Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Laoag City

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $743 in Laoag City, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Laoag City
Learn more

Laoag City Living Index

Jump to prices

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Laoag City

🇵🇭 Philippines

$743

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Laoag City

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $743 in Laoag City.

Dhaka $406
Laoag City $743

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $1,112 in Laoag City.

Dhaka $687
Laoag City $1,112

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $1,480 in Laoag City.

Dhaka $969
Laoag City $1,480

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 45% less than in Laoag City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 70% lower, Laoag City 45% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$3.41 ₱215

-33.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$16.52 ₱1,040

-25.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$2.94 ₱185

34.35%

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

$2.54 ₱160

-10.24%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$0.67 ₱42.11

-50.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.33 ₱20.52

-51.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.00 ₱63.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 ₱117

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$1.63 ₱102

-47.85%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$1.17 ₱73.8

-48.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$0.92 ₱58.1

-25.00%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$1.95 ₱123

-36.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$5.25 ₱331

67.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$4.30 ₱271

-22.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$7.24 ₱456

-8.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$2.42 ₱152

17.77%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$1.63 ₱103

-44.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$2.44 ₱154

-4.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$1.19 ₱74.6

-47.06%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$1.94 ₱122

-87.63%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$1.88 ₱119

-75.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$1.01 ₱63.3

-65.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$0.54 ₱33.73

-48.15%

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

$2.89 ₱182

13.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.37 ₱464

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 ₱59.5

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 ₱122

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

$0.26 ₱16.39

61.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

$11.99 ₱755

87.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$0.73 ₱45.76

63.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$0.24 ₱15.14

62.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$2.19 ₱138

49.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$1.03 ₱64.6

6.80%

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$21.6K ₱1.4M

35.98%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$19.0K ₱1.2M

69.02%

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$136 ₱8,542

-71.78%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$14.48 ₱912

-71.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$24.79 ₱1,561

-63.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

$32.51 ₱2,047

-57.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

$5.10 ₱321

100.20%

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$5.03 ₱316

-18.29%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$133 ₱8,385

-31.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$8,190 ₱515.6K

-68.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$33.49 ₱2,108

-49.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$19.72 ₱1,242

8.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$71.2 ₱4,481

-27.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$55.3 ₱3,483

-33.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$270 ₱17.0K

-50.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

$171 ₱10.8K

-62.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

$513 ₱32.3K

-26.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

$330 ₱20.7K

-41.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

$2,434 ₱153.3K

-33.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

$1,087 ₱68.4K

-30.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

$162 ₱10.2K

52.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

6.79

54.34%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Laoag City: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Laoag City

$179 24.2% 45.2% $56

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Laoag City

$171 23% 163% $106

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Laoag City

$79 10.7% 33.5% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Laoag City

$81 10.9% 41.9% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Laoag City

$175 23.5% 240% $124

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Laoag City

$15 2% 45.1% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Laoag City

$43 5.7% 94.4% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $133 in Dhaka and $270 in Laoag City. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dhaka pays 52% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $12.00 in Dhaka vs $17.00 in Laoag City for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $179 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇵🇭 Laoag City

🕒 Local time

02:23 2:23 AM

04:23 4:23 AM

2 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

112,117

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Taka (৳)

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Laoag City 3,190 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Laoag City

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 Laoag City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 83% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 52% higher in Dhaka, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $133 in Dhaka versus $270 in Laoag City. 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 $743 in Laoag City – a 83% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 87% less than in Laoag City. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Dhaka gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

Expats usually find Dhaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 83% less than in Laoag City. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.