Dubai cost of living this month: fixed monthly costs
The fixed monthly costs of living in Dubai for a single person, a couple and a family of four: rent, housing fee, electricity and water, getting to work, mobile and internet, and school fees for the family. Groceries, health insurance, car ownership, deposits and leisure are not included. Every line shows its assumption, its source and its date.
Single person
One adult in a studio apartment.
| Item | AED per month | Typical range | Assumption | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | AED 3,333.33 | Typical rangeAED 2,666.67 to AED 4,000.00 | Median registered annual rent of a studio apartment in Dubai, divided by 12 (103,035 contracts). Registered rents, not asking prices. | Source and dateDubai Land Department (DLD) · 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026 |
| Housing fee | AED 166.67 | 5% of the annual rent, added to the monthly electricity and water bill. | Source and dateUAE Government portal (u.ae) · 2 October 2026 | |
| Electricity and water | AED 244.65 | Example consumption of studio apartment: 500 kWh of electricity and 10 m³ of water a month, at the published DEWA tariff. | Source and dateDubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) · October 2026 · 2 October 2026 | |
| Getting to work | AED 296.75 | nol fares are paused while we confirm the official source, so one car per household, 40 km a day, 5 days a week; fuel only (tolls, parking and ownership not included). | Source and dateUAE Fuel Price Committee (Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure) · October 2026 | |
| Mobile | AED 106.58 | Mobile lines: 1, each on the Virgin Mobile 12-Month 14GB Plan: this monthly price applies if the year is paid upfront (AED 1,278.90); without paying upfront it is AED 203.00 a month. | Source and dateVirgin Mobile · 2 October 2026 | |
| Home internet | AED 174.91 | Home internet: Virgin Mobile Home Internet 12 Months. | Source and dateVirgin Mobile · 2 October 2026 | |
| Fixed monthly costs | AED 4,322.89 | Fixed monthly costs: housing, utilities, phone & internet and commute. | ||
Not included: groceries, health insurance, car ownership, deposits and leisure.
Couple
Two adults in a 1-bedroom apartment.
| Item | AED per month | Typical range | Assumption | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | AED 4,833.33 | Typical rangeAED 3,831.67 to AED 6,250.00 | Median registered annual rent of a 1-bedroom apartment in Dubai, divided by 12 (213,707 contracts). Registered rents, not asking prices. | Source and dateDubai Land Department (DLD) · 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026 |
| Housing fee | AED 241.67 | 5% of the annual rent, added to the monthly electricity and water bill. | Source and dateUAE Government portal (u.ae) · 2 October 2026 | |
| Electricity and water | AED 244.65 | Example consumption of 1-bedroom apartment: 500 kWh of electricity and 10 m³ of water a month, at the published DEWA tariff. | Source and dateDubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) · October 2026 · 2 October 2026 | |
| Getting to work | AED 296.75 | nol fares are paused while we confirm the official source, so one car per household, 40 km a day, 5 days a week; fuel only (tolls, parking and ownership not included). | Source and dateUAE Fuel Price Committee (Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure) · October 2026 | |
| Mobile | AED 213.16 | Mobile lines: 2, each on the Virgin Mobile 12-Month 14GB Plan: this monthly price applies if the year is paid upfront (AED 1,278.90); without paying upfront it is AED 203.00 a month. | Source and dateVirgin Mobile · 2 October 2026 | |
| Home internet | AED 174.91 | Home internet: Virgin Mobile Home Internet 12 Months. | Source and dateVirgin Mobile · 2 October 2026 | |
| Fixed monthly costs | AED 6,004.47 | Fixed monthly costs: housing, utilities, phone & internet and commute. | ||
Not included: groceries, health insurance, car ownership, deposits and leisure.
Family of four
Two adults and two children in a 2-bedroom apartment, both children in private school.
| Item | AED per month | Typical range | Assumption | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | AED 6,325.00 | Typical rangeAED 5,000.00 to AED 8,416.67 | Median registered annual rent of a 2-bedroom apartment in Dubai, divided by 12 (167,991 contracts). Registered rents, not asking prices. | Source and dateDubai Land Department (DLD) · 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026 |
| Housing fee | AED 316.25 | 5% of the annual rent, added to the monthly electricity and water bill. | Source and dateUAE Government portal (u.ae) · 2 October 2026 | |
| Electricity and water | AED 489.30 | Example consumption of 2-bedroom apartment: 1,000 kWh of electricity and 20 m³ of water a month, at the published DEWA tariff. | Source and dateDubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) · October 2026 · 2 October 2026 | |
| Getting to work | AED 296.75 | nol fares are paused while we confirm the official source, so one car per household, 40 km a day, 5 days a week; fuel only (tolls, parking and ownership not included). | Source and dateUAE Fuel Price Committee (Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure) · October 2026 | |
| Mobile | AED 213.16 | Mobile lines: 2, each on the Virgin Mobile 12-Month 14GB Plan: this monthly price applies if the year is paid upfront (AED 1,278.90); without paying upfront it is AED 203.00 a month. | Source and dateVirgin Mobile · 2 October 2026 | |
| Home internet | AED 174.91 | Home internet: Virgin Mobile Home Internet 12 Months. | Source and dateVirgin Mobile · 2 October 2026 | |
| School fees | AED 5,286.42 | Typical rangeAED 2,705.67 to AED 9,675.96 | Fees for 2 children: the median of each school’s published annual fees, then the median across 218 schools, times 2, divided by 12. | Source and dateKnowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) · Academic year 2024-2025 · open data, unaltered |
| Fixed monthly costs | AED 13,101.79 | Fixed monthly costs: housing, utilities, phone & internet, commute and school fees. | ||
Not included: groceries, health insurance, car ownership, deposits and leisure.
Groceries: a reference basket, not a monthly shopping estimate
Our basket of 64 everyday products (one of each) costs AED 1,099.10 at observed and official shop prices — this is not a monthly shopping estimate, and it is not part of the fixed monthly costs above.
The supermarket comparison is paused while we ask the stores for permission to use their prices.
Prices from: UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism (official shop prices) · 25 September 2026 · Union Coop website · 2 October 2026
Not included
- Groceries (see the reference basket above)
- Health insurance
- Car ownership (purchase, insurance, registration, maintenance)
- Deposits and agency fees
- Leisure, dining out and travel
How we built this
Rents are medians of registered contracts, not asking prices. Utilities, mobile, internet and school fees are published tariffs, plans and fees, with the assumptions shown on each line. These are budgeting estimates, not official statistics. Your own bill will differ.
Source: Dubai Land Department (originator), open datasets on Dubai Data. Original data © Dubai Land Department. Licensed under the Dubai Open Data Licence. The tables are derived by Brainy Prices (aggregates only: medians and ranges of at least 10 registered records); they are not produced, verified or endorsed by Dubai Land Department, Dubai Data or the Dubai Government. The derived tables are available under the same licence: /dubai-property.json.