Gulf Karak Index 2026: How Much Is a Cup of Karak?
How much does a cup of karak cost across the Gulf? We checked the menus of karak cafeterias on talabat in four cities and compared the price of one regular cup. In short, Sohar has the cheapest karak in this first edition, while Kuwait City and Dubai are the most expensive on delivery apps.
The Gulf Karak Index at a glance
Key findings
- Cheapest: Sohar, with a median of 350 baisa (about US$0.91) for a regular karak.
- Muscat: a median of 400 baisa (about US$1.04), from 200 baisa for a Yemeni-style karak to 500 baisa.
- Most expensive: Kuwait City (550 fils) and Dubai (AED 6.50), both about US$1.77 per cup.
- Delivery vs window: in Dubai, the same drink costs about 4 times more on an app than the AED 1 to 1.50 most cafeterias charge at the counter.
| City | Median price | In US$ | Outlets | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sohar | OMR 0.350 | 0.91 | 5 | OMR 0.300–0.500 |
| Muscat | OMR 0.400 | 1.04 | 7 | OMR 0.200–0.500 |
| Kuwait City | KWD 0.550 | 1.77 | 7 | KWD 0.450–0.600 |
| Dubai | AED 6.50 | 1.77 | 6 | AED 3–8 |
Why does delivered karak cost more?
Karak is famous as one of the cheapest drinks in the Gulf. In the UAE, a cafeteria cup cost AED 1 for about 17 years, until many cafeterias raised it to AED 1.50 in 2022. In August 2024, a Sharjah tea shop owner told Khaleej Times that most cafeterias in the emirate charge AED 1.50.
On a delivery app, however, the same cup usually costs more. There are three main reasons:
- Packaging: a sealed cup and lid cost more than a small paper cup handed through a car window.
- Commission: apps take a share of each order, so many cafeterias set higher menu prices.
- Bigger cups: app menus often list a medium cup as the regular size.
How we collected the prices
On 2 November 2026, we searched talabat for “karak” in one area of each city: Al Khuwair in Muscat, Al Hambar in Sohar, Shuwaikh in Kuwait and Al Karama in Dubai. For each cafeteria, we noted the cheapest regular karak. We left out saffron, flavoured, large and litre karak, as well as combos. Then we took the median price for each city.
To compare cities, we converted prices to US dollars. The Omani rial and the UAE dirham are pegged to the dollar, while the Kuwaiti dinar uses the market rate on the same day. We did not include Saudi Arabia, Qatar or Bahrain in this first edition, because their delivery menus did not show clear single-cup prices on the web.
Send us your karak price
Is your local karak cheaper or more expensive? Tell us the city, area, cafeteria and price of a regular cup with the button in the index above. We will add reader prices to the next edition and credit the area, not your name.
Make karak at home
If you drink karak every day, making it at home is easy. Our Cardamom Karak Tea comes in single sachets with no added sugar and a separate stevia sachet, so you only add hot water. To see how much caffeine your daily cups add up to, try our caffeine calculator.
Run a café, restaurant or shop?
Lucarise makes café drinks in business packs in our own factory in Oman: 1 kg café bags, 100-sachet hotel boxes and distributor cartons. Prices on request.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a cup of karak in Dubai?
At the cafeteria window, most places charge AED 1 to 1.50 for a regular cup, and some charge up to AED 2.50. On a delivery app, the median price we found in Al Karama was AED 6.50.
How much is karak in Oman?
On talabat, the median price of a regular karak was 400 baisa in Muscat (Al Khuwair) and 350 baisa in Sohar. Prices ranged from 200 to 500 baisa.
How much is karak in Kuwait?
The median price of a regular karak on talabat in Shuwaikh was 550 fils, with prices from 450 to 600 fils.
Why is delivered karak more expensive?
Delivery menus usually include the cost of packaging, app commission and a bigger cup. Many cafeterias also set higher prices on apps than at the counter.
Will you add Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain?
Yes. Their delivery apps do not show menu prices on the web in a way we could check, so we are collecting prices from readers. Send yours with the button in the index.
Sources
- talabat. Restaurant menus in Kuwait (Shuwaikh/Ardhiya), Muscat (Al Khuwair), Sohar (Al Hambar) and Dubai (Al Karama), viewed 2 November 2026. talabat.com
- Gulf News. Explore the best spots in Dubai to enjoy a classic cup of karak chai (updated May 2025). gulfnews.com
- Khaleej Times. This tea shop in Sharjah sells up to 180,000 cups of karak chai a month (August 2024). khaleejtimes.com
- Khaleej Times. UAE: your daily karak chai habit has just got expensive (February 2022). khaleejtimes.com
- Qatar Living. Best karak and late-night cafés in Doha (July 2026). qatarliving.com
- Central Bank of Oman. Exchange rate of the Omani rial (pegged at 0.3845 per US dollar). cbo.gov.om
- Central Bank of the UAE. Exchange rate policy (dirham pegged at 3.6725 per US dollar). centralbank.ae
- currencyconvert.online. KWD to USD mid-market rate, 2 November 2026 (1 KWD = 3.2146 USD). currencyconvert.online
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