Dubai Budget Calculator

Get a personalised estimate of your monthly and annual costs living in Dubai

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Fill in the form and click "Calculate My Budget" to see your personalised cost breakdown.

How to budget for a move to Dubai

The single most useful thing we did before moving was build a spreadsheet and obsess over the numbers. Not the exciting version with the tax free salary at the top, the honest one with every cost underneath it.

Dubai has no income tax, and that is genuinely a change. But if your children are currently in the state system and your healthcare is free at the point of use, both of those become real monthly lines here. That is where the maths turns, and it turns differently for every family.

The costs worth getting right first

Housing. Usually 30 to 40% of the budget, and the advertised rent is not what you pay. Add a 5% agent fee and a 5% deposit, and expect to pay in cheques.
Schooling. Fees run from around AED 8,000 a year on the Indian curriculum to AED 120,000 and above on premium IB, and they rise as children move up the school.
Healthcare. A meaningful cost here, and the one most often left out of a first draft budget.
Utilities and connectivity. DEWA ran at roughly 2,000 to 2,200 dirhams a month for our family, with phone and home internet adding around 240 pounds on top.
Setup costs. Ejari, the DEWA deposit, attestation, furnishing and curtains all land in the first few weeks and rarely appear in anyone's planning.

Build a buffer before you commit

Our firm view, having done it: do not move without at least twelve to eighteen months of runway unless you already have a job in place. Dubai is very good at extracting money from anyone without a plan, and the first months are when you are least equipped to judge what things should cost.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a family need to live in Dubai?+

A family with two children typically needs upwards of AED 45,000 a month once housing and schooling are included. A couple without children is closer to AED 25,000 to 45,000. The calculator above works from your own numbers rather than an average.

What is the biggest cost of living in Dubai?+

Housing, which usually takes 30 to 40% of a family budget, followed by school fees. Together those two lines often account for the majority of what a family spends, which is why both sit at the top of the calculator.

What costs do people forget to budget for?+

Healthcare, school fees if your children are currently in the state system, DEWA at roughly 2,000 to 2,200 dirhams a month for a family, phone and internet at around 240 pounds a month combined, and one off setup costs like curtains, Ejari and deposits.

Is Dubai actually cheaper than the UK?+

It depends entirely on your circumstances. There is no income tax, but you may be paying for schooling and healthcare that were free at home. Model the whole picture before assuming a tax free salary means more money at the end of the month.

How accurate is this calculator?+

It gives you a realistic planning range based on family size and lifestyle, not a quote. Treat the output as the starting point for your own spreadsheet, then sanity check the housing and schooling figures against real listings and real fee tables.

For the full picture, read our cost of living guide, compare areas in the neighbourhoods guide, or look at the relocation package if you would like help building the numbers around your own family. And when you want the whole move priced properly, not just the monthly costs, our planner Runway builds your family's move-ready number from real invoices and runs it as a monthly plan.