Cost of living comparison

compared to

Aruba vs. United Arab Emirates Cost of Living Summary

Aruba is 52.9% more expensive than United Arab Emirates overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.0 times more in Aruba
Groceries: pay 2.6 times more in Aruba
Transportation: pay 2.4 times more in Aruba
Housing: pay 10.5% less in Aruba
Childcare: pay 32.5% less in Aruba
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.4% more in Aruba
Clothing: pay 5.3% more in Aruba

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

Aruba vs. United Arab Emirates Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

	United Arab Emirates	Aruba
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.01 AED29.44	$16.00 AWG28.80	+99.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.22 AED30.19	$10.14 AWG18.24	+23.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.02 AED3.73	$1.80 AWG3.24	+77.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.57 AED2.09	$1.82 AWG3.28	+220.0%
Average			+105.0%

United Arab Emirates vs. Aruba - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.6 times more for groceries

	United Arab Emirates	Aruba
Bread 1 loaf	$1.26 AED4.64	$3.44 AWG6.20	+172.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.08 AED18.66	$11.00 AWG19.80	+116.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.80 AED24.96	$7.65 AWG13.77	+12.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.47 AED9.07	$5.24 AWG9.44	+112.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.33 AED12.22	$4.10 AWG7.38	+23.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.94 AED3.47	$2.25 AWG4.06	+138.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 AED2.72	$1.11 AWG1.99	+49.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 AED2.64	$2.49 AWG4.49	+247.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 AED2.07	$3.18 AWG5.72	+462.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.45 AED1.64	$1.44 AWG2.59	+221.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 AED1.74	$1.30 AWG2.35	+175.8%
Average			+157.4%

United Arab Emirates vs. Aruba - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.4 times more for transportation

	United Arab Emirates	Aruba
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.06 AED11.23	$5.48 AWG9.86	+79.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.60 AED178.50	$40.00 AWG72.00	-17.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,240.06 AED155,147.75	$35,000.00 AWG63,000.00	-17.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.46 AED31.07	$51.10 AWG91.97	+504.0%
Average			+137.1%

United Arab Emirates vs. Aruba - Cost of transportation

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pay 10.5% less for housing

	United Arab Emirates	Aruba
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$95.75 AED351.70	$79.65 AWG143.37	-16.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,395.59 AED5,125.99	$705.36 AWG1,269.65	-49.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$985.52 AED3,619.83	$655.25 AWG1,179.45	-33.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$115.48 AED424.15	$182.10 AWG327.77	+57.7%
Average			-10.5%

United Arab Emirates vs. Aruba - Cost of housing

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pay 32.5% less for childcare

	United Arab Emirates	Aruba
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$507.75 AED1,864.98	$225.00 AWG405.00	-55.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,162.28 AED29,980.05	$7,404.07 AWG13,327.32	-9.3%
Average			-32.5%

United Arab Emirates vs. Aruba - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.4% more for entertainment and sports

	United Arab Emirates	Aruba
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.55 AED38.75	$3.62 AWG6.53	-65.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.03 AED18.46	$4.24 AWG7.64	-15.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.23 AED22.88	$13.75 AWG24.75	+120.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$84.91 AED311.88	$95.72 AWG172.30	+12.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.83 AED47.12	$11.50 AWG20.70	-10.4%
Average			+8.4%

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

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pay 5.3% more for clothing

	United Arab Emirates	Aruba
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$64.14 AED235.60	$65.00 AWG117.00	+1.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$64.91 AED238.43	$57.37 AWG103.27	-11.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$93.31 AED342.71	$116.59 AWG209.86	+25.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.50 AED354.43	$102.90 AWG185.22	+6.6%
Average			+5.3%

United Arab Emirates vs. Aruba - 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: February 2025

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