Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Maha Sarakham

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $919 in Maha Sarakham, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 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 Maha Sarakham
Learn more

Maha Sarakham Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Maha Sarakham

🇹🇭 Thailand

$919

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Maha Sarakham

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $919 in Maha Sarakham.

Dhaka $406
Maha Sarakham $919

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $1,507 in Maha Sarakham.

Dhaka $687
Maha Sarakham $1,507

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $2,094 in Maha Sarakham.

Dhaka $969
Maha Sarakham $2,094

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

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 70% lower, Maha Sarakham 32% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$3.05 ฿102

-25.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$22.47 ฿751

-45.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$7.08 ฿237

-44.21%

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

$2.12 ฿71.0

7.55%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$0.73 ฿24.23

-54.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.33 ฿11.15

-51.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.02 ฿67.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 ฿102

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$1.74 ฿58.2

-51.15%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$1.39 ฿46.53

-56.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$1.35 ฿45.20

-48.89%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$2.07 ฿69.1

-40.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$16.39 ฿548

-46.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$2.75 ฿92.0

21.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$10.23 ฿342

-35.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$3.03 ฿101

-5.94%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$1.08 ฿36.10

-16.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$2.16 ฿72.3

8.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$1.90 ฿63.4

-66.84%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$1.49 ฿49.65

-83.89%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$1.11 ฿37.11

-58.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$1.12 ฿37.41

-68.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$0.48 ฿16.12

-41.67%

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

$4.44 ฿149

-26.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.25 ฿577

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 ฿56.9

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ฿92.8

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

$0.90 ฿30.10

-53.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$1.26 ฿42.02

-5.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$1.12 ฿37.42

-65.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$4.93 ฿165

-33.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$1.34 ฿44.74

-17.91%

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$26.0K ฿869.7K

13.09%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$26.4K ฿881.4K

21.94%

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$82.5 ฿2,755

-53.57%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$11.45 ฿383

-64.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$19.19 ฿641

-53.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

$47.10 ฿1,574

-71.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

$13.97 ฿467

-26.91%

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$6.63 ฿222

-38.01%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$563 ฿18.8K

-83.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$10.7K ฿357.3K

-75.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$51.3 ฿1,715

-66.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$29.17 ฿975

-26.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$78.1 ฿2,610

-34.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$76.8 ฿2,565

-52.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$441 ฿14.7K

-69.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

$293 ฿9,807

-77.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

$1,382 ฿46.2K

-72.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

$740 ฿24.7K

-73.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

$1,901 ฿63.5K

-14.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

$1,610 ฿53.8K

-52.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

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 10, 2026

Last update for Maha Sarakham: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Maha Sarakham

$244 26.6% 97.3% $120

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Maha Sarakham

$293 31.9% 351% $228

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Maha Sarakham

$92 10% 54.1% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Maha Sarakham

$106 11.5% 85.8% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Maha Sarakham

$113 12.3% 120% $62

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Maha Sarakham

$10 * 1.1% 61.7% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Maha Sarakham

$60 6.6% 176% $38

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 $133 in Dhaka and $441 in Maha Sarakham. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $12.00 in Dhaka vs $22.00 in Maha Sarakham for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $244 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇹🇭 Maha Sarakham

🕒 Local time

04:30 4:30 AM

05:30 5:30 AM

1 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

46,523

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, 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).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Maha Sarakham 1,590 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Maha Sarakham

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 Maha Sarakham: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 126% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $609 in Dhaka and $1,378 in Maha Sarakham 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 $441 in Maha Sarakham. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $90.7 in Dhaka versus $563 in Maha Sarakham. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Dhaka – a meal for two runs $12.00 versus $22.00 in Maha Sarakham. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.

Safety-wise, Dhaka and Maha Sarakham 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 126% less than in Maha Sarakham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.