Sovereign

Tech

Software Engineer Salary · Dubai vs London

Net pay, tax drag, and purchasing power modeled for 2025 offers. Built for relocating teams, expats, and comp committees.

Net pay

Dubai

AED 639,000

0.0% effective rate

Net pay

London

£71,068

39.3% effective rate

Annual delta

Spread

+AED 567,932

Dubai advantage

City

Dubai

The leading financial center of the MEASA region. Offers a tax-free salary environment for maximum wealth retention.

Median professional income

AED 289,000

Role modeled

Software Engineer

Gross base

AED 639,000

Net after tax

AED 639,000

Cost-of-living index

55

Rent index

72

City

London

Europe’s leading financial center. Salaries typically include a "London weighting" to offset housing costs.

Median professional income

£48,500

Role modeled

Software Engineer

Gross base

£117,000

Net after tax

£71,068

Cost-of-living index

56

Rent index

56

Purchasing power

Net income vs lifestyle drag

Dubai

AED 53,250

HousingAED 15,975
EssentialsAED 10,650
DiscretionaryAED 13,313
SavingsAED 13,313

London

£5,922

Housing£1,777
Essentials£1,184
Discretionary£1,481
Savings£1,481

Cost-of-living deep dive

Flip into the COL template for this exact pair. See rent burdens, discretionary drift, and PPP commentary.

Open COL page

Remote benchmark

Need a borderless baseline? Run the remote analyzer across our tier-one city basket.

Remote comparison

More combinations

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Frequently asked

Who wins for Software Engineer net pay: Dubai or London?+
Dubai keeps about AED 567,932 more after tax (0.0% effective rate) compared to London (39.3%).
How different are the cost-of-living profiles?+
Dubai posts a cost-of-living index of 55 and rent index of 72. London comes in at 56 / 56. The purchasing power gap tightens once you factor in rent and lifestyle drift.
What salary uplift offsets London's taxes?+
You would need roughly £934,992 in additional gross compensation to match the same take-home pay in Dubai.