Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Calamba

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $518 in Calamba, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Calamba
Learn more

Calamba Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Calamba

🇵🇭 Philippines

$518

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Calamba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $518 in Calamba.

Dhaka $406
Calamba $518

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $764 in Calamba.

Dhaka $687
Calamba $764

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $1,010 in Calamba.

Dhaka $969
Calamba $1,010

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 22% less than in Calamba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 70% lower, Calamba 62% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$3.92 ₱247

-41.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$12.02 ₱757

2.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$2.82 ₱178

40.07%

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

$1.79 ₱113

27.37%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$0.56 ₱35.44

-41.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.33 ₱21.06

-51.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.94 ₱59.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ₱97.7

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$1.60 ₱101

-46.88%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$1.11 ₱70.1

-45.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$0.97 ₱61.0

-28.87%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$2.00 ₱126

-38.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$5.20 ₱327

69.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$3.40 ₱214

-2.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$7.80 ₱491

-15.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$2.31 ₱145

23.38%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$1.54 ₱96.9

-41.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$2.40 ₱151

-2.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$1.06 ₱66.9

-40.57%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$1.73 ₱109

-86.13%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$1.78 ₱112

-74.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$0.61 ₱38.68

-42.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$0.49 ₱31.10

-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

$2.92 ₱184

12.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.87 ₱558

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 ₱60.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 ₱132

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$0.82 ₱51.9

45.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$0.25 ₱15.75

56.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$1.88 ₱119

74.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$0.93 ₱58.7

18.28%

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$21.1K ₱1.3M

39.27%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$19.0K ₱1.2M

69.17%

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$139 ₱8,759

-72.48%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$17.36 ₱1,093

-76.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$23.85 ₱1,502

-62.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$5.04 ₱317

-18.45%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$130 ₱8,193

-30.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$10.6K ₱668.9K

-75.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$28.54 ₱1,797

-40.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$19.73 ₱1,242

8.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$71.0 ₱4,468

-27.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$55.3 ₱3,482

-33.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

$260 ₱16.4K

-5.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

6.75

55.26%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Calamba: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Calamba

$175 33.7% 41.2% $51

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Calamba

- * 0% 100%

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Calamba

$73 14% 22.5% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Calamba

$79 15.2% 37.8% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Calamba

$180 34.8% 251% $129

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Calamba

$2.1 * 0.4% 92.4% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Calamba

$10 * 1.9% 54% $12

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

Cost Breakdown

Calamba pays 6% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $12.00 in Dhaka vs $12.00 in Calamba for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $175 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇵🇭 Calamba

🕒 Local time

01:01 1:01 AM

03:01 3:01 AM

2 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

539,671

💱 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 17, 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Calamba 3,400 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Calamba

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 Calamba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka wins on cost – living expenses run 28% lower than in Calamba. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Dhaka the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 6% lower in Calamba. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Calamba. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $406 per month in Dhaka versus $518 in Calamba – a 28% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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 Calamba 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 28% less than in Calamba. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.