Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Kobe

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $1,381 in Kobe, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Kobe
Learn more

Kobe Living Index

Jump to prices

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Kobe

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,381

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Kobe

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $1,381 in Kobe.

Dhaka $406
Kobe $1,381

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $2,056 in Kobe.

Dhaka $687
Kobe $2,056

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $2,732 in Kobe.

Dhaka $969
Kobe $2,732

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 71% less than in Kobe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dhaka is 70% below, Kobe is 2% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$7.75 ¥1,224

-70.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$30.99 ¥4,896

-60.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$4.76 ¥752

-17.02%

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

$2.34 ¥370

-2.56%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$1.14 ¥180

-71.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.62 ¥97.6

-74.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.05 ¥324

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 ¥369

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$1.53 ¥242

-44.44%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$1.25 ¥198

-52.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$4.19 ¥662

-83.53%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$2.00 ¥317

-38.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$12.57 ¥1,985

-29.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$7.06 ¥1,115

-52.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$17.20 ¥2,717

-61.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$7.99 ¥1,263

-64.33%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$2.94 ¥464

-69.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$5.09 ¥804

-54.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$7.64 ¥1,208

-91.75%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$3.86 ¥610

-93.78%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$3.37 ¥533

-86.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$1.18 ¥186

-70.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$0.88 ¥140

-68.18%

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

$3.40 ¥538

-3.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.29 ¥1,309

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 ¥310

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 ¥237

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

$1.47 ¥232

-71.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

$64.1 ¥10.1K

-65.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$3.17 ¥501

-62.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$3.17 ¥501

-87.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$26.12 ¥4,127

-87.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$1.10 ¥173

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$20.1K ¥3.2M

46.20%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$15.5K ¥2.4M

107.97%

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$143 ¥22.6K

-73.19%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$23.62 ¥3,732

-82.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$31.28 ¥4,942

-71.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

$45.38 ¥7,170

-69.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

$11.47 ¥1,813

-10.99%

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$11.46 ¥1,810

-64.14%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$317 ¥50.0K

-71.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$6,099 ¥963.6K

-57.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$49.73 ¥7,857

-65.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$25.25 ¥3,988

-15.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$46.07 ¥7,279

11.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$64.8 ¥10.2K

-43.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$683 ¥107.8K

-80.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

$459 ¥72.5K

-85.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

$1,057 ¥166.9K

-64.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

$741 ¥117.1K

-74.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

$4,263 ¥673.4K

-61.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

$2,821 ¥445.7K

-73.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

$1,962 ¥310.0K

-87.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

2.02

418.81%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Kobe: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Kobe

$356 25.8% 188% $233

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Kobe

$459 33.3% 606% $394

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Kobe

$126 9.2% 113% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Kobe

$84 6.1% 46.7% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Kobe

$198 14.3% 285% $146

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Kobe

$89 6.5% 226% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Kobe

$68 5% 212% $46

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $133 in Dhaka and $683 in Kobe. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kobe pays 697% 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 $31.00 in Kobe for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $356 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇯🇵 Kobe

🕒 Local time

12:43 12:43 PM

15:43 3:43 PM

3 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

1,537,272

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Taka (৳)

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Kobe 4,480 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Kobe

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 Kobe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 240% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 697% lower in Kobe. 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 $683 in Kobe. 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 $1,381 in Kobe – a 240% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 186% less than in Kobe. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $406 in Dhaka versus $1,381 in Kobe, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Kobe. 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 Kobe, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Dhaka and Kobe 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 240% less than in Kobe. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.