Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Macao

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $426 a month against $2,107 in Macao, rent and utilities included – about $20,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

21

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index
104

Cost of Living Index in Macao
Learn more

Macao Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$426

/mo nomad

Macao

🇲🇴 Macao (China)

$2,107

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Macao

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $426 in Dhaka versus $2,107 in Macao.

Dhaka $426
Macao $2,107

Estimated couple costs with rent: $735 in Dhaka versus $3,021 in Macao.

Dhaka $735
Macao $3,021

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,043 in Dhaka versus $3,935 in Macao.

Dhaka $1,043
Macao $3,935

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 80% less than in Macao, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dhaka is 68% below, Macao is 57% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.49 ৳305

$6.31 MOP 51.0

-60.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.06 ৳1,604

$54.9 MOP 444

-76.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.83 ৳594

$5.91 MOP 47.73

-18.27%

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

$4.89 MOP 39.49

-52.15%

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

$0.30 ৳37.38

$1.06 MOP 8.56

-71.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.96

$0.93 MOP 7.55

-82.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.63 MOP 45.48

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.23 MOP 58.4

Milk (1 liter)

$0.80 ৳98.1

$3.09 MOP 24.98

-74.11%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 ৳79.3

$1.67 MOP 13.50

-61.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.71 ৳87.2

$1.73 MOP 13.97

-58.96%

Eggs

$1.21 ৳149

$3.40 MOP 27.46

-64.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.67 ৳1,065

$16.05 MOP 130

-45.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.21 ৳395

$19.07 MOP 154

-83.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.70 ৳823

$29.25 MOP 236

-77.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.73 ৳335

$2.71 MOP 21.87

0.74%

Banana (1kg)

$0.88 ৳108

$2.86 MOP 23.14

-69.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 ৳291

$1.97 MOP 15.90

20.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.65 ৳79.5

$2.36 MOP 19.06

-72.46%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.19

$3.85 MOP 31.10

-93.77%

Onion (1kg)

$0.49 ৳60.6

$2.95 MOP 23.85

-83.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.32 ৳38.87

$0.66 MOP 5.30

-51.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.30 ৳37.30

$1.20 MOP 9.74

-75.00%

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

$6.64 MOP 53.7

-51.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.14 MOP 98.1

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 MOP 14.34

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 MOP 18.66

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.1

$0.76 MOP 6.13

-44.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.54 ৳2,769

$22.62 MOP 183

-0.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$2.57 MOP 20.77

-53.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 ৳48.58

$1.24 MOP 9.99

-67.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.35 ৳411

$15.00 MOP 121

-77.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 ৳141

$1.76 MOP 14.22

-34.66%

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

$30.3K ৳3.7M

$31.1K MOP 251.3K

-2.56%

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

$33.0K ৳4.1M

$31.8K MOP 256.7K

4.01%

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

$46.32 ৳5,690

$124 MOP 1,002

-62.65%

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

$4.33 ৳531

$23.44 MOP 189

-81.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.63 ৳1,306

$36.46 MOP 295

-70.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.37 ৳2,011

$63.3 MOP 511

-74.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.14 ৳1,982

$3.78 MOP 30.57

326.98%

Cinema Ticket

$4.13 ৳508

$14.73 MOP 119

-71.96%

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

$90.7 ৳11.1K

$1,193 MOP 9,642

-92.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,649 ৳325.4K

$19.3K MOP 156.2K

-86.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$16.48 ৳2,024

$70.0 MOP 566

-76.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.00 ৳2,579

$33.25 MOP 269

-36.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.3 ৳6,173

$92.4 MOP 747

-45.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.46 ৳4,478

$134 MOP 1,084

-72.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$152 ৳18.6K

$1,130 MOP 9,135

-86.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.6 ৳9,041

$1,070 MOP 8,650

-93.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$436 ৳53.5K

$2,092 MOP 16.9K

-79.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$214 ৳26.3K

$1,461 MOP 11.8K

-85.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,622 ৳199.2K

$8,347 MOP 67.5K

-80.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$761 ৳93.5K

$5,538 MOP 44.8K

-86.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$249 ৳30.6K

$2,053 MOP 16.6K

-87.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

249.33%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 4, 2026

Last update for Macao: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$123 28.5%

Macao

$422 19.8% 244% $299

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$74 17.1%

Macao

$1.1K 50.3% 1354% $997

Eating Out

Dhaka

$64 15%

Macao

$177 8.3% 176% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$61 14.3%

Macao

$184 8.6% 200% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$56 13%

Macao

$148 7% 166% $92

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.4%

Macao

$34 1.6% 25.5% $7

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$25 5.7%

Macao

$93 4.4% 276% $68

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $152 in Dhaka and $1,130 in Macao. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Macao pays 725% 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: $13.00 in Dhaka vs $55.0 in Macao for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $123 vs $422 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇲🇴 Macao

🕒 Local time

11:25 11:25 AM

13:25 1:25 PM

2 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

622,567 Capital

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Macanese Pataca MOP P

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR

1 MOP = 0.124 USD

1 MOP = 0.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MOP, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Taka (৳)

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 = 7.26 EUR).

Macanese Pataca exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 8.08 MOP (1 MOP = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.06 MOP (1 MOP = 0.11 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Macao 2,370 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Macao

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 Macao: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 394% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 725% lower in Macao. 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: $152 in Dhaka versus $1,130 in Macao. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $426 per month in Dhaka versus $2,107 in Macao – a 394% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 0% less than in Macao. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $426 in Dhaka versus $2,107 in Macao, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Macao. 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 Macao 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 394% less than in Macao. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.