Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Malang

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $474 in Malang, rent and utilities included – about $820 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Malang
Learn more

Malang Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Malang

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$474

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Malang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $474 in Malang.

Dhaka $406
Malang $474

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $729 in Malang.

Dhaka $687
Malang $729

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $984 in Malang.

Dhaka $969
Malang $984

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 14% less than in Malang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 70% lower, Malang 65% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳281

$1.11 Rp 19.9K

105.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,518

$11.07 Rp 198.6K

11.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳487

$2.76 Rp 49.6K

43.12%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳552

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳508

Cappuccino

$2.28 ৳280

$1.34 Rp 24.0K

70.15%

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

$0.33 ৳40.74

$0.60 Rp 10.7K

-45.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.80

$0.23 Rp 4,133

-30.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.28 Rp 40.9K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.25 Rp 76.3K

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$0.99 Rp 17.8K

-14.14%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.3

$1.12 Rp 20.1K

-46.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.1

$0.84 Rp 15.1K

-17.86%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$1.24 Rp 22.3K

-0.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,084

$5.89 Rp 105.7K

49.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳411

$3.09 Rp 55.5K

7.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳816

$7.20 Rp 129.3K

-7.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳351

$2.02 Rp 36.2K

41.09%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$1.27 Rp 22.7K

-29.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳288

$1.58 Rp 28.3K

48.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.2

$1.43 Rp 25.7K

-55.94%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.49

$1.30 Rp 23.3K

-81.54%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.1

$1.92 Rp 34.4K

-76.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.64

$0.47 Rp 8,413

-25.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.12

$0.42 Rp 7,556

-33.33%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.11 ৳1,491

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.31 ৳654

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.42 ৳791

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.28 ৳404

$2.65 Rp 47.5K

23.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.47 Rp 223.8K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 Rp 30.0K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 Rp 53.8K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.1

$0.60 Rp 10.7K

-30.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,762

$5.61 Rp 100.6K

299.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$0.48 Rp 8,603

147.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.54

$0.40 Rp 7,221

-2.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳404

$5.45 Rp 97.8K

-39.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳135

$0.74 Rp 13.3K

48.65%

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$24.9K Rp 447.5M

18.00%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$27.7K Rp 497.2M

16.06%

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

$38.28 ৳4,713

$30.83 Rp 553.3K

24.16%

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

$4.09 ৳504

$2.41 Rp 43.2K

69.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,110

$19.51 Rp 350.0K

-53.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,682

$14.68 Rp 263.5K

-6.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,257

$4.47 Rp 80.2K

128.41%

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳506

$1.92 Rp 34.4K

114.06%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$30.88 Rp 554.1K

193.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳319.1K

$9,452 Rp 169.6M

-72.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,100

$56.4 Rp 1.0M

-69.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,632

$22.41 Rp 402.1K

-4.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,333

$51.9 Rp 931.9K

-0.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,529

$35.74 Rp 641.2K

2.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$136 Rp 2.4M

-2.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,014

$91.5 Rp 1.6M

-28.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.5K

$193 Rp 3.5M

95.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.7K

$156 Rp 2.8M

23.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳199.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.6K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.3K

$203 Rp 3.6M

21.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

162.00%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Malang: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Malang

$169 35.7% 37% $46

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Malang

$92 19.3% 40.6% $26

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Malang

$56 11.9% 5% $3

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Malang

$75 15.8% 31.5% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Malang

$53 11.1% 2.6% $1.4

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Malang

$10 2.2% 61.6% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Malang

$19 3.9% 15.4% $3.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $133 in Dhaka and $136 in Malang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dhaka pays 21% 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 $11.00 in Malang. Groceries flip the comparison at $124 vs $169, with Dhaka cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇮🇩 Malang

🕒 Local time

09:18 9:18 AM

10:18 10:18 AM

1 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

857,891

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.12 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.21 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.57 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.95 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Taka (৳)

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 123 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.12 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.21 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 17,943 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.57 USD). 1 EUR = 20,204 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.95 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Malang 4,280 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Malang

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 Malang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and utilities. The 17% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 21% 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 $136 in Malang. 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 $474 in Malang – a 17% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 300% less than in Malang. 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.

For families, Dhaka is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Malang, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Dhaka and Malang 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 17% less than in Malang. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.