Cost of living comparison

Netherlands

compared to

United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates vs. Netherlands Cost of Living Summary

United Arab Emirates is 13.0% cheaper than Netherlands overall.

Restaurants: pay 57.8% less in United Arab Emirates
Groceries: pay 25.6% less in United Arab Emirates
Transportation: pay 35.1% less in United Arab Emirates
Housing: pay 21.4% more in United Arab Emirates
Childcare: pay 39.3% less in United Arab Emirates
Entertainment and Sports: pay 38.7% more in United Arab Emirates
Clothing: pay 7.0% more in United Arab Emirates

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

United Arab Emirates vs. Netherlands Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 57.8% less for restaurants

	Netherlands	United Arab Emirates
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$18.74 €16.26	$8.01 AED29.43	-57.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.22 €10.60	$8.22 AED30.18	-32.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.94 €2.56	$1.02 AED3.73	-65.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.33 €2.02	$0.57 AED2.09	-75.6%
Average			-57.8%

Netherlands vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.6% less for groceries

	Netherlands	United Arab Emirates
Bread 1 loaf	$1.79 €1.55	$1.26 AED4.64	-29.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.20 €5.38	$5.08 AED18.66	-18.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.40 €3.82	$6.80 AED24.96	+54.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.42 €3.83	$2.47 AED9.06	-44.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.89 €5.97	$3.33 AED12.21	-51.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.86 €0.75	$0.94 AED3.47	+9.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.05 €0.91	$0.74 AED2.72	-29.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.81 €0.70	$0.72 AED2.64	-11.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.65 €1.43	$0.56 AED2.07	-65.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.88 €0.77	$0.45 AED1.64	-49.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.88 €0.76	$0.47 AED1.74	-46.3%
Average			-25.6%

Netherlands vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.1% less for transportation

	Netherlands	United Arab Emirates
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.80 €6.77	$3.06 AED11.23	-60.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$95.88 €83.20	$48.60 AED178.47	-49.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,938.58 €27,713.65	$42,240.06 AED155,118.60	+32.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.75 €19.74	$8.46 AED31.06	-62.8%
Average			-35.1%

Netherlands vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.4% more for housing

	Netherlands	United Arab Emirates
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$43.11 €37.41	$95.75 AED351.63	+122.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,289.16 €1,118.63	$1,395.59 AED5,125.02	+8.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,051.87 €912.72	$985.52 AED3,619.15	-6.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$187.76 €162.92	$115.48 AED424.07	-38.5%
Average			+21.4%

Netherlands vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 39.3% less for childcare

	Netherlands	United Arab Emirates
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,627.96 €1,412.61	$507.75 AED1,864.63	-68.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,050.97 €7,853.68	$8,162.28 AED29,974.42	-9.8%
Average			-39.3%

Netherlands vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 38.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Netherlands	United Arab Emirates
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.55 €4.81	$10.55 AED38.74	+90.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 €3.13	$5.03 AED18.45	+39.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.52 €10.00	$6.23 AED22.87	-45.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$38.99 €33.83	$84.91 AED311.82	+117.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.94 €12.10	$12.83 AED47.12	-8.0%
Average			+38.7%

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

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.0% more for clothing

	Netherlands	United Arab Emirates
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$84.34 €73.19	$64.14 AED235.55	-24.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.25 €33.19	$64.91 AED238.38	+69.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.60 €80.35	$93.31 AED342.65	+0.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$118.53 €102.85	$96.50 AED354.36	-18.6%
Average			+7.0%

Netherlands 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: June 2025

More cost comparisons

Netherlands vs.

Peru

Netherlands vs.

Austria

Netherlands vs.

United States

Netherlands vs.

Ecuador

Netherlands vs.

United Kingdom

Netherlands vs.

Iceland

Netherlands vs.

Vietnam

Netherlands vs.

Greece

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Amsterdam 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 Netherlands

Add prices for United Arab Emirates

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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