Most cost-of-living pages give you one vague average. SalarySouq built three complete, worked budgets instead — same person (single, studio in International City), three different salaries, every line priced.
| Monthly salary | Total monthly spend | Left over |
|---|---|---|
| AED 5,000 | AED 4,476 | AED 524 |
| AED 10,000 | AED 5,491 | AED 4,509 |
| AED 15,000 | AED 6,124 | AED 8,876 |
The lowest budget only balances at a landlord-published rent for an International City studio (AED 34,300 a year). At Bayut's asking average for the same studio (AED 41,000 a year), the same life totals AED 5,063 a month — AED 63 over the salary, before a single dirham of surprises. That is the kind of detail an average never shows you.
See every line of all three budgets. Rent, groceries, transport, utilities and the rest — priced item by item in SalarySouq's cost of living guide.
Then run your own numbers in the free SalarySouq savings calculator.
A companion page for SalarySouq.com — Know Your Worth in the UAE. Figures from SalarySouq's worked budgets, 2026.