Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Haikou

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $806 in Haikou, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Haikou
Learn more

Haikou Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Haikou

🇨🇳 China

$806

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Haikou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $806 in Haikou.

Dhaka $406
Haikou $806

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $1,152 in Haikou.

Dhaka $687
Haikou $1,152

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $1,497 in Haikou.

Dhaka $969
Haikou $1,497

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 50% less than in Haikou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 70% lower, Haikou 40% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$4.40 ¥29.45

-48.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$14.72 ¥98.4

-16.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$6.02 ¥40.26

-34.39%

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

$2.43 ¥16.25

-6.17%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$0.86 ¥5.74

-61.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.34 ¥2.27

-52.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.51 ¥10.06

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 ¥18.18

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$2.13 ¥14.26

-60.09%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$1.48 ¥9.90

-59.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$0.66 ¥4.40

4.55%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$1.36 ¥9.07

-9.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$3.92 ¥26.23

-15.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$15.42 ¥103

-57.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$1.69 ¥11.30

68.64%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$0.87 ¥5.80

3.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$1.11 ¥7.40

110.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$0.93 ¥6.24

-32.26%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$0.89 ¥5.95

-73.03%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$0.73 ¥4.85

-36.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$0.47 ¥3.12

-25.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$0.57 ¥3.83

-50.88%

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

$3.09 ¥20.68

6.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.76 ¥58.6

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 ¥3.84

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 ¥8.23

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

$0.92 ¥6.17

-54.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

$53.3 ¥356

-57.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$2.19 ¥14.66

-45.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$0.43 ¥2.86

-9.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$1.22 ¥8.15

-9.84%

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$35.41 ¥237

8.11%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$13.21 ¥88.3

-69.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$13.38 ¥89.4

-32.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

$45.67 ¥305

-70.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

$6.33 ¥42.35

61.30%

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$4.50 ¥30.10

-8.67%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$862 ¥5,762

-89.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$19.5K ¥130.4K

-86.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$27.00 ¥181

-36.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$34.89 ¥233

-38.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$44.76 ¥299

14.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$37.57 ¥251

-2.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$377 ¥2,523

-64.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

$294 ¥1,966

-77.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

$570 ¥3,808

-33.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

$369 ¥2,469

-47.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

$3,154 ¥21.1K

-48.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

$2,183 ¥14.6K

-65.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

$727 ¥4,859

-66.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

3.85

172.21%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Haikou: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Haikou

$169 * 20.9% 36.3% $45

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Haikou

$294 36.5% 352% $229

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Haikou

$100 12.4% 68.7% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Haikou

$65 8.1% 13.9% $7.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Haikou

$62 7.7% 20.6% $11

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Haikou

$61 7.6% 125% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Haikou

$55 6.8% 150% $33

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 $133 in Dhaka and $377 in Haikou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Haikou pays 195% 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 $15.00 in Haikou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $169 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇨🇳 Haikou

🕒 Local time

00:53 12:53 AM

02:53 2:53 AM

2 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

2,873,358

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, 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).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dhaka Haikou 2,080 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Haikou

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 Haikou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 99% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 195% lower in Haikou. 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: $133 in Dhaka versus $377 in Haikou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $406 per month in Dhaka versus $806 in Haikou – a 99% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 137% less than in Haikou. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

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 99% less than in Haikou. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.