Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Albay

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $740 in Albay, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Albay
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Albay Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Albay

🇵🇭 Philippines

$740

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Albay

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $740 in Albay.

Dhaka $406
Albay $740

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $1,099 in Albay.

Dhaka $687
Albay $1,099

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $1,457 in Albay.

Dhaka $969
Albay $1,457

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 45% less than in Albay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 70% lower, Albay 45% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$3.98 ₱250

-42.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$17.00 ₱1,070

-27.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$2.72 ₱171

45.22%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳554

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳510

Cappuccino

$2.28 ৳281

$2.27 ₱143

0.44%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$0.62 ₱39.23

-46.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.33 ₱21.01

-51.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.17 ₱73.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 ₱124

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$1.85 ₱116

-54.05%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$1.04 ₱65.2

-42.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$0.86 ₱54.0

-19.77%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$1.99 ₱125

-38.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$4.92 ₱310

78.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$4.17 ₱263

-20.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$6.55 ₱413

1.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$2.71 ₱171

5.17%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$1.58 ₱99.3

-43.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$2.12 ₱133

10.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$1.03 ₱65.0

-38.83%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$1.78 ₱112

-86.52%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$2.26 ₱142

-79.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$0.86 ₱53.9

-59.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$0.49 ₱30.89

-42.86%

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)

$3.28 ৳405

$2.67 ₱168

22.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.49 ₱472

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 ₱69.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 ₱118

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

$0.26 ₱16.50

61.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

$10.06 ₱634

122.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$0.68 ₱42.90

75.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$0.19 ₱11.90

105.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$1.65 ₱104

98.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$1.38 ₱87.1

-20.29%

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$18.5K ₱1.2M

59.42%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$19.5K ₱1.2M

64.56%

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$115 ₱7,229

-66.66%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$15.40 ₱970

-73.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$25.92 ₱1,632

-65.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

$37.20 ₱2,342

-63.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

$5.27 ₱332

93.74%

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$5.34 ₱336

-23.03%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$133 ₱8,400

-31.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$7,069 ₱445.1K

-63.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$28.70 ₱1,807

-40.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$19.91 ₱1,254

7.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$72.9 ₱4,587

-29.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$50.2 ₱3,160

-26.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$230 ₱14.5K

-42.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

$190 ₱11.9K

-65.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

$489 ₱30.8K

-22.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

$328 ₱20.6K

-41.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

$2,576 ₱162.2K

-37.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

$959 ₱60.4K

-20.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

$163 ₱10.2K

51.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

6.79

54.34%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Albay: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Albay

$176 23.7% 42% $52

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Albay

$190 25.6% 191% $125

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Albay

$81 10.9% 36.1% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Albay

$77 10.4% 35.5% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Albay

$156 21.1% 204% $105

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Albay

$13 1.7% 53.3% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Albay

$48 6.5% 119% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $133 in Dhaka and $230 in Albay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dhaka pays 51% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $12.00 in Dhaka vs $17.00 in Albay for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $176 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇵🇭 Albay

🕒 Local time

06:50 6:50 AM

08:50 8:50 AM

2 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

179,481

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Taka (৳)

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Albay 3,700 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Albay

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

Dhaka vs Albay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka and Albay differ by about 82% in total monthly costs ($406 vs $740 including rent). Dhaka is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 51% higher in Dhaka, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $133 in Dhaka versus $230 in Albay. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Albay. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Dhaka – a meal for two runs $12.00 versus $17.00 in Albay. 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.

Expats usually find Dhaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 82% less than in Albay. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.