---
title: "Cost of Living: Dubai vs Lisbon — Geo-Parity"
description: "Portugal is 6.9% cheaper than United Arab Emirates for monthly essentials ($1,414 vs $1,519). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/portugal-vs-united-arab-emirates/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=AE&target=PT"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · AE vs PT

# 🇦🇪 Dubai vs 🇵🇹 Lisbon: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$1,519** in United Arab Emirates vs **$1,414** in Portugal — 6.9% cheaper.

- **Essentials, United Arab Emirates**: $1,519/mo
- **Essentials, Portugal**: $1,414/mo
- **Difference**: -6.9%
- **1-bed city rent, Portugal**: $955/mo

## Biggest differences

Much cheaper in Portugal

- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: -7.8%
- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: -7.8%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: -7.8%

Closest to United Arab Emirates prices

- Jeans (mid-range brand): -2.3%
- Running shoes (brand): -2.3%
- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: -2.3%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | United Arab Emirates | Portugal | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $1,037 | $955 (846 EUR) | -7.8% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $829 | $764 (676 EUR) | -7.8% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $1,896 | $1,747 (1,546 EUR) | -7.8% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $11.93 | $11.19 (10 EUR) | -6.2% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $49.71 | $46.62 (41 EUR) | -6.2% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $7.57 | $7.14 (6 EUR) | -5.7% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.82 | $0.78 (1 EUR) | -4.9% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $2.37 | $2.26 (2 EUR) | -4.6% |
| Eggs, dozen | $2.52 | $2.41 (2 EUR) | -4.4% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $7.41 | $7.08 (6 EUR) | -4.4% |
| White rice, 1kg | $2.97 | $2.83 (3 EUR) | -4.7% |
| Apples, 1kg | $3.56 | $3.40 (3 EUR) | -4.5% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $8.90 | $8.49 (8 EUR) | -4.6% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.48 | $1.42 (1 EUR) | -4% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $3.98 | $3.73 (3 EUR) | -6.3% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $6.89 | $6.73 (6 EUR) | -2.3% |
| Cappuccino | $3.31 | $3.11 (3 EUR) | -6% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.71 | $1.63 (1 EUR) | -4.7% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $44.72 | $42.19 (37 EUR) | -5.7% |
| Public transport, one-way | $1.89 | $1.78 (2 EUR) | -5.8% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $2.65 | $2.49 (2 EUR) | -6% |
| Taxi, per km | $1.19 | $1.12 (1 EUR) | -5.9% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.82 | $0.80 (1 EUR) | -2.4% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $138 | $130 (115 EUR) | -5.7% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $48.16 | $45.43 (40 EUR) | -5.7% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $30.96 | $29.21 (26 EUR) | -5.6% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $33.14 | $31.08 (28 EUR) | -6.2% |
| Cinema seat | $9.28 | $8.70 (8 EUR) | -6.2% |
| Men's haircut | $19.88 | $18.65 (17 EUR) | -6.2% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $47.36 | $46.27 (41 EUR) | -2.3% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $77.50 | $75.71 (67 EUR) | -2.3% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $166 | $155 (138 EUR) | -6.2% |

Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the [interactive tool](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=prices&base=AE&target=PT).

## Beyond prices

What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about **6,139 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | 🇵🇹 Portugal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $2,742 | $2,073 |
| Rent, 1-bed Monthly, USD. | — | $619 |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | — | 29.8% |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $232 | $838 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 3.0 | 5.8 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Dubai and Lisbon. | 79 | 130 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | strong | strong |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 2.2 (low) | 1.9 (very low) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | — | 13 + 3 regional |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 34.3 | 6.5 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 83.1 | 82.4 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 0.7 | 0.7 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 100% | 88.5% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 201.6 | 257.5 |

## The whole United Arab Emirates → Portugal move, in one place

Everything above is free and always will be. The relocation report is the same engines run together for this one corridor: what you keep after rent, prices, healthcare and tax; the local wage ladder you would be earning against; which visas your income qualifies for; the day count that makes you tax-resident; and the months worth being there for.

[See the United Arab Emirates → Portugal report — £7](https://geo-parity.com/report/united-arab-emirates-to-portugal/) One-off. No subscription. Free preview first.

## Related

- [Reverse view: Portugal vs United Arab Emirates](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/portugal-vs-united-arab-emirates/)
- [Fair salary: United Arab Emirates → Portugal](https://geo-parity.com/salary/united-arab-emirates-to-portugal/)
- [How much to retire in Portugal?](https://geo-parity.com/fire/portugal/)
- [Cost of living in Portugal vs the US](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/portugal/)

## More comparisons

### United Arab Emirates compared with

- [United Arab Emirates vs Japan](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-arab-emirates-vs-japan/)
- [United Arab Emirates vs Spain](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-arab-emirates-vs-spain/)
- [United Arab Emirates vs Italy](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-arab-emirates-vs-italy/)
- [United Arab Emirates vs Singapore](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-arab-emirates-vs-singapore/)
- [United Arab Emirates vs Greece](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-arab-emirates-vs-greece/)
- [United Arab Emirates vs Czechia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/united-arab-emirates-vs-czechia/)

### Moving to Portugal from

- [Italy vs Portugal](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/italy-vs-portugal/)
- [Spain vs Portugal](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/spain-vs-portugal/)
- [Japan vs Portugal](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/japan-vs-portugal/)
- [France vs Portugal](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/france-vs-portugal/)
- [Singapore vs Portugal](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/singapore-vs-portugal/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much cheaper is Portugal than United Arab Emirates?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $1,414 in Portugal versus $1,519 in United Arab Emirates — 6.9% less. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- **What does a beer cost in Portugal?**: A domestic draught pint is roughly $3.73 in Portugal (≈ 3.3 EUR), versus about $3.98 in United Arab Emirates.
- **How much is rent in Portugal compared to United Arab Emirates?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $955/month in Portugal versus $1,037/month in United Arab Emirates (-7.8%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- **How are these prices estimated?**: Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.

Model estimates — verify locally. Agents: GET /api/micro-costs.json?base=AE&target=PT.

---

Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/portugal-vs-united-arab-emirates/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=AE&target=PT