Cost of Living in Dubai

Bachelor minimum 5000
Married atleast 15000
Family with kids 25000
Minimum .....

Please confirm that salary of 6,000AED is sufficient for a single person in Dubai?
Transportation and Accommodation is included in this salary.

The spread sheet in the first comment is superb! Even though it`s old the numbers are still more or less correct. I used this this before moving here and it gave me a very good idea of what to expect and how to budget. I also suggest going on dubizzle and looking at house prices to give you an idea of what it costs to rent in differnt areas.

https://britishexpats.com/forum/middle-east-60/worth-guide-costs-vs-income-uae-qatar-762609/

I am applying for a job as a videographer/content creator and they asked me what my salary expectations are. I am working in Ireland at the minute and have 5 years international experience, what should I ask for?

Minimum threshold for a good life in new Dubai is in the range of 20-25k AED a month, with that as a single you can have a good mid class life.
Don’t move for less, and if you do so please don’t throw silly complaints about cost of living, numbers are known and otherwise there are plenty of opportunities in Canada, Australia, EU, ...

i have job opportunity in dubai as Account officer 5000 AED (PM)+ 1500AED Airfair allowance every two year once, free transportation from Apartment to Company and free Education to my child(3year old) and -750AED deduction PM for sharing accommodation. i have 13 years experience in Finance and accounts in India.
kindly advice its worth offer ? what about other mininum expenditure for per person. finally what is my net saving per month in AED ????

Try to get something close to 20k, not less.
Don’t settle for less, social mobility is not easy in Dubai tech market

@Brittain those numbers are in AED not usd... 1$ = 3.67 AED .
More like you would spend 3500$ a month and you need at least a salary of 7k$ NET

HI

I have an opportunity to work in dubai with a salary 14000 AED, I have a wife. This offer is along with car and 1 ticket per year, is it good?

Regards.

I have an opportunity with 2500eur per month.accomdation free and 1ticket yearly free for my country.is this a good offer?

I'm a software engineer, having about 9 years of experience. I'm being offered a salary of AED 14000. Is this a good offer. I have a family of three, and our kid is going to school.

Without benefits like flat and transportation, no.
A good 1bhk that is not in the old city cost 5k a month for rent.
Don’t consider anything below 20-25k + healthcare

I think you need a total house income of at least 50k

Hi guys I want visit to Dubai from Pakistan Please expense for me my wife and two children under 12years

Hi, I've been offered a job for a Software Engineer, in Dubai. The company is offering AED 13.5k per month, and no accommodation, food and travel. All will be on me. Please suggest whether this is a sufficient with a little amount of savings involved, or not.

Thanks in advance!!

Hi, am released an offer which is quite reasonable but no one has directly spoken to me yet, it was just mail communication even was to take resume then offer was released, am drafting mails to them even to which no responses, As per the offer am asked to incur visa and travelling expenses then i can claim once i report in office. They confirm that it is as per labor norms. I was routed to immigration consultant to get the progress done. By exploring the sources in web seems genuine but i dont have POC to assist or to get confidence. Can i initiate the process by paying the amount please?

Hi all.
I have been offerred a salary of 27000 per month in abu dhabi. No accomadtion and no schooling allowance for my kids. I have 2 children and my wife. Is this worth moving for?
I live in the UK.
Thank you

I got an offer from a steel manufacturing organisation at Jebel Ali Free Zone with shared bachelor accommodation.........with monthly salary 3700 AED.......without food......is it possible to go there.
Please suggest.

Expenses for a couple living in the new Dubai in a 1bhk and enjoying their lives are approx 12k a month, so considering that you need to save I wouldn’t advise to move for less than 20k

Thank you for information i an 62tr very energetic abd active interested in a job as agricultural advisor or Hortuculrural officer minimum salary 15000 dinars per month plus accommodation,company transport abd other facilities I am an advisor to agricultural university research people also pl inform if u can do something

@Prriyam don’t!!!!!
What’s the point of leaving your country and move faraway from your family and friends to leave in 5 in a room, commute 4 hours a day and eat trash? This is valid not only for Dubai but for any city for instance...
If not that you’re running away from war ... but if you’re from the subcontinent don’t move for less than 20-25k

Can someone provide response to my queries posted on March 20?

is 3k - 4k enough for a single person staying in dubai....where accommodation, comp. will take over it, only fooding are required?

AED = Arab Emirates Dirhams, the UAE Currency

1 USD = 3.67 AED

@Robert, @Annonymous_J, @Ryan you have offer from same place

I am offered a job in Dubai with salary range from AED 44k - 48k that includes basic, housing, transportation and annual return airfare for three (me, my spouse and a kid). Is this enough for a family of 3 to live with good standards and be able to save money?

That’s a very good contract for a senior lead engineer, not easy to get similar wages if you’re not a manager.

It depends with which city you want to compare, mind that the salaries in Dubai are all net (no income tax) and that cost of life could be compared with London or Singapore

Is 10,000 AED monthly net salary is suitable for living in Dubai for a single person willing to live in a studio alone? The office is in Jumeirah tower.. The cost for accomodation will be provided by the company for AED 3K only.

I have offered 75K AED i am not sure if it will keep my life standards in Dubai. I am single but like to have night life and drinking. Role is marketing manager.

Is a salary of 6500 AED per month (accommodation covered) enough in Dubai, for a single person?

Really in a search of company to work for that will pay 25k AED/Month and do take care of VISA and apartments

Hello, I am considering an offer for 8000 AED per month. Is this enough for a single person with no kids?, looks like the companny is not giving any extra thing such as rent, living place or meals. The only thing included is the health insurance. I would like to go and save some money in order to, after, travel around europe or middle east.

As well, I am a dancer in my country (the job I mentioned before is not in that field), is it possible for me to work like during nights or so on? in that case how much extra do you think that is possible to get?

All the posts here are scaring. Can someone tell me if a Pharmacist with a wife and 2 children survive in Dubai on a salary of 10kAED. Is it possible to pay for rent, feeding and transportation from 10kAED? Are their other allowances that are attached to the salary? Can someone talk to me. Perhaps there is something i am not getting right here. Monthly salary of 10KAED!!, while rent is above 6KAED for 3 BR, feeding more than 8KAED for 4 persons etc. Then why do people leave their countries and work in Dubai?

I work as an experienced software engineer with mostly south Asian colleagues, none of us earn less than 25-30k a month in our company. Tech leads go close to 40k, managers ofc more.
Many British managers in Dubai earn 80k+

Despite there’s a neighborhood named Downtown, Dubai doesn’t have a concept of city center, is organized in different neighborhoods one far from the others, where the hoods in the south are the most expensive and those in the north are the cheapest. Areas in the south like Barsha Heights now have 1bhk for even less than 5k AED a month as the market value dropped in the last years.
The wine price is indeed wrong, considering a Prosecco DOC as a mid-range wine in Ajman you cannot find for less than 45 AED a bottle, and Dubai has x2 the prices of Ajman for alcoholics.
Jeita is a mid-range restaurant ( no street food or cafeteria) and you can have 3 courses for approx 100 AED; same with several desi/arab restaurants in Deira

@Saif, what are benefits other then salary? is there any schooling ?
In Dubai School will cost you between 35000 to 50000 AED ( Average School) per year per child.
Apartment rent are down you can check from many web sites online.
If company is offering schooling, family medical, family VISA, bonus plan , family air ticket then its a good salary for family with 2 kids. I dont understand what do mean by upper middle class.

I got offer 11k aed. Transport and accommodation will be taken care of by the company will I be able to save or not?

I am getting an offer of 12000AED. I have a family with one kid. Will i be able to save something if ii take up this position.

Air tickets,Health Insurance and Child education will be provided by company.

Suggestions pls

Groceries in ok supermarkets like Carrefour could cost you 1000 AED a month. Dubai is a society that push you to eat out quite a lot, an inexpensive meal can cost you more than 25 AED.

For rents in the various areas you can check Dubizzle or Property Finder, they’re quite accurate despite often those properties are “fake” and are needed just to get in touch with the agency. Discovery Gardens is ofc cheaper than the DIC area but is badly connected with the public transportation, you need the car or you’ll have to wait for a bus.

In a month for entertainment that meets the arab standards (cinema, restaurants, shisha lounges, no pubs) you can get by with 1000 AED depends where you eat; cinema is fairly cheap and there are always offers buy-one-get-one.

Dunno about kids expenses, but good education is very expensive.
Also mind that you’ve no government pension fund, you’ve to save money anyway.

With 25k you can get by for the years to come until your kid will be in school; also if your wife is not specialized don’t expect she could find a job that pay more than 4K AED

My breakdown:

- nice 1bhk in good area in Barsha Heights, unfurnished, cooler free: 5300 AED a month.
Mind that rents here are paid by year. Now rents are low. With a kid when it grows you could need a 2bhk.
- bills(water, electricity): 500 AED
- home internet: 320 AED
- mobile postpaid plan: 160 AED
- public transportation: 110 AED each for 1 zone

Mind if your kid will reach school age it could be not worth anymore been in Dubai

With 1500 aed you’re a slave, with 15000 you can have a low-tier life with ok-ish savings.

Mid class in Dubai starts from 20-25k

Hi #JOHN,

How about the other things like Utilities (Electricity, Gas, Heating, Cooling, Water...), Mobile Tariff, Internet, etc? You can go through the above list on this page and see what all is required for a living.

Not sure you may go for some casual outing or sightseeing, dinner, etc. Remains with hardly any saving for yourself.
1500 aed per month seems to be very low.
You can gauge what your current situation is - are you in a position to get another job if you don't take this one, is your current job (if any) unbearable and hence want to quit, are you in another place and have aims to work in Dubai, and many more things that you want to consider.

Even as a junior specialist don’t accept nothing below 20-25k, it wouldn’t make sense

Is AED17000 enough to live at Dubai with private studio (No sharing) and save AED6000 at least

To survive with a 30% of saves, yes... but what’s the point of changing country/city for such standards? If not that you’re escaping war...

#Reply to Anonymous on Sep 10, 2018 :
DEWA Rent: will vary from 700 at peak summer to 350-400 at winter. including water & electricity

Is 35k AED per month salary good enough to lead an average life WID saving potential in dubai

what people never talk about Dubai is its demographic evolution post-2008, as the previous crisis rang a bell and it made the city shift to different options in terms of expat hiring, so a picture of the city 15 yars ago would be very different from a current one; especially, the salary dump is huge along the years but prices didn't drop everywhere.
Nowadays 96% of the expats are from developing/3rd-world countries; americans are almost not coming anymore, also because their govt try to tax them even when they live abroad; after the Brexit referendum there has been a huge influx of Eastern Europeans at any level, even in menial jobs, and is not rare to see slavic women working as clerks for shops or bars; at the very top of the employees chain in roles like CEO CTO are coming a lot of South Africans that accept salaries for which a brit with the same role wouldn't wake up in the morning; not a news, countries like India are more and more producing and exporting educated engineers, and since visa restrictions got stricter in the West (except Canada) their most realistic target is Dubai.

Monthly groceries in Dubai for family of 4 = AED 3,000 to AED 3,500 from modern supermarkets.
Water and electricity bill for a villa (house - not apartment) will be about AED 1,500 minimum in summer, going to 2,000 and AED 800 in winter for expats.
School fees for year 6 at an international school (I.B.) with English speaking medium of instruction, or a UK curriculum school and with teachers from England, Ireland, South Africa and Australia is about AED 50,000 per child per year.
To fill an average SUV with petrol is about AED 150 per tank. Car wash is AED 35 to 40.
Housemaid salaries vary, but experienced, literate maids who speak English well, such as someone from Philippines, will ask for about AED 2,000 monthly minimum, going up to about 2,500 (if you give them a visa, but if they are on their own visa, then you will be asked for more).

Hello guys,

This is a great website with information from many.
I am from India and still in the interviewing stages with a company for a job in Dubai.
I want to be prepared with the information on all the expenses in Dubai so as to discuss the salary if things progress well.

Could you please let me know the approximate monthly AED information on the below items.

Work location: Dubai Internet City
No. Of persons: 1 (Self)
Looking for a single private accommodation. A small room would also be fine.
Rent at Internet City:
Rent other than Internet City but not too far:
Food (ready tiffin services), not a heavy eater:
Utilities (Water, gas, electricity):
Internet:
Mobile:
Transport (bus, metro):

Thanks.