Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alor Setar and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $881 in Alor Setar, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Alor Setar
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Alor Setar Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index

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Alor Setar

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$881

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Alor Setar and in Dhaka

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Alor Setar and in Dhaka actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $881 per month in Alor Setar vs $406 in Dhaka, rent included.

Alor Setar $881
Dhaka $406

A couple spends around $1,277 per month in Alor Setar vs $687 in Dhaka, rent included.

Alor Setar $1,277
Dhaka $687

A family of three spends $1,672 per month in Alor Setar vs $969 in Dhaka, rent included.

Alor Setar $1,672
Dhaka $969

Alor Setar costs about 117% more than Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Alor Setar and Dhaka are more affordable than the global median – Alor Setar 35% lower, Dhaka 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.08 MYR 8.48

$2.28 ৳282

-8.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.30 MYR 50.2

$12.33 ৳1,523

-0.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.28 MYR 17.44

$3.95 ৳488

8.35%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳554

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳510

Cappuccino

$1.82 MYR 7.40

$2.28 ৳281

-20.18%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.56 MYR 2.30

$0.33 ৳40.88

69.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 MYR 1.24

$0.16 ৳19.86

87.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.25 MYR 17.33

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.33 MYR 17.68

Milk (1 liter)

$1.60 MYR 6.51

$0.85 ৳104

88.24%

White Bread (500g)

$0.85 MYR 3.49

$0.60 ৳74.5

41.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 MYR 6.85

$0.69 ৳85.4

143.48%

Eggs

$1.51 MYR 6.17

$1.23 ৳152

22.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.63 MYR 55.6

$8.80 ৳1,087

54.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.35 MYR 17.76

$3.33 ৳412

30.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.75 MYR 35.68

$6.63 ৳819

31.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 MYR 11.98

$2.85 ৳352

3.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 MYR 5.04

$0.90 ৳111

37.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.72 MYR 11.10

$2.34 ৳289

16.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.45 MYR 5.91

$0.63 ৳78.4

130.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 MYR 4.33

$0.24 ৳29.59

341.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 MYR 4.62

$0.46 ৳57.3

145.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 MYR 4.48

$0.35 ৳42.79

214.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 MYR 2.18

$0.28 ৳34.24

92.86%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.11 ৳1,496

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.31 ৳656

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.42 ৳794

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.50 MYR 18.37

$3.28 ৳405

37.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.89 MYR 77.1

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 MYR 11.83

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.36 MYR 21.88

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 MYR 3.21

$0.42 ৳52.3

88.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.78 MYR 43.98

$22.43 ৳2,772

-51.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.67 MYR 6.80

$1.19 ৳147

40.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 MYR 1.65

$0.39 ৳48.71

2.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.37 MYR 30.08

$3.28 ৳406

124.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.51 MYR 2.09

$1.10 ৳136

-53.64%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$41.8K MYR 170.3K

$29.4K ৳3.6M

41.88%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$35.9K MYR 146.6K

$32.2K ৳4.0M

11.74%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$37.61 MYR 153

$38.28 ৳4,729

-1.75%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$7.49 MYR 30.57

$4.09 ৳506

83.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.82 MYR 89.0

$9.02 ৳1,114

141.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.96 MYR 163

$13.66 ৳1,688

192.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.19 MYR 29.33

$10.21 ৳1,261

-29.58%

Cinema Ticket

$4.95 MYR 20.19

$4.11 ৳508

20.44%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$427 MYR 1,741

$90.7 ৳11.2K

370.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.7K MYR 43.7K

$2,591 ৳320.2K

313.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$60.3 MYR 246

$17.06 ৳2,108

253.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.46 MYR 141

$21.38 ৳2,641

61.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.4 MYR 336

$51.4 ৳6,355

60.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.8 MYR 281

$36.78 ৳4,545

86.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$371 MYR 1,513

$133 ৳16.4K

178.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$305 MYR 1,246

$65.1 ৳8,041

369.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$662 MYR 2,700

$377 ৳46.6K

75.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$449 MYR 1,831

$192 ৳23.8K

133.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,986 MYR 8,103

$1,621 ৳200.3K

22.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$970 MYR 3,958

$760 ৳93.9K

27.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,642 MYR 6,697

$246 ৳30.4K

567.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.04

10.48

-61.45%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Alor Setar: October 11, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Alor Setar

$305 34.7%

Dhaka

$65 16% 78.7% $240

Groceries & Markets

Alor Setar

$246 27.9%

Dhaka

$124 30.5% 49.7% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Alor Setar

$111 12.6%

Dhaka

$57 14.1% 48.5% $54

Eating Out

Alor Setar

$85 9.6%

Dhaka

$59 14.6% 29.8% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alor Setar

$67 7.6%

Dhaka

$51 12.7% 23.2% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Alor Setar

$50 5.7%

Dhaka

$22 5.4% 56.1% $28

Getting Around

Alor Setar

$18 2%

Dhaka

$27 6.7% 54.9% $9.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $371 in Alor Setar versus $133 in Dhaka. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 567% higher in Alor Setar, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $12.00 in Alor Setar versus $12.00 in Dhaka. Groceries tell a different story – $246 in Alor Setar vs $124 in Dhaka – so Dhaka wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Alor Setar

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

03:24 3:24 AM

01:24 1:24 AM

2 h behind Alor Setar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

423,868

21,741,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Alor Setar Dhaka 2,230 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Alor Setar
Dhaka

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Alor Setar vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Alor Setar costs about 117% more than Dhaka, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,321 per month in Alor Setar and $609 in Dhaka. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Dhaka, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $427 per month in Alor Setar and $90.7 in Dhaka. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 99% more in Alor Setar, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

$1,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $881 in Alor Setar and $406 in Dhaka, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Dhaka – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Dhaka. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Alor Setar makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.