Reviewed by Stan, Head of Hiring Department, TLNT.aeEvery table on the internet that compares Dubai with Moscow, Istanbul, Almaty, Warsaw, London or Berlin is wrong for you personally: it compares an average person with an average basket in a month that has already passed. The question you actually have is different: with my salary offer, my way of living and my habits, will I be better or worse off in Dubai than where I am now? That question has an honest answer, and you can calculate it in an evening. This guide gives the framework: eight line items, how to fill each one for Dubai and for your city, which facts about Dubai are safe to rely on without a number, and why "Dubai is expensive" is true and false at the same time.
Talk to usTake a sheet with three columns: the line, your current city, Dubai. Fill in monthly figures in one currency. For Dubai use the orientation ranges from our everyday cost and renting guides and then check them against live listings and apps; for your city use your last three months of actual spending, not your memory.
| Line | How to fill it for Dubai | How to fill it for your current city |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rent and housing | The monthly equivalent of the home you would really take in the first year (room, furnished studio or yearly studio), plus the DEWA bill and the municipality housing fee; see our renting guide | Your current rent or the mortgage payment plus utilities; if you live rent-free, write the market rent of a similar home, otherwise the comparison is false |
| 2. Groceries | Your real weekly list in the Carrefour and Lulu apps times four; adjust to the store tier you would use | Your real grocery spending from bank statements, not a guess |
| 3. Transport | Metro pass or Nol credit plus the taxis you would honestly take; or the full cost of a car with insurance, fuel, tolls and parking | The same categories at home: public transport, taxis, car with all its costs |
| 4. Eating out and coffee | Count the evenings per month and price them from a cafeteria, a casual chain and a mid-range restaurant in the area you consider | Your current number of evenings out and what they cost |
| 5. Phone, internet, subscriptions | A prepaid plan plus home internet unless included in the rent, plus the streaming and apps you keep | The same list at home |
| 6. Health and insurance | Usually 0 for the employee: the employer provides health insurance; add co-payments if your plan has them and the cost of insuring family members if they are not covered | What you pay for insurance, clinics and medicines out of pocket, plus any health contributions deducted from your pay |
| 7. Taxes and deductions on salary | 0 personal income tax on salary in the UAE; the gross offer is what reaches your account, so compare your net figure at home with the gross offer in Dubai | Income tax and social contributions deducted from your gross salary; use your payslip |
| 8. Savings, family and the trip home | What you want to send home or save, the flights home you plan per year, school fees if children come with you, visa costs for family members if the employer does not cover them | What you save now and what you send to family; the same honesty on both sides |
Prices change monthly; some things do not. These qualitative points hold without a number and shift the arithmetic for most newcomers.
Both statements are correct, about different cities that share a name.
Once both columns are filled, the decision becomes arithmetic plus a few questions to the employer. Do this before accepting, in writing, so that the answers are part of the package you agree to.
Being honest about the limits is part of the method.
TLNT is a hiring consultancy. We help employers in Dubai find and assess candidates, including specialists who relocate; the employer makes the hiring decision, agrees the salary and the package with you directly and sponsors the work visa for the person they hire. When we introduce you to an employer we tell you what the package includes and where it sits against the market estimate, so that your sheet is filled with facts. We never promise a job and we do not give immigration advice.
For candidates: send your CV through our candidates page or build one in the free CV builder; we let you know when an employer has a matching vacancy. Candidates never pay us.
Our fee is fixed for each role and agreed before the search starts. A 10% prepayment of the fee starts the search, the rest is due once the person has started work. If it does not work out, we find a replacement free of charge; the period is set in the contract. Consulting and CRM projects are priced after a free review.
It depends on how you live, which is why we give a framework instead of a table. Rent and eating out can be higher or lower than in your city depending on the area and tier you choose; salaries carry no personal income tax in the UAE and the employer provides health insurance, which lowers the real cost of a month for an employee. Fill in the 8 line items for both cities with your own numbers, net at home against gross in Dubai, and the answer is yours, not an average.
Family sponsorship by an employed resident exists and depends on current rules, including salary and accommodation conditions, and on the costs of the dependants' visas and insurance, which the employer may or may not cover. Check the current requirements on the official portals (ICP, GDRFA) and ask the employer in writing what is included. TLNT does not give immigration advice; we help you meet an employer who sponsors your own work visa.
Our fee is fixed for each role and agreed before the search starts. A 10% prepayment of the fee starts the search, the rest is due once the person has started work. If it does not work out, we find a replacement free of charge; the period is set in the contract.
A free review in WhatsApp: we look at your numbers and tell you honestly what we would do.
Message on WhatsAppReviewed by Stan, Head of Hiring Department, TLNT.aeCite as: TLNT.ae, "Dubai vs other big cities: compare your own costs an 8-line framework you fill in for Dubai and your current city, plus the facts that are safe to rely on", 2026, https://tlnt.ae/en/guides/dubai-vs-other-big-cities-cost/. Prepared by TLNT.ae, a hiring consultancy working in the UAE since 2022.