City comparison
Cost of living in London vs Dubai
One person needs about €3,468 a month in London and €2,794 in Dubai, rent included — Dubai is 19% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Dubai the way you live in London on €3,000, you need
€2,417/ month net
19% less than today (-€583)
- London today
- Basket €3,468 · left over -€468 (-16%)
- Dubai at the matched salary
- Basket €2,794 · left over -€377 (-16%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 186% over in Dubai (comfortable) vs 161% in London. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇬🇧 London
Salaries are high, everything else is higher — transport alone costs a Tbilisi flat.
Monthly budget: €3,468
Sources: ONS + VOA, CPIH & private rental market summary (2025) · 468 community reports
🇦🇪 Dubai
Zero income tax pulls net pay up; housing and schooling pull disposable income back down.
Monthly budget: €2,794
Sources: Dubai Statistics Center + DLD, CPI & Dubai Land Department rent index (2025) · 187 community reports
Should you move to London or Dubai?
On salary, London pays more for tech roles (€5,600 versus €5,200 a month), so the money left over after costs is €2,406 in Dubai at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €2,400 in London against €1,900 in Dubai. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores London at 64 and Dubai at 69 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.