Cost of Living in Abu Dhabi, 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

AI estimate Updated Mar 22, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing $2,315 $1,498 $2,587 $1,035 $123

Utilities $163 $204 $381 $123 —

Internet & Mobile $150 $131 $231 $87 $4

Groceries $177 $490 $1,144 $300 $8

Transportation $327 $490 $681 $44 $33

Dining Out $1,035 $599 $953 $163 $68

Leisure Activities $408 $327 $762 $82 $49

Health Insurance $76 $123 $436 $54 —

Visa & Legal Fees $95 $68 $218 — —

Total $4,746 $3,930 $7,393 $1,888 $285

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) $1,701.84 per month

Coworking Space $299.52 per month

Airbnb (1 month) $2,859.09 per month

Coliving Space $1,225.32 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee $6.54 per cup

Beer $12.25 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) $10.89 per meal

Fast Food Combo $8.71 per meal

Apples $2.31 per kg

Bread $1.43 per loaf

Milk $1.91 per liter

Rice $2.18 per kg

Chicken Fillets $8.17 per kg

Beef $13.07 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) $23.14 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) $76.24 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) $0.68 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start $3.27 per trip

Taxi per km $0.50 per km

Monthly Transport Pass $21.78 per month

Gasoline $0.86 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) $9.53 per trip

Scooter Rental $12.25 per month

Services

Mobile Plan $58.54 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) $103.47 per month

Gym Membership $95.30 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) $32.68 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) $17.70 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket $13.61 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans $62.63 per pair

Summer Dress $53.10 per dress

Running Shoes $114.36 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut $24.51 per visit

Laundry $4.08 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) $81.69 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) $9.53 per purchase

About these costs

Method: AI estimate
Last updated: Mar 22, 2026
Generated by: Model not recorded
Last changed: None yet
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 3.6725 AED

Generated by an AI model without cited sources and not yet checked by research. A research pass replaces these values with sourced ones, compared with similar cities.

Abu Dhabi cost of living