Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Istanbul

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $426 a month against $1,526 in Istanbul, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

21

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Istanbul
Learn more

Istanbul Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$426

/mo nomad

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,526

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Istanbul

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $426 in Dhaka versus $1,526 in Istanbul.

Dhaka $426
Istanbul $1,526

Estimated couple costs with rent: $735 in Dhaka versus $2,399 in Istanbul.

Dhaka $735
Istanbul $2,399

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,043 in Dhaka versus $3,272 in Istanbul.

Dhaka $1,043
Istanbul $3,272

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 72% less than in Istanbul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dhaka is 68% below, Istanbul is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.49 ৳306

$11.88 ₺585

-79.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.06 ৳1,605

$55.1 ₺2,715

-76.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.83 ৳594

$9.14 ₺450

-47.16%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.93 ৳606

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 ৳504

Cappuccino

$2.34 ৳287

$4.24 ₺209

-44.81%

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

$0.30 ৳37.39

$1.75 ₺86.0

-82.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.96

$0.54 ₺26.84

-70.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.69 ₺231

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.97 ₺294

Milk (1 liter)

$0.80 ৳98.1

$1.26 ₺62.1

-36.51%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 ৳79.3

$0.95 ₺46.82

-31.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.71 ৳87.3

$2.31 ₺114

-69.26%

Eggs

$1.21 ৳149

$2.47 ₺122

-51.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.67 ৳1,065

$10.55 ₺520

-17.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.21 ৳395

$5.60 ₺276

-42.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.70 ৳823

$21.21 ₺1,045

-68.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.73 ৳335

$1.93 ₺95.1

41.45%

Banana (1kg)

$0.88 ৳109

$2.29 ₺113

-61.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 ৳291

$1.28 ₺63.1

85.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.65 ৳79.6

$1.84 ₺90.8

-64.67%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.20

$0.67 ₺32.87

-64.18%

Onion (1kg)

$0.49 ৳60.7

$0.59 ₺29.31

-16.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.32 ৳38.88

$1.33 ₺65.4

-75.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.30 ৳37.31

$0.59 ₺29.11

-49.15%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.07 ৳1,483

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.51 ৳677

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.66 ৳819

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.23 ৳396

$2.36 ₺116

36.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.47 ₺664

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 ₺119

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 ₺174

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.1

$0.83 ₺40.65

-49.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.54 ৳2,770

$66.5 ₺3,274

-66.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$1.35 ₺66.6

-11.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 ৳48.60

$0.85 ₺42.06

-52.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.35 ৳411

$10.86 ₺535

-69.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 ৳141

$1.47 ₺72.3

-21.77%

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

$30.3K ৳3.7M

$51.6K ₺2.5M

-41.32%

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

$33.0K ৳4.1M

$44.4K ₺2.2M

-25.68%

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

$46.32 ৳5,692

$89.2 ₺4,396

-48.08%

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

$4.33 ৳532

$11.60 ₺572

-62.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.63 ৳1,306

$16.10 ₺793

-33.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.37 ৳2,012

$77.3 ₺3,806

-78.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.14 ৳1,983

$22.66 ₺1,116

-28.77%

Cinema Ticket

$4.13 ৳508

$8.34 ₺411

-50.48%

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

$90.7 ৳11.1K

$974 ₺48.0K

-90.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,649 ৳325.5K

$25.8K ₺1.3M

-89.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$16.48 ৳2,025

$52.7 ₺2,597

-68.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.00 ৳2,580

$39.16 ₺1,930

-46.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.3 ৳6,175

$103 ₺5,084

-51.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.46 ৳4,480

$96.6 ₺4,760

-62.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$152 ৳18.6K

$994 ₺49.0K

-84.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.6 ৳9,044

$629 ₺31.0K

-88.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$436 ৳53.6K

$2,024 ₺99.7K

-78.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$214 ৳26.3K

$1,155 ₺56.9K

-81.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,622 ৳199.3K

$3,160 ₺155.7K

-48.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$761 ৳93.5K

$1,838 ₺90.5K

-58.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$249 ৳30.6K

$1,203 ₺59.3K

-79.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

41.09

-74.50%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 4, 2026

Last update for Istanbul: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$123 28.5%

Istanbul

$264 17.3% 115% $141

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$74 17.1%

Istanbul

$629 41.2% 755% $556

Eating Out

Dhaka

$64 15%

Istanbul

$218 14.3% 239% $154

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$61 14.3%

Istanbul

$117 7.7% 90.8% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$56 13%

Istanbul

$131 8.6% 135% $75

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.4%

Istanbul

$75 4.9% 175% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$25 5.7%

Istanbul

$94 6.1% 281% $69

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $152 in Dhaka and $994 in Istanbul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Istanbul pays 383% 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: $13.00 in Dhaka vs $55.0 in Istanbul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $123 vs $264 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇹🇷 Istanbul

🕒 Local time

14:35 2:35 PM

11:35 11:35 AM

3 h behind Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

15,701,602

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR

100 TRY = 2.03 USD

100 TRY = 1.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Taka (৳)

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 123 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD). 1 EUR = 138 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 49.27 TRY (100 TRY = 2.03 USD). 1 EUR = 55.26 TRY (100 TRY = 1.81 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Istanbul 5,950 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Istanbul

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 Istanbul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 258% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 383% lower in Istanbul. 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: $152 in Dhaka versus $994 in Istanbul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $426 per month in Dhaka versus $1,526 in Istanbul – a 258% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 195% less than in Istanbul. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $426 in Dhaka versus $1,526 in Istanbul, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Istanbul. The gap between the two cities makes Dhaka the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Dhaka is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Istanbul, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Dhaka and Istanbul 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 258% less than in Istanbul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.