Build the fare table
Note: Educational estimate for planning. Confirm final amounts on official channels.
How a Dubai taxi fare is built
Four things make up the number on the meter. A starting charge the moment the trip begins, a per-kilometre rate for the distance, a per-minute charge for time spent stationary, and any Salik toll gates the route passes through. Underneath all of it sits a minimum fare of AED 12: short trips are billed at the minimum even when distance and time come to less.
That minimum is why a two-kilometre hop costs the same as a four-kilometre one. On the table below you can see exactly where the minimum stops applying and the meter takes over.
Why this page asks you for the rate
RTA reviews the per-kilometre rate monthly, against fuel prices. Published figures sit anywhere between about AED 2.14 and AED 2.45 depending on which month and which source you read.
A fare chart with the rate welded into it is therefore wrong within weeks, and wrong in a way nobody notices, because the number still looks authoritative. So the rate is a field. The default was recorded on 30 October 2026; the meter card in the taxi has the current one, and the table rebuilds the moment you change it.
What the pick-up changes, and what it does not
Only the starting charge. A daytime street hail starts at AED 5.00 and a night hail between 10pm and 6am at AED 5.50 — the night rate is 50 fils on the flag fall, not a percentage on the whole fare, which is a common misunderstanding.
A taxi from the Dubai airport rank starts at AED 25, which is the single largest difference on this page: it adds about AED 20 to an otherwise identical trip. A taxi booked through an app adds a booking fee instead. In every case the per-kilometre rate is unchanged, so the gap between a street hail and an airport pick-up stays the same whether you travel 5 km or 50.
Salik is charged to you, not absorbed
Every Salik gate the route passes through is added to the fare. A trip from Deira to Dubai Marina along Sheikh Zayed Road can pass several. It is worth knowing before the trip rather than at the end of it, because an alternative route avoiding a gate or two sometimes costs less overall even when it is longer.
Metro or taxi?
On a cross-city trip the comparison is stark. A 25 km taxi ride comes to roughly AED 60 before Salik; the same journey on the metro crosses more than two zones and costs AED 7.50 on a Silver nol card, or nothing extra at all if you hold a pass.
Taxis win on door-to-door time, late nights and luggage. For a daily commute the difference compounds into thousands of dirhams a year — the nol pass prices make that arithmetic easy.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the distance you want a price for.
- Choose the pick-up — it changes the starting charge only.
- Check the per-kilometre rate against the meter card in the taxi and correct it if it differs.
- Add waiting minutes if the trip involves heavy traffic or a stop.
- Add the number of Salik gates the route passes through.
- Read your distance in the highlighted row, or scan the table for other distances.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a Dubai taxi for 20 km?
At a AED 5 daytime flag fall and about AED 2.26 per kilometre, roughly AED 50 before tolls. Add AED 4 for each Salik gate the route crosses, and about AED 20 more if you take the taxi from the airport rank instead of hailing it. The table on this page gives every distance from 1 to 50 km.
What is the per kilometre rate for a Dubai taxi?
Around AED 2.26, but RTA reviews it monthly against fuel prices and published figures range from roughly AED 2.14 to AED 2.45. This page takes it as an input rather than fixing it, so the table stays correct when the rate moves — use the meter card in the taxi for the current figure.
What is the minimum taxi fare in Dubai?
AED 12 for a street hail. Any trip whose distance and time come to less than that is billed at AED 12, which is why very short journeys all cost the same.
How much extra is a Dubai airport taxi?
A taxi from the airport rank starts at about AED 25 rather than the AED 5 street flag fall, so roughly AED 20 more than the same trip hailed elsewhere. The per-kilometre rate is identical, so the gap does not grow with distance.
Are Dubai taxis more expensive at night?
Only slightly, and only on the starting charge: AED 5.50 between 10pm and 6am instead of AED 5.00. The per-kilometre rate does not change at night. It is a 50 fils difference on the whole trip, not a percentage surcharge.
Do I pay for Salik in a taxi?
Yes. Each toll gate the route passes through is added to your fare. A long cross-city trip can pass several, so it is worth asking the driver which route they intend to take.
Is a taxi or the metro cheaper in Dubai?
The metro, by a very wide margin on any journey it serves. A 25 km taxi ride is roughly AED 60 before tolls; the same trip crosses more than two metro zones and costs AED 7.50 on a Silver nol card. The taxi buys you door-to-door convenience, not value.
Do you store my numbers?
No. Calculations run in your browser and nothing is sent to a server. See our Privacy Policy for analytics and AdSense cookie details.
Where these figures come from
The fare structure used here — a AED 5.00 daytime flag fall, AED 5.50 between 10pm and 6am, roughly AED 2.26 per kilometre, AED 0.30 per minute of waiting, a minimum fare of AED 12, a starting charge of about AED 25 from the Dubai airport rank and AED 4 per Salik gate — matches the figures used across this site’s Dubai taxi fare calculator and the ranges reported by transport and insurance guides covering RTA tariffs.
The per-kilometre rate is the one figure that moves. RTA reviews it monthly against fuel prices, and published figures range from about AED 2.14 to AED 2.45 depending on the month and the source; one check of RTA’s own service page in September 2026 showed AED 2.23. Because of that spread this page takes the rate as an input with a dated default rather than building it into the table — a fare chart with a welded-in rate is wrong within weeks and still looks authoritative, which is worse than being obviously missing.
Last checked against the source: 30 October 2026. Waiting-time figures are reported at both AED 0.30 and AED 0.50 a minute by different guides; this page uses AED 0.30 for consistency with the existing calculator. The meter is final. Not affiliated with RTA.
Related tools
Explore connected calculators to finish your UAE budget without dead-end pages.
Privacy & advertising disclosure
Calculations run locally in your browser. We may use Google Analytics (G-HDT8XHLXK2) and, when approved, Google AdSense (ca-pub-9886918406188712).
Third parties including Google may use cookies for ads/measurement. Read our Privacy Policy and How Google uses data.
Publisher pages: About, Contact, Disclaimer.
Disclaimer
Disclaimer: Educational estimate. The per-kilometre rate is reviewed monthly by RTA and published figures vary between sources, which is why it is an editable input here rather than a fixed constant. Routes, traffic, waiting time and the number of Salik gates change the final fare. The meter in the taxi is the only authority. Not affiliated with RTA.