Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Manado

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $428 a month against $557 in Manado, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

Dhaka
🇧🇩 Bangladesh
$428
/mo nomad
Manado
🇮🇩 Indonesia
$557
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Manado

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $428 in Dhaka versus $557 in Manado.

  • Dhaka $428
  • Manado $557

Estimated couple costs with rent: $724 in Dhaka versus $881 in Manado.

  • Dhaka $724
  • Manado $881

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,019 in Dhaka versus $1,206 in Manado.

  • Dhaka $1,019
  • Manado $1,206

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 23% less than in Manado, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 68% lower, Manado 59% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Dhaka
Manado
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$2.50 ৳309
$1.44 Rp 25.9K
73.61%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$13.26 ৳1,638
$16.91 Rp 304.4K
-21.58%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.99 ৳616
$2.78 Rp 50.0K
79.50%
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.87 ৳602
-
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.14 ৳511
-
-
Cappuccino
$2.35 ৳291
$1.75 Rp 31.6K
34.29%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.33 ৳41.07
$0.61 Rp 11.0K
-45.90%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.16 ৳19.62
$0.25 Rp 4,526
-36.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$3.42 Rp 61.6K
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$2.75 Rp 49.6K
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Dhaka
Manado
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$0.85 ৳105
$1.38 Rp 24.8K
-38.41%
White Bread (500g)
$0.63 ৳77.9
$1.10 Rp 19.8K
-42.73%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.67 ৳83.1
$0.77 Rp 13.9K
-12.99%
Eggs
$1.19 ৳147
$1.85 Rp 33.2K
-35.68%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.83 ৳1,092
$16.47 Rp 296.4K
-46.39%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.30 ৳408
$2.73 Rp 49.1K
20.88%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$6.41 ৳792
$6.25 Rp 112.5K
2.56%
Apples (1kg)
$2.75 ৳340
$2.29 Rp 41.2K
20.09%
Banana (1kg)
$0.94 ৳116
$1.51 Rp 27.1K
-37.75%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.37 ৳293
$1.30 Rp 23.4K
82.31%
Tomato (1kg)
$0.64 ৳79.1
$1.02 Rp 18.3K
-37.25%
Potato (1kg)
$0.26 ৳32.25
$0.83 Rp 14.9K
-68.67%
Onion (1kg)
$0.49 ৳60.6
$2.78 Rp 50.1K
-82.37%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.30 ৳37.63
$0.80 Rp 14.3K
-62.50%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.30 ৳37.49
$0.45 Rp 8,183
-33.33%
Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)
$12.24 ৳1,512
-
-
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$5.43 ৳671
-
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$6.53 ৳807
-
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.17 ৳392
$2.38 Rp 42.8K
33.19%
Wine (Bottle)
-
$20.83 Rp 374.9K
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
-
$1.83 Rp 33.0K
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$3.02 Rp 54.4K
-
🚌 Getting Around
Dhaka
Manado
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.38 ৳47.44
$0.30 Rp 5,363
26.67%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$23.06 ৳2,849
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.17 ৳145
$0.52 Rp 9,385
125.00%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.38 ৳46.99
$0.34 Rp 6,183
11.76%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.28 ৳405
$2.68 Rp 48.2K
22.39%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.11 ৳137
$0.65 Rp 11.7K
70.77%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$29.1K ৳3.6M
$23.5K Rp 422.4M
24.07%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$32.9K ৳4.1M
$31.5K Rp 566.9M
4.53%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Dhaka
Manado
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$46.77 ৳5,779
$52.9 Rp 951.8K
-11.55%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$4.51 ৳557
$4.26 Rp 76.6K
5.87%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$11.22 ৳1,387
$14.10 Rp 253.8K
-20.43%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Dhaka
Manado
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$16.43 ৳2,031
$13.16 Rp 236.9K
24.85%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$14.87 ৳1,838
$8.53 Rp 153.5K
74.33%
Cinema Ticket
$4.20 ৳519
$2.56 Rp 46.1K
64.06%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Dhaka
Manado
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$91.6 ৳11.3K
$126 Rp 2.3M
-27.10%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$2,596 ৳320.8K
$4,771 Rp 85.9M
-45.58%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Dhaka
Manado
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$16.63 ৳2,055
$55.1 Rp 991.0K
-69.80%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$19.80 ৳2,447
$20.35 Rp 366.3K
-2.70%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$46.87 ৳5,791
$69.5 Rp 1.3M
-32.54%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$37.00 ৳4,572
$64.5 Rp 1.2M
-42.61%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Dhaka
Manado
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$148 ৳18.2K
$253 Rp 4.5M
-41.57%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$70.8 ৳8,743
$81.6 Rp 1.5M
-13.28%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$432 ৳53.4K
$302 Rp 5.4M
43.27%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$213 ৳26.3K
$169 Rp 3.0M
26.13%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,605 ৳198.4K
$1,185 Rp 21.3M
35.42%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$751 ৳92.8K
$790 Rp 14.2M
-5.02%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Dhaka
Manado
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$245 ৳30.3K
$215 Rp 3.9M
13.68%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
10.67
10
6.70%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 19, 2026

Last update for Manado: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Dhaka
$123
Manado
$221 79.6% $98
Accommodation & Living
Dhaka
$71
Manado
$82 15.3% $11
Eating Out
Dhaka
$65
Manado
$67 2.8% $1.8
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Dhaka
$63
Manado
$71 14% $8.7
Clothing & Footwear
Dhaka
$54
Manado
$94 74% $40
Getting Around
Dhaka
$28
Manado
$3.4 * 87.6% $24
Sport & Entertainment
Dhaka
$25
Manado
$18 26.4% $6.5

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 $148 in Dhaka and $253 in Manado. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dhaka pays 14% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $13.00 in Dhaka vs $17.00 in Manado for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $123 vs $221 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇧🇩 Dhaka
🇮🇩 Manado
🕒 Local time
20:15 8:15 PM
22:15 10:15 PM
2 h ahead of Dhaka
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
21,741,000 Capital
423,257
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Dhaka Manado 4,460 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Dhaka
  • Manado

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 Manado: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Manado cheaper than Dhaka?
Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 30% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Dhaka or Manado?
Average pay runs 14% higher in Dhaka, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
What is the rent difference between Dhaka and Manado?
Rent for a central apartment: $148 in Dhaka versus $253 in Manado. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $91.6 in Dhaka versus $126 in Manado. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Is eating out cheaper in Dhaka or in Manado?
Dining out is cheaper in Dhaka – a meal for two runs $13.00 versus $17.00 in Manado. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Is $1,000 enough for either Dhaka or Manado?
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.
Is it better to live in Dhaka or in Manado?
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.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Dhaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 30% less than in Manado. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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