Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Koh Chang

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $426 a month against $965 in Koh Chang, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Dhaka
🇧🇩 Bangladesh
$426
/mo nomad
Koh Chang
🇹🇭 Thailand
$965
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Koh Chang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $426 in Dhaka versus $965 in Koh Chang.

  • Dhaka $426
  • Koh Chang $965

Estimated couple costs with rent: $735 in Dhaka versus $1,583 in Koh Chang.

  • Dhaka $735
  • Koh Chang $1,583

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,043 in Dhaka versus $2,200 in Koh Chang.

  • Dhaka $1,043
  • Koh Chang $2,200

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 56% less than in Koh Chang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 68% lower, Koh Chang 28% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Dhaka
Koh Chang
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$2.49 ৳305
$3.63 ฿121
-31.40%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$13.06 ৳1,604
$26.36 ฿883
-50.46%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.83 ৳594
$6.99 ฿234
-30.90%
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
$2.26 ฿75.6
3.54%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.30 ৳37.38
$0.77 ฿25.91
-61.04%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.16 ৳19.96
$0.40 ฿13.29
-60.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$2.04 ฿68.4
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$3.02 ฿101
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Dhaka
Koh Chang
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$0.80 ৳98.1
$1.49 ฿50.0
-46.31%
White Bread (500g)
$0.65 ৳79.3
$1.31 ฿44.00
-50.38%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.71 ৳87.2
$1.41 ฿47.17
-49.65%
Eggs
$1.21 ৳149
$1.96 ฿65.8
-38.27%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.67 ৳1,065
$17.61 ฿590
-50.77%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.21 ৳395
$3.00 ฿101
7.00%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$6.70 ৳823
$9.66 ฿323
-30.64%
Apples (1kg)
$2.73 ৳335
$2.68 ฿89.8
1.87%
Banana (1kg)
$0.88 ৳108
$1.51 ฿50.7
-41.72%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.37 ৳291
$2.07 ฿69.2
14.49%
Tomato (1kg)
$0.65 ৳79.5
$1.92 ฿64.4
-66.15%
Potato (1kg)
$0.24 ৳29.19
$1.36 ฿45.44
-82.35%
Onion (1kg)
$0.49 ৳60.6
$1.19 ฿39.81
-58.82%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.32 ৳38.87
$1.01 ฿33.88
-68.32%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.30 ৳37.30
$0.50 ฿16.64
-40.00%
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
$3.97 ฿133
-18.64%
Wine (Bottle)
-
$16.61 ฿556
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
-
$1.64 ฿55.1
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$2.60 ฿86.9
-
🚌 Getting Around
Dhaka
Koh Chang
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.42 ৳52.1
$1.83 ฿61.2
-77.05%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$22.54 ৳2,769
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.19 ৳147
$2.43 ฿81.4
-51.03%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.40 ৳48.58
$0.82 ฿27.40
-51.22%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.35 ৳411
$2.98 ฿99.7
12.42%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.15 ৳141
$1.19 ฿39.79
-3.36%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$30.3K ৳3.7M
$21.1K ฿707.5K
43.34%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$33.0K ৳4.1M
$21.5K ฿720.9K
53.41%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Dhaka
Koh Chang
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$46.32 ৳5,690
$94.2 ฿3,152
-50.80%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$4.33 ৳531
$10.67 ฿357
-59.42%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$10.63 ৳1,306
$16.43 ฿550
-35.30%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Dhaka
Koh Chang
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$16.37 ৳2,011
$44.74 ฿1,498
-63.41%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$16.14 ৳1,982
$9.17 ฿307
76.01%
Cinema Ticket
$4.13 ৳508
$6.47 ฿217
-36.17%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Dhaka
Koh Chang
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$90.7 ৳11.1K
$491 ฿16.4K
-81.52%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$2,649 ৳325.4K
$10.5K ฿351.2K
-74.75%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Dhaka
Koh Chang
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$16.48 ৳2,024
$60.2 ฿2,016
-72.63%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$21.00 ৳2,579
$27.51 ฿921
-23.66%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$50.3 ৳6,173
$90.4 ฿3,026
-44.41%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$36.46 ৳4,478
$82.4 ฿2,758
-55.74%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Dhaka
Koh Chang
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$152 ৳18.6K
$473 ฿15.8K
-67.90%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$73.6 ৳9,041
$303 ฿10.1K
-75.72%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$436 ৳53.5K
$1,334 ฿44.7K
-67.32%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$214 ৳26.3K
$794 ฿26.6K
-73.07%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,622 ৳199.2K
$2,276 ฿76.2K
-28.74%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$761 ৳93.5K
$1,651 ฿55.3K
-53.88%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Dhaka
Koh Chang
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$249 ৳30.6K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
10.48
5.57
88.15%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 4, 2026

Last update for Koh Chang: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Dhaka
$123
Koh Chang
$242 97.4% $119
Accommodation & Living
Dhaka
$74
Koh Chang
$303 312% $230
Eating Out
Dhaka
$64
Koh Chang
$98 52.5% $34
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Dhaka
$61
Koh Chang
$121 97.9% $60
Clothing & Footwear
Dhaka
$56
Koh Chang
$117 110% $61
Getting Around
Dhaka
$27
Koh Chang
$14 * 49.5% $14
Sport & Entertainment
Dhaka
$25
Koh Chang
$58 134% $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 $152 in Dhaka and $473 in Koh Chang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $13.00 in Dhaka vs $26.00 in Koh Chang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $123 vs $242 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇧🇩 Dhaka
🇹🇭 Koh Chang
🕒 Local time
16:12 4:12 PM
17:12 5:12 PM
1 h ahead of Dhaka
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
21,741,000 Capital
8,500
💱 Currency
Thai Baht THB ฿
Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

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).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.52 THB (100 THB = 2.67 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Dhaka Koh Chang 1,810 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Dhaka
  • Koh Chang

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 Koh Chang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Koh Chang cheaper than Dhaka?
Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 127% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
What income do you need for each city?
You'd need roughly $639 in Dhaka and $1,448 in Koh Chang to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.
What is the rent difference between Dhaka and Koh Chang?
Rent for a central apartment: $152 in Dhaka versus $473 in Koh Chang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $90.7 in Dhaka versus $491 in Koh Chang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Is eating out cheaper in Dhaka or in Koh Chang?
Dining out is cheaper in Dhaka – a meal for two runs $13.00 versus $26.00 in Koh Chang. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Dhaka or in Koh Chang?
At $426 in Dhaka versus $965 in Koh Chang, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Koh Chang. The gap between the two cities makes Dhaka the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is it better to live in Dhaka or in Koh Chang?
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.
Which city is safer, Dhaka or Koh Chang?
Safety-wise, Dhaka and Koh Chang are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Dhaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 127% less than in Koh Chang. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Dhaka vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?