Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Batu Pahat

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $905 in Batu Pahat, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Batu Pahat
Learn more

Batu Pahat Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Batu Pahat

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$905

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Batu Pahat

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 Batu Pahat actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $905 in Batu Pahat.

Dhaka $406
Batu Pahat $905

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $1,336 in Batu Pahat.

Dhaka $687
Batu Pahat $1,336

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $1,767 in Batu Pahat.

Dhaka $969
Batu Pahat $1,767

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 55% less than in Batu Pahat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 70% lower, Batu Pahat 33% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$2.47 MYR 10.07

-7.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$12.46 MYR 50.9

-1.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$3.71 MYR 15.14

6.47%

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

$3.01 MYR 12.27

-24.25%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$0.63 MYR 2.56

-47.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.38 MYR 1.57

-57.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.27 MYR 13.35

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.80 MYR 23.65

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$1.94 MYR 7.93

-56.19%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$1.08 MYR 4.39

-44.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$1.48 MYR 6.03

-53.38%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$1.83 MYR 7.48

-32.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$9.83 MYR 40.10

-10.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$3.19 MYR 13.02

4.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$9.42 MYR 38.43

-29.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$3.43 MYR 14.00

-16.91%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$1.93 MYR 7.88

-53.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$2.72 MYR 11.10

-13.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$1.80 MYR 7.35

-65.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$2.06 MYR 8.39

-88.35%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$2.04 MYR 8.34

-77.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$1.50 MYR 6.12

-76.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$0.56 MYR 2.27

-50.00%

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

$4.56 MYR 18.59

-28.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.40 MYR 79.2

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.63 MYR 10.72

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 MYR 18.82

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

$0.82 MYR 3.34

-48.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

$11.64 MYR 47.50

92.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$1.24 MYR 5.05

-4.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$0.38 MYR 1.57

2.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$8.75 MYR 35.68

-62.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$0.52 MYR 2.12

111.54%

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$41.8K MYR 170.4K

-29.53%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$32.3K MYR 132.0K

-0.57%

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$49.05 MYR 200

-21.96%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$8.37 MYR 34.13

-51.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$26.95 MYR 110

-66.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

$34.59 MYR 141

-60.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

$7.19 MYR 29.32

42.00%

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$5.01 MYR 20.44

-17.96%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$280 MYR 1,141

-67.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$10.3K MYR 42.2K

-74.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$51.8 MYR 211

-67.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$29.39 MYR 120

-27.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$78.1 MYR 319

-34.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$86.3 MYR 352

-57.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$407 MYR 1,662

-67.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

$299 MYR 1,218

-78.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

$676 MYR 2,758

-44.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

$486 MYR 1,983

-60.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

$1,868 MYR 7,621

-13.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

$1,218 MYR 4,969

-37.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

4.51

132.37%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Batu Pahat: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Batu Pahat

$250 27.6% 102% $126

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Batu Pahat

$299 33% 359% $234

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Batu Pahat

$99 10.9% 66.6% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Batu Pahat

$111 12.2% 93.9% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Batu Pahat

$84 9.3% 64.2% $33

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Batu Pahat

$18 2% 33.7% $9.2

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Batu Pahat

$45 4.9% 104% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $133 in Dhaka and $407 in Batu Pahat. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $12.00 in Dhaka vs $12.00 in Batu Pahat for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $250 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇲🇾 Batu Pahat

🕒 Local time

05:21 5:21 AM

07:21 7:21 AM

2 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

401,210

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, 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).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Batu Pahat 2,790 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Batu Pahat

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 Batu Pahat: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka wins on cost – living expenses run 123% lower than in Batu Pahat. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Dhaka the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $609 in Dhaka and $1,358 in Batu Pahat to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $133 in Dhaka versus $407 in Batu Pahat. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 102% higher in Batu Pahat. 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 $12.00 in Batu Pahat. 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, Dhaka and Batu Pahat 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 123% less than in Batu Pahat. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.