Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Kuala Lipis

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $939 in Kuala Lipis, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Kuala Lipis
Learn more

Kuala Lipis Living Index

Jump to prices

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Kuala Lipis

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$939

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Kuala Lipis

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $939 in Kuala Lipis.

Dhaka $406
Kuala Lipis $939

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $1,395 in Kuala Lipis.

Dhaka $687
Kuala Lipis $1,395

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $1,852 in Kuala Lipis.

Dhaka $969
Kuala Lipis $1,852

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 57% less than in Kuala Lipis, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 70% lower, Kuala Lipis 30% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$3.72 MYR 15.17

-38.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$24.25 MYR 98.9

-49.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$4.97 MYR 20.26

-20.52%

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

$3.12 MYR 12.74

-26.92%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$0.85 MYR 3.47

-61.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.45 MYR 1.83

-64.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.37 MYR 13.76

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.84 MYR 23.84

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$1.93 MYR 7.86

-55.96%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$1.07 MYR 4.36

-43.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$1.47 MYR 6.00

-53.06%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$1.86 MYR 7.57

-33.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$9.63 MYR 39.28

-8.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$3.30 MYR 13.45

0.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$9.46 MYR 38.59

-29.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$3.47 MYR 14.16

-17.87%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$1.87 MYR 7.64

-51.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$2.63 MYR 10.75

-11.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$1.74 MYR 7.09

-63.79%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$2.10 MYR 8.59

-88.57%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$1.95 MYR 7.95

-76.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$1.44 MYR 5.89

-75.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$0.51 MYR 2.09

-45.10%

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

$4.55 MYR 18.56

-27.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.95 MYR 81.4

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.76 MYR 11.28

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.68 MYR 19.11

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

$0.70 MYR 2.86

-40.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

$14.01 MYR 57.1

60.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$1.21 MYR 4.93

-1.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$0.38 MYR 1.57

2.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$8.96 MYR 36.55

-63.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$0.86 MYR 3.52

27.91%

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$42.4K MYR 172.9K

-30.58%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$32.6K MYR 133.1K

-1.43%

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$50.1 MYR 205

-23.65%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$8.01 MYR 32.68

-48.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$26.76 MYR 109

-66.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

$38.90 MYR 159

-64.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

$6.94 MYR 28.30

47.12%

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$4.91 MYR 20.05

-16.29%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$274 MYR 1,119

-66.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$10.5K MYR 42.6K

-75.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$52.2 MYR 213

-67.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$29.64 MYR 121

-27.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$77.9 MYR 318

-33.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$85.9 MYR 350

-57.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$433 MYR 1,767

-69.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

$309 MYR 1,260

-78.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

$777 MYR 3,171

-51.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

$467 MYR 1,907

-58.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

$1,798 MYR 7,336

-9.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

$1,129 MYR 4,606

-32.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

4.51

132.37%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Kuala Lipis: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Kuala Lipis

$250 26.6% 102% $126

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Kuala Lipis

$309 32.9% 375% $244

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Kuala Lipis

$116 12.3% 95.1% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Kuala Lipis

$111 11.8% 93.9% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Kuala Lipis

$85 9% 65.2% $34

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Kuala Lipis

$20 2.1% 26.9% $7.3

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Kuala Lipis

$49 5.2% 123% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $133 in Dhaka and $433 in Kuala Lipis. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $12.00 in Dhaka vs $24.00 in Kuala Lipis for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $250 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇲🇾 Kuala Lipis

🕒 Local time

12:05 12:05 PM

14:05 2:05 PM

2 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

20,000

💱 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 Kuala Lipis 2,510 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Kuala Lipis

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 Kuala Lipis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 131% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $609 in Dhaka and $1,408 in Kuala Lipis 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $133 in Dhaka versus $433 in Kuala Lipis. 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 $939 in Kuala Lipis – a 131% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 60% less than in Kuala Lipis. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $406 in Dhaka versus $939 in Kuala Lipis, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Kuala Lipis. 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 Kuala Lipis 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 131% less than in Kuala Lipis. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.