Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Kaohsiung

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $426 a month against $1,108 in Kaohsiung, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

21

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Kaohsiung
Learn more

Kaohsiung Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$426

/mo nomad

Kaohsiung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,108

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Kaohsiung

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $426 in Dhaka versus $1,108 in Kaohsiung.

Dhaka $426
Kaohsiung $1,108

Estimated couple costs with rent: $735 in Dhaka versus $1,821 in Kaohsiung.

Dhaka $735
Kaohsiung $1,821

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,043 in Dhaka versus $2,535 in Kaohsiung.

Dhaka $1,043
Kaohsiung $2,535

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 62% less than in Kaohsiung, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 68% lower, Kaohsiung 17% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.49 ৳305

$5.46 NT$174

-54.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.06 ৳1,604

$31.96 NT$1,020

-59.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.83 ৳594

$4.87 NT$155

-0.82%

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

$2.83 NT$90.4

-17.31%

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

$0.30 ৳37.38

$1.14 NT$36.40

-73.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.96

$0.71 NT$22.76

-77.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.53 NT$48.85

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 NT$81.5

Milk (1 liter)

$0.80 ৳98.1

$3.25 NT$104

-75.38%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 ৳79.3

$2.19 NT$69.7

-70.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.71 ৳87.2

$3.07 NT$98.1

-76.87%

Eggs

$1.21 ৳149

$2.67 NT$85.2

-54.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.67 ৳1,065

$16.13 NT$515

-46.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.21 ৳395

$8.08 NT$258

-60.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.70 ৳823

$15.24 NT$486

-56.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.73 ৳335

$6.80 NT$217

-59.85%

Banana (1kg)

$0.88 ৳108

$2.82 NT$90.1

-68.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 ৳291

$2.57 NT$82.0

-7.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.65 ৳79.5

$3.08 NT$98.4

-78.90%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.19

$2.84 NT$90.7

-91.55%

Onion (1kg)

$0.49 ৳60.6

$2.06 NT$65.8

-76.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.32 ৳38.87

$2.45 NT$78.2

-86.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.30 ৳37.30

$1.04 NT$33.18

-71.15%

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 ৳818

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.23 ৳396

$4.54 NT$145

-28.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.72 NT$502

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 NT$53.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 NT$71.7

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.1

$0.68 NT$21.68

-38.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.54 ৳2,769

$12.67 NT$404

77.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$2.76 NT$88.0

-56.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 ৳48.58

$0.75 NT$23.98

-46.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.35 ৳411

$5.51 NT$176

-39.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 ৳141

$1.02 NT$32.50

12.75%

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

$30.3K ৳3.7M

$33.6K NT$1.1M

-9.96%

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

$33.0K ৳4.1M

$23.0K NT$735.3K

43.35%

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

$46.32 ৳5,690

$84.8 NT$2,705

-45.36%

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

$4.33 ৳531

$17.34 NT$553

-75.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.63 ৳1,306

$25.77 NT$822

-58.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.37 ৳2,011

$41.21 NT$1,315

-60.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.14 ৳1,982

$10.41 NT$332

55.04%

Cinema Ticket

$4.13 ৳508

$10.96 NT$350

-62.32%

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

$90.7 ৳11.1K

$462 NT$14.7K

-80.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,649 ৳325.4K

$14.1K NT$449.2K

-81.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$16.48 ৳2,024

$93.5 NT$2,982

-82.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.00 ৳2,579

$31.88 NT$1,017

-34.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.3 ৳6,173

$85.9 NT$2,740

-41.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.46 ৳4,478

$104 NT$3,314

-64.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$152 ৳18.6K

$415 NT$13.2K

-63.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.6 ৳9,041

$276 NT$8,808

-73.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$436 ৳53.5K

$979 NT$31.2K

-55.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$214 ৳26.3K

$668 NT$21.3K

-67.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,622 ৳199.2K

$4,588 NT$146.4K

-64.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$761 ৳93.5K

$3,154 NT$100.7K

-75.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$249 ৳30.6K

$1,462 NT$46.7K

-82.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

2.56

309.38%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 4, 2026

Last update for Kaohsiung: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$123 28.5%

Kaohsiung

$368 33.1% 200% $245

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$74 17.1%

Kaohsiung

$276 24.9% 275% $202

Eating Out

Dhaka

$64 15%

Kaohsiung

$112 10.1% 74.9% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$61 14.3%

Kaohsiung

$128 11.5% 109% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$56 13%

Kaohsiung

$142 12.8% 154% $86

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.4%

Kaohsiung

$22 2% 20.1% $5.5

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$25 5.7%

Kaohsiung

$63 5.7% 156% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $152 in Dhaka and $415 in Kaohsiung. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kaohsiung pays 487% 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 $32.00 in Kaohsiung for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $123 vs $368 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇹🇼 Kaohsiung

🕒 Local time

16:23 4:23 PM

18:23 6:23 PM

2 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

2,777,873

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.27 EUR

100 TWD = 3.13 USD

100 TWD = 2.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, 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 = 7.27 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 31.91 TWD (100 TWD = 3.13 USD). 1 EUR = 35.76 TWD (100 TWD = 2.8 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Kaohsiung 3,060 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Kaohsiung

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 Kaohsiung: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 160% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 487% lower in Kaohsiung. 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 $415 in Kaohsiung. 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 $1,108 in Kaohsiung – a 160% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 78% less than in Kaohsiung. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $426 in Dhaka versus $1,108 in Kaohsiung, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Kaohsiung. 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 Kaohsiung 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 160% less than in Kaohsiung. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.