Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Kota Damansara

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $963 in Kota Damansara, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 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
46

Cost of Living Index in Kota Damansara
Learn more

Kota Damansara Living Index

Jump to prices

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Kota Damansara

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$963

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Kota Damansara

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $963 in Kota Damansara.

Dhaka $406
Kota Damansara $963

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $1,455 in Kota Damansara.

Dhaka $687
Kota Damansara $1,455

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $1,946 in Kota Damansara.

Dhaka $969
Kota Damansara $1,946

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 58% less than in Kota Damansara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 70% lower, Kota Damansara 29% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$4.79 MYR 19.55

-52.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$19.44 MYR 79.3

-36.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$4.81 MYR 19.63

-17.88%

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

$2.97 MYR 12.10

-23.23%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$0.79 MYR 3.22

-58.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.50 MYR 2.05

-68.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.50 MYR 18.36

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.15 MYR 25.09

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$1.74 MYR 7.09

-51.15%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$1.06 MYR 4.31

-43.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$1.45 MYR 5.91

-52.41%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$1.73 MYR 7.07

-28.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$13.90 MYR 56.7

-36.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$4.47 MYR 18.23

-25.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$9.94 MYR 40.56

-33.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$3.36 MYR 13.72

-15.18%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$1.73 MYR 7.06

-47.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$2.31 MYR 9.43

1.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$1.54 MYR 6.27

-59.09%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$1.27 MYR 5.19

-81.10%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$1.39 MYR 5.68

-66.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$1.17 MYR 4.76

-70.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$0.56 MYR 2.27

-50.00%

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

$4.36 MYR 17.79

-24.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.74 MYR 60.1

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.19 MYR 13.03

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.24 MYR 17.31

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

$0.64 MYR 2.59

-34.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

$13.02 MYR 53.1

72.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$0.94 MYR 3.85

26.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$0.71 MYR 2.89

-45.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$5.03 MYR 20.53

-34.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$0.87 MYR 3.54

26.44%

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$41.0K MYR 167.4K

-28.30%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$34.4K MYR 140.3K

-6.47%

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$52.0 MYR 212

-26.38%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$8.82 MYR 35.97

-53.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$26.10 MYR 106

-65.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

$44.68 MYR 182

-69.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

$7.57 MYR 30.90

34.87%

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$4.98 MYR 20.33

-17.47%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$164 MYR 667

-44.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$4,538 MYR 18.5K

-42.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$54.2 MYR 221

-68.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$16.64 MYR 67.9

28.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$82.9 MYR 338

-37.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$94.2 MYR 384

-60.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$451 MYR 1,841

-70.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

$311 MYR 1,267

-79.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

$691 MYR 2,818

-45.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

$537 MYR 2,191

-64.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

$2,037 MYR 8,308

-20.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

$1,083 MYR 4,417

-29.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

$853 MYR 3,478

-71.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

4.06

158.13%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Kota Damansara: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Kota Damansara

$251 26% 103% $127

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Kota Damansara

$311 32.3% 377% $245

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Kota Damansara

$128 13.3% 116% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Kota Damansara

$112 11.6% 95.8% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Kota Damansara

$87 9% 69.1% $36

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Kota Damansara

$20 2.1% 26.5% $7.2

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Kota Damansara

$55 5.7% 150% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $133 in Dhaka and $451 in Kota Damansara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kota Damansara pays 246% 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 $19.00 in Kota Damansara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $251 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇲🇾 Kota Damansara

🕒 Local time

14:07 2:07 PM

16:07 4:07 PM

2 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

500,000

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, 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).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Kota Damansara 2,590 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Kota Damansara

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 Kota Damansara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 137% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 246% lower in Kota Damansara. 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 $451 in Kota Damansara. 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 $963 in Kota Damansara – a 137% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 72% less than in Kota Damansara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $406 in Dhaka versus $963 in Kota Damansara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Kota Damansara. 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 Kota Damansara 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 137% less than in Kota Damansara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.