Software Engineer Salary: Dubai vs Abu Dhabi

Dubai

AED 17,000

median / month

Range: AED 13,00022,000

Software Engineer · mid-seniority (3–5 yrs)

Abu Dhabi

AED 18,500

median / month

Range: AED 14,00024,000

Software Engineer · mid-seniority (3–5 yrs)

The difference

A Software Engineer earns about AED 1,500 more per month in Abu Dhabi — roughly 8.8% higher at the median.

What the money is actually worth

A higher salary doesn’t always mean more disposable income — rent, schooling, and transport costs differ across the Gulf. We’re building a cost-of-living layer to quantify real take-home value; until then, weigh these nominal figures against local living costs. See our methodology for what we do and don’t yet measure.

Hiring demand

We report hiring demand only where we have a real signal to back it. Demand data for this Software Engineer comparison isn’t quantified yet — we won’t estimate it. Check live Software Engineer roles for a current read.

The underlying salary data

Related research

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