Dubai Metro FareCalculator
Compare pay-per-trip with nol 7, 30, 90 and 365 day passes, and see exactly when a pass starts to pay off.
- Silver, Gold and red ticket
- Half-fare option
- Break-even journey count
- Free, no sign-up
Your regular journey
Free, instant, nothing is stored
Fares and pass prices come from RTA’s published tables as we read them. Pass prices are compared per 30 days, so the 7-day, 90-day and 365-day passes are pro-rated. The 90-day and 365-day figures assume you pay for the whole term and keep using it.
Cheapest option
Cheapest option per 30 days: 365-day pass
About this calculator
This Dubai metro fare calculator compares what you would pay trip by trip with the price of a nol travel pass. A Silver or personal card costs AED 3 within one zone, AED 5 across two adjacent zones and AED 7.50 across more, per RTA, and a Gold card doubles those fares. Enter how often you travel, and it shows the cheapest option and the break-even point for a monthly pass.
Dubai metro fares and nol passes used
These are the figures from our Dubai metro fare guide, which cites RTA’s nol fares page.
| Journey | Silver or personal | Gold | Red ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Within 1 zone | AED 3 | AED 6 | AED 4 |
| 2 adjacent zones | AED 5 | AED 10 | AED 6 |
| More than 2 zones | AED 7.50 | AED 15 | AED 8.50 |
| Silver pass | 1 zone | 2 zones | All zones |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 days | AED 50 | AED 80 | AED 110 |
| 30 days | AED 140 | AED 230 | AED 350 |
| 90 days | AED 330 | AED 550 | AED 830 |
| 365 days | AED 1,060 | AED 1,770 | AED 2,670 |
Gold passes cost exactly double, and student and senior passes exactly half, according to RTA’s pass table as we read it.
- Find the fare per journey for your card and the zones you cross.
- Multiply by journeys per day and travel days for the pay-per-trip cost.
- Convert each pass to a 30-day cost: 7-day × 30/7, 90-day × 30/90, 365-day × 30/365.
- Compare. The lowest figure is the cheapest option.
- Divide the 30-day pass price by the fare for the break-even journey count.
Metro fare worked examples
These use the fare and pass tables above. They are our arithmetic, since RTA prints no such comparison.
| Pattern | Per month, pay per trip | Cheapest option | 30-day cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver card, 1 zone, 2 journeys a day, 22 days | AED 132.00 | 365-day pass | AED 87.12 |
| Silver card, 2 zones, 2 journeys a day, 22 days | AED 220.00 | 365-day pass | AED 145.48 |
| Silver card, 2 zones, 4 journeys a day, 26 days | AED 520.00 | 365-day pass | AED 145.48 |
| Silver card, 3 or more zones, 2 journeys a day, 22 days | AED 330.00 | 365-day pass | AED 219.45 |
| Gold card, 2 zones, 2 journeys a day, 22 days | AED 440.00 | 365-day pass | AED 290.96 |
| Student or senior personal Silver card, 2 zones | AED 110.00 | 365-day pass | AED 72.74 |
When a pass beats single trips
A 30-day Silver pass for one zone costs AED 140, the same as 47 journeys at AED 3. Two zones need 46 journeys (AED 230 ÷ AED 5), and more than two zones need 47 (AED 350 ÷ AED 7.50, rounded up). A commuter making two journeys a day for 22 days makes 44, so a 30-day pass does not pay for them in any of the three cases.
The long passes are priced much lower per month. A 365-day one-zone Silver pass at AED 1,060 works out at about AED 88 a month, which equals 30 journeys at AED 3. It only wins if you keep using the pass for the full year, and we did not find a refund rule on RTA’s page. The calculator shows both break-even counts.
Assumptions this calculator makes
- Zones. Only the three journey types RTA prices are offered. Which zones your route crosses is in RTA’s journey planner, not in this tool.
- One journey is one fare. A transfer within 30 minutes of checking out is charged as one journey by total zones, with up to 180 minutes and three transfers.
- Half fare. RTA lists half fare for students, Social Affairs riders and senior Emiratis on a personal card. We apply it to Silver only. Children aged five and under ride free, so leave them out of the count.
- Gold. We double the Silver fare. RTA describes a Gold surcharge on metro and tram, so check how it is charged on your route.
- Passes. Only registered Silver and Gold cards can hold 30, 90 and 365-day passes. An anonymous card can buy only the 7-day pass. Card purchase cost is not counted.
- No daily cap. We found none on RTA’s pages.
Which nol card and pass? A cheat sheet
RTA publishes fares and pass prices but not the point where a pass starts to pay. The table gives it for each card, using the same tables as the calculator. Journeys are counted as one fare each, so a bus transfer within 30 minutes of checking out counts once.
| Card | Zones | Fare per journey | 7-day pass pays off at | 30-day pass pays off at | 365-day pass pays off at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silver or personal | Within 1 zone | AED 3 | 17 in the week | 47 a month | 30 a month |
| Silver or personal | 2 adjacent zones | AED 5 | 16 in the week | 46 a month | 30 a month |
| Silver or personal | More than 2 zones | AED 7.50 | 15 in the week | 47 a month | 30 a month |
| Gold | Within 1 zone | AED 6 | 17 in the week | 47 a month | 30 a month |
| Gold | 2 adjacent zones | AED 10 | 16 in the week | 46 a month | 30 a month |
| Gold | More than 2 zones | AED 15 | 15 in the week | 47 a month | 30 a month |
The 365-day figure divides the pass price by 12, so it only applies if you keep using the card for the full year. We did not find a refund rule on RTA’s pages.
How to read it
- Under about 30 journeys a month: pay per trip with a Silver card. No pass beats single fares at that level.
- About 30 journeys a month, all year: a 365-day pass is cheaper than single fares. A commuter making 44 journeys a month saves money on it.
- About 47 or more journeys in a single month: a 30-day pass beats single fares for one zone, but the 365-day pass is cheaper again per month if you can commit.
- Visiting for a week: the 7-day pass only wins at the journey count in the first column, and an anonymous card can hold only that pass.
Is Gold worth it?
The Gold fare is exactly double the Silver fare for the same zones, so a one-zone commuter pays AED 3 more each journey. A r/dubai reply in November 2025 argued the premium pays off for frequent riders.
“Gold is definitely worth it if you plan to use the metro often.”r/dubai, November 2025 (13 upvotes). A single account, not an official source.
That is a comfort judgement, and the price side is in the table. For 44 one-zone journeys a month the extra cost is 44 × AED 3, or AED 132, by our arithmetic. Decide whether the carriage is worth that to you. RTA’s page describes a Gold surcharge on the metro and tram only, and we did not confirm how Gold fares work on buses.
- Count your journeys in a normal month, not your busiest one.
- Find your zones in RTA’s journey planner and pick the matching row above.
- If you are below the 365-day figure, pay per trip. If you are above it and staying a year, buy the annual pass.
- Register your Silver card first, because only registered cards can hold the 30, 90 and 365-day passes.
Dubai metro fare calculator questions
How much is the Dubai metro?
AED 3 within one zone, AED 5 across two adjacent zones and AED 7.50 across more, on a Silver or personal nol card, per RTA.
How much is a Gold card journey?
AED 6, AED 10 or AED 15, because Gold fares are double the Silver fares.
Is a monthly nol pass worth it?
For one zone, a 30-day Silver pass at AED 140 pays off from about 47 journeys a month. A 365-day pass at AED 1,060 works out lower per month, if you keep it all year.
Is there a daily fare cap?
We found no cap on RTA’s fares page.
Can an anonymous card hold a monthly pass?
No. RTA says anonymous cards can buy a 7-day pass only.
Sources and what we could not confirm
Fares and pass prices are from RTA’s nol fares page, read on 14 October 2026 and summarised in our guide. The page shows no date for its last change.
- The Gold surcharge amount is unconfirmed.
- The price of a Gold or Blue card is unconfirmed.
- We did not check how half-fare passes work for Gold cards.