$1.26 AED4.64	-42.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.73 MOP69.93	$5.08 AED18.66	-41.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.16 MOP65.36	$6.80 AED24.96	-16.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.39 MOP19.19	$2.47 AED9.07	+3.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.54 MOP28.37	$3.33 AED12.22	-6.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.72 MOP13.79	$0.94 AED3.47	-45.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.46 MOP11.73	$0.74 AED2.72	-49.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.72 MOP13.80	$0.72 AED2.64	-58.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.08 MOP8.67	$0.56 AED2.07	-47.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.98 MOP15.83	$0.45 AED1.64	-77.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.55 MOP12.45	$0.47 AED1.74	-69.6%
Average			-41.1%

Macau vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries

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pay 46.3% more for transportation

	Macau	United Arab Emirates
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.32 MOP50.61	$3.06 AED11.23	-51.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$14.90 MOP119.37	$48.60 AED178.50	+226.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,038.42 MOP248,688.87	$42,240.06 AED155,149.86	+36.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.35 MOP90.92	$8.46 AED31.07	-25.5%
Average			+46.3%

Macau vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation

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pay 83.0% more for housing

	Macau	United Arab Emirates
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$29.59 MOP237.08	$95.75 AED351.70	+223.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,131.45 MOP9,065.54	$1,395.59 AED5,126.05	+23.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$993.23 MOP7,958.04	$985.52 AED3,619.88	-0.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$62.16 MOP498.07	$115.48 AED424.16	+85.8%
Average			+83.0%

Macau vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing

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pay 32.2% less for childcare

	Macau	United Arab Emirates
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$682.85 MOP5,471.16	$507.75 AED1,865.01	-25.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,355.39 MOP107,007.27	$8,162.28 AED29,980.46	-38.9%
Average			-32.2%

Macau vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare

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pay 19.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Macau	United Arab Emirates
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.08 MOP40.69	$10.55 AED38.75	+107.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.58 MOP36.71	$5.03 AED18.46	+9.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.21 MOP49.74	$6.23 AED22.88	+0.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$99.32 MOP795.80	$84.91 AED311.88	-14.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.91 MOP111.41	$12.83 AED47.13	-7.7%
Average			+19.1%

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

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pay 54.5% more for clothing

	Macau	United Arab Emirates
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.71 MOP414.32	$64.14 AED235.60	+24.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.04 MOP248.69	$64.91 AED238.43	+109.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$58.56 MOP469.19	$93.31 AED342.72	+59.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$76.71 MOP614.62	$96.50 AED354.44	+25.8%
Average			+54.5%

Macau vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of clothing

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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

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