Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Balikpapan and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $668 in Balikpapan, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Balikpapan
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Balikpapan Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index

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Balikpapan

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$668

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Balikpapan 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 Balikpapan and in Dhaka actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $668 in Balikpapan versus $406 in Dhaka.

Balikpapan $668
Dhaka $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,048 in Balikpapan versus $687 in Dhaka.

Balikpapan $1,048
Dhaka $687

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,428 in Balikpapan versus $969 in Dhaka.

Balikpapan $1,428
Dhaka $969

Living in Balikpapan is roughly 65% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Balikpapan 51% lower, Dhaka 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.39 Rp 25.0K

$2.28 ৳282

-39.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$10.95 Rp 197.1K

$12.33 ৳1,523

-11.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.05 Rp 55.0K

$3.95 ৳488

-22.78%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳554

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳510

Cappuccino

$1.36 Rp 24.5K

$2.28 ৳281

-40.35%

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

$0.37 Rp 6,712

$0.33 ৳40.88

12.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 Rp 6,871

$0.16 ৳19.86

137.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.25 Rp 40.4K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 Rp 59.9K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Rp 20.3K

$0.85 ৳104

32.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 Rp 19.2K

$0.60 ৳74.5

78.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.16 Rp 20.8K

$0.69 ৳85.4

68.12%

Eggs

$2.54 Rp 45.8K

$1.23 ৳152

106.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.38 Rp 132.8K

$8.80 ৳1,087

-16.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.92 Rp 52.6K

$3.33 ৳412

-12.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.04 Rp 144.7K

$6.63 ৳819

21.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.25 Rp 40.5K

$2.85 ৳352

-21.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 Rp 23.4K

$0.90 ৳111

44.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 Rp 31.7K

$2.34 ৳289

-24.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

$0.63 ৳78.4

101.59%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 Rp 22.7K

$0.24 ৳29.59

425.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 Rp 34.2K

$0.46 ৳57.3

313.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.78 Rp 14.0K

$0.35 ৳42.79

122.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 Rp 13.0K

$0.28 ৳34.24

157.14%

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)

$1.89 Rp 34.0K

$3.28 ৳405

-42.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.83 Rp 374.9K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 Rp 33.7K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 Rp 54.3K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 Rp 5,219

$0.42 ৳52.3

-30.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.15 Rp 20.7K

$1.19 ৳147

-3.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 Rp 6,777

$0.39 ৳48.71

-2.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.59 Rp 46.7K

$3.28 ৳406

-21.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.77 Rp 13.8K

$1.10 ৳136

-30.00%

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

$23.4K Rp 420.6M

$29.4K ৳3.6M

-20.61%

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

$31.0K Rp 558.8M

$32.2K ৳4.0M

-3.47%

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

$67.5 Rp 1.2M

$38.28 ৳4,729

76.28%

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

$4.36 Rp 78.4K

$4.09 ৳506

6.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.86 Rp 537.4K

$9.02 ৳1,114

231.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.74 Rp 427.4K

$13.66 ৳1,688

73.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.46 Rp 152.2K

$10.21 ৳1,261

-17.14%

Cinema Ticket

$2.84 Rp 51.1K

$4.11 ৳508

-30.90%

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

$93.1 Rp 1.7M

$90.7 ৳11.2K

2.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,570 Rp 154.3M

$2,591 ৳320.2K

230.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$38.14 Rp 686.6K

$17.06 ৳2,108

123.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.66 Rp 335.9K

$21.38 ৳2,641

-12.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$141 Rp 2.5M

$51.4 ৳6,355

173.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.9 Rp 1.3M

$36.78 ৳4,545

92.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$203 Rp 3.7M

$133 ৳16.4K

52.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$148 Rp 2.7M

$65.1 ৳8,041

127.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$537 Rp 9.7M

$377 ৳46.6K

42.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$361 Rp 6.5M

$192 ৳23.8K

87.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,258 Rp 22.6M

$1,621 ৳200.3K

-22.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$818 Rp 14.7M

$760 ৳93.9K

7.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$238 Rp 4.3M

$246 ৳30.4K

-3.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.46

10.48

-9.73%

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

Last update for Balikpapan: October 13, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Balikpapan

$206 30.9%

Dhaka

$124 30.5% 40.1% $83

Accommodation & Living

Balikpapan

$148 22.1%

Dhaka

$65 16% 56% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Balikpapan

$121 18.1%

Dhaka

$57 14.1% 52.8% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Balikpapan

$102 15.2%

Dhaka

$51 12.7% 49.5% $50

Eating Out

Balikpapan

$57 8.6%

Dhaka

$59 14.6% 3.3% $1.9

Sport & Entertainment

Balikpapan

$29 4.4%

Dhaka

$22 5.4% 25.6% $7.5

Getting Around

Balikpapan

$4.2 * 0.6%

Dhaka

$27 6.7% 551% $23

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $203 in Balikpapan and $133 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dhaka pays 3% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $11.00 in Balikpapan vs $12.00 in Dhaka. Groceries flip the comparison at $206 vs $124, with Dhaka cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Balikpapan

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

15:10 3:10 PM

13:10 1:10 PM

2 h behind Balikpapan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

701,066

21,741,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Balikpapan Dhaka 3,990 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Balikpapan
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

Balikpapan vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Balikpapan and Dhaka differ by about 65% in total monthly costs ($668 vs $406 including rent). Dhaka is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 3% lower in Dhaka. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $203 in Balikpapan versus $133 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $93.1 in Balikpapan versus $90.7 in Dhaka. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Dhaka – a meal for two runs $12.00 versus $11.00 in Balikpapan. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Dhaka gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Balikpapan and Dhaka are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Dhaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 65% less than in Balikpapan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.