Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Northam

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $428 a month against $2,498 in Northam, rent and utilities included – about $24,800 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
121

Cost of Living Index in Northam
Learn more

Northam Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$428

/mo nomad

Northam

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,498

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Northam

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $428 in Dhaka versus $2,498 in Northam.

Dhaka $428
Northam $2,498

Estimated couple costs with rent: $724 in Dhaka versus $3,618 in Northam.

Dhaka $724
Northam $3,618

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,019 in Dhaka versus $4,737 in Northam.

Dhaka $1,019
Northam $4,737

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 83% less than in Northam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dhaka is 68% below, Northam is 84% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.50 ৳309

$19.97 A$28.37

-87.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.26 ৳1,642

$85.1 A$121

-84.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.99 ৳618

$10.55 A$15.00

-52.70%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.87 ৳604

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.14 ৳513

Cappuccino

$2.35 ৳291

$4.48 A$6.36

-47.54%

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

$0.33 ৳41.19

$2.84 A$4.03

-88.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.68

$2.29 A$3.25

-93.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.30 A$11.79

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.10 A$11.51

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳106

$1.74 A$2.48

-51.15%

White Bread (500g)

$0.63 ৳78.1

$2.58 A$3.66

-75.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.67 ৳83.3

$1.98 A$2.82

-66.16%

Eggs

$1.19 ৳147

$4.48 A$6.36

-73.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.83 ৳1,095

$6.37 A$9.05

38.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.30 ৳409

$9.12 A$12.96

-63.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.41 ৳794

$14.08 A$20.01

-54.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ৳341

$2.73 A$3.88

0.73%

Banana (1kg)

$0.94 ৳116

$3.25 A$4.62

-71.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 ৳294

$3.44 A$4.89

-31.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.64 ৳79.3

$4.92 A$6.99

-86.99%

Potato (1kg)

$0.26 ৳32.34

$2.89 A$4.11

-91.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.49 ৳60.8

$1.97 A$2.81

-75.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 ৳37.73

$2.25 A$3.20

-86.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.30 ৳37.59

$0.73 A$1.04

-58.90%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.24 ৳1,516

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.43 ৳673

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.53 ৳809

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.17 ৳393

$41.37 A$58.8

-92.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.49 A$4.96

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.40 A$6.25

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.51 A$4.99

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.38 ৳47.57

$2.92 A$4.15

-86.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.06 ৳2,857

$80.6 A$114

-71.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.17 ৳146

$3.53 A$5.02

-66.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 ৳47.12

$1.46 A$2.07

-73.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$41.14 A$58.5

-92.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ৳138

$1.35 A$1.91

-17.78%

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

$29.1K ৳3.6M

$26.9K A$38.2K

8.43%

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

$32.9K ৳4.1M

$29.5K A$41.9K

11.74%

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

$46.77 ৳5,794

$196 A$278

-76.12%

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

$4.51 ৳558

$24.09 A$34.24

-81.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.22 ৳1,391

$64.3 A$91.4

-82.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.43 ৳2,036

$56.5 A$80.2

-70.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.87 ৳1,843

$17.81 A$25.31

-16.51%

Cinema Ticket

$4.20 ৳520

$17.30 A$24.59

-75.72%

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

$91.6 ৳11.3K

$2,328 A$3,307

-96.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,596 ৳321.7K

$23.2K A$33.0K

-88.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$16.63 ৳2,061

$77.3 A$110

-78.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.80 ৳2,454

$66.3 A$94.2

-70.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$46.87 ৳5,807

$123 A$174

-61.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$37.00 ৳4,584

$161 A$229

-77.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$148 ৳18.3K

$1,391 A$1,976

-89.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$70.8 ৳8,767

$1,190 A$1,691

-94.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$432 ৳53.6K

$2,173 A$3,088

-80.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$213 ৳26.4K

$1,783 A$2,533

-88.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,605 ৳198.9K

$5,780 A$8,213

-72.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$751 ৳93.0K

$4,889 A$6,947

-84.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$245 ৳30.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.67

5.91

80.54%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 19, 2026

Last update for Northam: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$123 28.8%

Northam

$314 12.6% 155% $191

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$71 16.5%

Northam

$1.2K 47.6% 1582% $1.1K

Eating Out

Dhaka

$65 15.2%

Northam

$323 12.9% 397% $258

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$63 14.6%

Northam

$284 11.4% 355% $222

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$54 12.6%

Northam

$192 7.7% 255% $138

Getting Around

Dhaka

$28 6.5%

Northam

$103 4.1% 273% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$25 5.8%

Northam

$91 3.7% 267% $66

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $148 in Dhaka and $1,391 in Northam. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $13 in Dhaka vs $85 in Northam for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $123 vs $314 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇦🇺 Northam

🕒 Local time

01:02 1:02 AM

03:02 3:02 AM

2 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

6,000

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Australian Dollar AUD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.07 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

1 AUD = 0.704 USD

1 AUD = 0.628 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AUD, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Taka (৳)

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.07 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 25, 2026: 1 USD = 1.42 AUD (1 AUD = 0.704 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 AUD (1 AUD = 0.628 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dhaka Northam 6,770 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Northam

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 Northam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 483% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $642 in Dhaka and $3,747 in Northam 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: $148 in Dhaka versus $1,391 in Northam. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $428 per month in Dhaka versus $2,498 in Northam – a 483% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 71% less than in Northam. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

At $428 in Dhaka versus $2,498 in Northam, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Northam. 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.

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