Cost of Living in the UAE
What it really costs
to live here
No income tax, cheap petrol and a villa with a pool. Also school fees, a year's rent upfront and a first quarter that costs more than any month after. Here is the honest picture for a family.
The question every family asks before anything else is whether they can afford it. The answer is almost always yes, but not for the reasons the headlines suggest. The absence of income tax is real, and so is the AED 90,000 school bill. What matters is knowing which costs are large, which are front-loaded and which are negotiable, so that the package you accept actually covers the life you are planning.
Two costs decide everything: where you live and where your children go to school. Get those right and the rest of the budget tends to fall into place. Get them wrong, or guess at them, and no amount of cheap petrol will make up the difference.
Free Starter Guide
Before You Land
The things we tell every family before they move to the UAE, in the order that matters. Schools, visas, housing, banking, healthcare, pets and the first thirty days, in eleven pages. Yours for an email address.
PDF · 11 pages · Written by Melanie and Kate
The big two
Rent
Rent is quoted and paid annually, usually in one to four post-dated cheques, with the fewest cheques earning the best price. For a family home, think in bands rather than exact figures: a three-bedroom apartment in a good building, a townhouse in a family community, a villa with a garden. Each step up roughly doubles the number. Abu Dhabi generally sits below Dubai at equivalent quality, though the best communities in either emirate are not cheap. On top of the rent itself, budget a security deposit of around five percent, an agency fee of around five percent, and the tenancy registration fee.
School fees
Fees run from roughly AED 40,000 a year at the affordable end to well over AED 100,000 at the most sought-after schools, and they rise through the year groups. Registration, assessment and deposit fees sit on top, as do transport, uniforms and extracurriculars. Two children at a mid-range school is a six-figure annual commitment, which is why many employer packages treat schooling as a separate allowance. If yours does not, this is the line to negotiate.
Everything else
Bills
Electricity, water and cooling are the variable. A villa in July with the air conditioning running can cost several times what the same villa costs in January, and some towers bill district cooling separately. Internet and mobile are straightforward and a little dearer than home.
Getting around
Petrol is a fraction of Australian or British prices and cars are generally cheaper to buy. Taxis and ride-hailing are inexpensive enough that many families manage without a car for the first few weeks. Leasing is a real option for the first year, bundling insurance, registration and servicing into one monthly figure.
Food and daily life
Groceries land somewhere between home and expensive, depending on how much you buy imported. Eating out ranges from very cheap to very much not, and both ends are good. Alcohol is available, licensed and taxed accordingly.
Help at home
Live-in or part-time domestic help is common, affordable by home standards and, for many working families, the thing that makes the move work. The sponsor pays the visa, insurance and a monthly salary; the rules are specific and worth understanding before you commit.
Health
Employers must provide health insurance for employees in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and usually cover dependants, but not always on the same terms or from the same date. Check what the policy excludes before you land. Dental and optical are often limited.
A worked example
A family of four, two children at a mid-fee school, a three-bedroom family home in a good community, one car, some help at home. Indicative monthly figures in dirhams, with rent and fees spread across twelve months for comparison, even though they are rarely paid that way.
| Item | Monthly, AED |
|---|---|
| Rent, three-bedroom family home | 15,000 – 25,000 |
| School fees, two children, mid-fee school | 10,000 – 16,000 |
| Utilities, cooling, internet and mobiles | 2,000 – 4,000 |
| Groceries and household | 3,500 – 5,500 |
| Car: lease or loan, petrol, insurance, tolls | 3,000 – 5,000 |
| Help at home, live-in, all costs | 4,000 – 6,000 |
| Health top-ups, dental, optical | 500 – 1,500 |
| Eating out, activities, the rest of life | 5,000 – 10,000 |
| Indicative total | 43,000 – 73,000 |
Ranges are indicative for 2026 and vary a great deal by emirate, community, school and how you choose to live. Most employer packages cover rent and schooling separately. We build a specific budget for every family at the start of their move.
Where it goes wrong
Budgeting month by month in a country that bills by the year
Rent, school fees, insurance and registrations are all paid up front. A family who arrives with three months of savings and a monthly budget that balances on paper can still hit a cash problem in week two. The first quarter is the expensive one.
Accepting a package before pricing the life
A generous-looking salary with no housing or education allowance can be worth less than a smaller one with both. The time to check the numbers is before you sign the offer, not after the shipment is on the water.
Forgetting the one-offs
Deposits on the lease, the utilities, the school and the car. Visa and Emirates ID fees for every family member. Document attestation at home. Furniture for a villa that comes with nothing in it. None of these are large on their own, and together they are a month's salary.
Comparing the wrong things
Petrol is cheap and a coffee is not. A villa with a pool costs what a flat costs at home, and a glass of wine costs what a bottle does. Families who move with the budget they had at home tend to be surprised in both directions.
What we handle for you
- A realistic budget for your family, built around the schools, area and lifestyle you actually want, before you accept an offer
- A read on what your package should cover and what to go back and ask for
- The one-off and front-loaded costs laid out by month for your first quarter, so there are no surprises
- Honest comparison of two or three ways to live the same move at different price points
- Introductions to the schools, communities and services that fit the budget, not the ones that fit the brochure
Questions families ask us
Is Dubai or Abu Dhabi expensive for families?
Housing and school fees are the two costs that decide it. With no income tax and cheap petrol, many families find day-to-day life comparable to a major Australian or British city, but a villa in a good community plus two sets of school fees can take a large share of a package. Budget those two first and the rest usually works.
How much does a family need to earn to live comfortably in the UAE?
It depends on the number of children in private school and the kind of home you want. As a rough guide, a family of four in a villa with two children at a mid-fee school should budget somewhere in the region of AED 45,000 to 60,000 a month across rent, fees, bills, a car and everyday living. Many employer packages cover rent and schooling separately, which changes the picture entirely.
Is Abu Dhabi cheaper than Dubai?
Generally, yes, for rent and school fees at equivalent quality, though the gap has narrowed and the best Abu Dhabi communities are not cheap. Daily costs such as groceries, petrol and utilities are similar in both emirates.
What are the hidden costs of moving to the UAE?
The ones families forget: rent paid upfront in one to four cheques, a security deposit and agency fee on the lease, school registration and deposit fees, utility deposits, a car deposit of around twenty percent, visa and Emirates ID costs for every family member, and document attestation before you leave. The first three months cost far more than any month after.
Is there income tax in the UAE?
There is no personal income tax on salaries. There is five percent VAT on most goods and services, municipality fees on rent in some emirates, and excise on items such as soft drinks and tobacco. Your home country's tax residency rules still apply to you, so take advice before you move.
Take the starter guide with you
Before You Land is free to download. Get it here.
Let us price the life, not just the move
A specific budget for your family, before you say yes to anything.