Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Icheon

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $1,595 in Icheon, rent and utilities included – about $14,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Icheon
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Icheon Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Icheon

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,595

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Icheon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $1,595 in Icheon.

Dhaka $406
Icheon $1,595

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $2,043 in Icheon.

Dhaka $687
Icheon $2,043

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $2,491 in Icheon.

Dhaka $969
Icheon $2,491

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 75% less than in Icheon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dhaka is 70% below, Icheon is 18% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$6.20 ₩8,238

-63.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$48.38 ₩64.3K

-74.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$6.62 ₩8,804

-40.33%

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

$3.70 ₩4,924

-38.38%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$1.33 ₩1,774

-75.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$1.17 ₩1,553

-86.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.80 ₩5,052

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.22 ₩5,607

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$2.23 ₩2,970

-61.88%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$3.27 ₩4,346

-81.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$3.21 ₩4,263

-78.50%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$2.74 ₩3,650

-55.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$10.97 ₩14.6K

-19.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$10.56 ₩14.0K

-68.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$25.36 ₩33.7K

-73.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$11.33 ₩15.1K

-74.85%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$3.56 ₩4,731

-74.72%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$8.13 ₩10.8K

-71.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$5.90 ₩7,849

-89.32%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$6.05 ₩8,043

-96.03%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$3.38 ₩4,489

-86.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$2.74 ₩3,647

-87.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$1.28 ₩1,701

-78.13%

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

$3.29 ₩4,378

-0.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.65 ₩24.8K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.44 ₩3,245

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 ₩4,546

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

$1.10 ₩1,466

-61.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$3.64 ₩4,836

-67.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$0.77 ₩1,028

-49.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$16.77 ₩22.3K

-80.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$1.37 ₩1,821

-19.71%

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$29.9K ₩39.8M

-1.65%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$33.4K ₩44.4M

-3.69%

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$200 ₩265.3K

-80.81%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$36.02 ₩47.9K

-88.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$27.21 ₩36.2K

-66.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

$22.45 ₩29.8K

-39.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$11.28 ₩15.0K

-63.56%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$642 ₩853.2K

-85.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$22.1K ₩29.4M

-88.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$106 ₩141.3K

-83.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$65.5 ₩87.1K

-67.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$93.9 ₩124.8K

-45.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$129 ₩171.6K

-71.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$748 ₩994.5K

-82.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

$459 ₩609.7K

-85.81%

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

$2,317 ₩3.1M

-89.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

3.9

168.72%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Icheon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Icheon

$488 30.6% 295% $365

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Icheon

$459 28.8% 605% $394

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Icheon

$151 9.5% 155% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Icheon

$178 11.1% 212% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Icheon

$263 16.5% 411% $211

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Icheon

$12 * 0.8% 56.4% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Icheon

$45 2.8% 106% $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 $133 in Dhaka and $748 in Icheon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Icheon pays 842% 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 $48.00 in Icheon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $488 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇰🇷 Icheon

🕒 Local time

02:24 2:24 AM

05:24 5:24 AM

3 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

213,059

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, 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).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Icheon 3,820 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Icheon

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 Icheon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 293% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 842% lower in Icheon. 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 $748 in Icheon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $90.7 in Dhaka versus $642 in Icheon. 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 $48.00 in Icheon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $406 in Dhaka versus $1,595 in Icheon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Icheon. The gap between the two cities makes Dhaka the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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 Icheon 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 293% less than in Icheon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.