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:

pay 57.8% less for restaurants

 
Netherlands
United Arab Emirates
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $18.74
€16.44
$8.01
AED29.44
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$12.22
€10.72
$8.22
AED30.19
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.94
€2.58
$1.02
AED3.73

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pay 25.6% less for groceries

 
Netherlands
United Arab Emirates
Bread
1 loaf
$1.79
€1.57
$1.26
AED4.64
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.20
€5.44
$5.08
AED18.66
Milk (1 gallon) $4.40
€3.86
$6.80
AED24.96

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pay 35.1% less for transportation

 
Netherlands
United Arab Emirates
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.80
€6.84
$3.06
AED11.23
Monthly public transit pass $95.88
€84.10
$48.60
AED178.50
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,938.58
€28,015.08
$42,240.06
AED155,143.53

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pay 21.4% more for housing

 
Netherlands
United Arab Emirates
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$43.11
€37.82
$95.75
AED351.69
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,289.16
€1,130.80
$1,395.59
AED5,125.85
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,051.87
€922.65
$985.52
AED3,619.73

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pay 39.3% less for childcare

 
Netherlands
United Arab Emirates
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,627.96
€1,427.97
$507.75
AED1,864.93
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,050.97
€7,939.11
$8,162.28
AED29,979.24

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pay 38.7% more for entertainment and sports

 
Netherlands
United Arab Emirates
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.55
€4.87
$10.55
AED38.75
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.60
€3.16
$5.03
AED18.46
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$11.52
€10.11
$6.23
AED22.87

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pay 7.0% more for clothing

 
Netherlands
United Arab Emirates
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$84.34
€73.98
$64.14
AED235.59
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$38.25
€33.56
$64.91
AED238.42
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$92.60
€81.22
$93.31
AED342.71

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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: June 2025
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