Pass Break-Even Calculator: Day, Weekly and 30-Day NOL Passes
A pass saves money only if you ride enough, so this calculator compares pay as you go with a day pass, a 7 day pass and a 30 day pass for your own trips per day, zones and days travelling. Enter your travel pattern and the tool shows all four totals, names the cheapest, and gives the break-even number of trips for each pass. Pass prices were checked 2026-11-10 on the RTA Nol Fares page; verify on rta.ae before you buy.
The calculator: one tool, three passes
Enter your trips per day, your zones per trip, how many days you travel, and your card type, then tap Compare passes. The tool prices pay as you go, day passes, a 7 day pass and a 30 day pass for your pattern, and tells you which one costs least. The day pass in the comparison is the QR one day pass at AED 22 Regular or AED 42 Gold, and the 7 day and 30 day passes are NOL passes on your card type.
Pass break-even calculator
Compare pay as you go with a day pass, a 7 day pass and a 30 day pass. Prices are estimates only. Verify on rta.ae before you buy.
Enter your travel pattern above, then tap Compare passes.
Estimate only. Pass prices checked 2026-11-10 on the RTA Nol Fares page. The day pass here is the QR one day pass. Anonymous cards can only apply for the 7 day pass; a 30 day pass needs a registered card.
Anonymous cards can only apply for the 7 day pass. A 30 day pass needs a registered Silver or Gold card. If your card is anonymous and the calculator says a 30 day pass is cheapest, register your card first or take the 7 day pass result instead.
How the maths works
Pay as you go for a pattern is your trips per day multiplied by your days travelling multiplied by your single fare, and a pass wins when its price is below that total. Take a Silver card at 2 zones, where one trip costs AED 5. At 2 trips a day for 7 days, pay as you go is 2 times 7 times 5, which is AED 70. The 7 day 2-zone pass costs AED 80, so pay as you go wins by AED 10. At 4 trips a day for 7 days, pay as you go is AED 140 and the same pass at AED 80 wins by AED 60.
- Break-even for the 7 day pass: divide the pass price by the single fare. AED 80 divided by AED 5 is 16 trips in 7 days, about 2.3 trips a day.
- Break-even for the day pass: divide the day pass price by the single fare. AED 22 divided by AED 5 is 4.4, so 5 trips in a day before a day pass pays.
- Break-even for the 30 day pass: divide the pass price by the single fare, then divide by 30 days. AED 230 divided by AED 5 is 46 trips in 30 days, about 1.5 trips a day.
Day pass or 7 day pass: the quick rule
A day pass pays when you make about 5 trips in a day, and a 7 day pass pays when you make about 16 trips in a week, both on a Silver card at 2 zones. Those counts come from the same division as above: AED 22 divided by AED 5 is 4.4 trips a day, and AED 80 divided by AED 5 is 16 trips a week. At 1 zone the counts are higher, because a single trip costs only AED 3; at all zones they are lower, because a single trip costs AED 7.50. Use the calculator above for your own zone tier and card type.
Pass prices table
A 7 day Silver pass costs AED 50 for 1 zone, AED 80 for 2 zones and AED 110 for all zones, and a 30 day Silver pass costs AED 140, AED 230 and AED 350. Gold passes cost double Silver, and Student and Senior Emirati passes cost half Silver. A 1 day Travel Pass on a Red Ticket costs AED 20 Regular and AED 40 Gold, valid until midnight on the travel date. The QR one day pass costs AED 22 Regular and AED 42 Gold. Pass prices were read directly on the RTA Nol Fares page.
| Pass | Silver | Gold | Student / Senior Emirati |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 days | 50 / 80 / 110 | 100 / 160 / 220 | 25 / 40 / 55 |
| 30 days | 140 / 230 / 350 | 280 / 460 / 700 | 70 / 115 / 175 |
| 90 days | 330 / 550 / 830 | 660 / 1100 / 1660 | 165 / 275 / 415 |
| 365 days | 1060 / 1770 / 2670 | 2120 / 3540 / 5340 | 530 / 885 / 1335 |
Prices are in AED, as 1 zone / 2 zones / all zones. The 1 day Travel Pass and the QR day pass are not in this table, because they are single day products, not NOL passes. See the Metro Fares and NOL Card Hub for the full fare tables. Fares checked 2026-11-10, verify on rta.ae.
Which pass suits which rider
A day pass suits a visitor with one busy day, a 7 day pass suits a rider travelling most days for a week, and a 30 day pass suits a resident riding daily for a month. The break-even count decides each case, not the length of the pass.
- One busy day: a day pass, if you make about 5 trips that day on a Silver card at 2 zones. Below that, pay as you go wins.
- A week of regular travel: a 7 day pass, if you make about 16 trips in the week on a Silver card at 2 zones. That is about 2.3 trips a day.
- A month of daily travel: a 30 day pass, if you make about 46 trips in the month on a Silver card at 2 zones. That is about 1.5 trips a day.
- An occasional rider: pay as you go. A pass suits a rider who travels most days across the same zones; an occasional rider usually pays less per trip with pay as you go.
Frequently asked questions
The answers below use the same verified pass prices as the calculator above, checked 2026-11-10. Verify on rta.ae before you buy.
What is the break-even point?
The break-even point is the number of trips at which a pass costs less than pay as you go, and the calculator shows it for each pass type. For a 7 day 2-zone Silver pass at AED 80, with a single trip at AED 5, the break-even point is 16 trips in 7 days. Below that count, pay as you go is cheaper; above it, the pass wins.
Is a day pass worth it for one day?
A day pass is worth it for one day only if you make about 5 trips that day on a Silver card at 2 zones, because the QR day pass costs AED 22 and a single trip costs AED 5. At 4 trips or fewer, pay as you go costs less. A day pass is valid until the end of the day’s operating hours on the day it is first used, not for 24 hours.
Can I buy a 30-day pass on an anonymous card?
No, anonymous Silver and Gold cards can only apply for the 7 day pass, and a 30 day pass needs a registered card. If the calculator says a 30 day pass is cheapest and your card is anonymous, register your card first or take the 7 day pass result instead. Registered cards can apply for 7, 30, 90 and 365 day passes.
Do passes work on buses and the Tram?
Yes, NOL passes cover the Metro, the Tram and RTA buses, because they use the same zone system, but a QR day pass covers only Metro, Tram and bus too and not parking, taxis, ferries or Etihad Rail. A pass does not pay for a taxi, a ferry or the train to Abu Dhabi. Check the coverage before you rely on a pass for a mixed trip.
Does a pass cover Gold Class?
Only a Gold pass covers Gold Class cabins, and a Gold pass costs double the Silver pass for the same zones and days. A Silver pass pays Silver fares and does not open Gold Class. If you ride Gold Class, choose Gold in the calculator so the totals use Gold fares and Gold pass prices.
What happens if I travel fewer days than the pass?
If you travel fewer days than the pass covers, the unused days are wasted, because a pass is priced for the full period and not refunded per day. The calculator already counts this: a 7 day pass for a 3 day trip is priced in full against 3 days of pay as you go. Compare with pay as you go first, before you buy a pass longer than your stay.
Pass prices on this page were checked 2026-11-10 against the RTA Nol Fares page. Verify on rta.ae before you buy. See also our Metro Fares and NOL Card Hub, Dubai Metro Fare Calculator and Dubai Metro Route Planner pages.
