Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Palawan

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $792 in Palawan, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Palawan
Learn more

Palawan Living Index

Jump to prices

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Palawan

🇵🇭 Philippines

$792

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Palawan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $792 in Palawan.

Dhaka $406
Palawan $792

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $1,230 in Palawan.

Dhaka $687
Palawan $1,230

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $1,668 in Palawan.

Dhaka $969
Palawan $1,668

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 49% less than in Palawan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 70% lower, Palawan 41% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$3.62 ₱228

-37.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$19.14 ₱1,205

-35.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$3.37 ₱212

17.21%

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

$2.63 ₱165

-13.31%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$0.83 ₱52.5

-60.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.39 ₱24.65

-58.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.29 ₱81.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 ₱136

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$1.90 ₱120

-55.26%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$1.26 ₱79.4

-52.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$1.01 ₱63.5

-31.68%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$1.98 ₱125

-37.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$7.83 ₱493

12.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$4.21 ₱265

-20.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$7.78 ₱490

-14.78%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$3.00 ₱189

-5.00%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$1.56 ₱98.2

-42.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$2.72 ₱171

-13.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$1.62 ₱102

-61.11%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$2.31 ₱146

-89.61%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$2.59 ₱163

-82.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$1.06 ₱66.9

-66.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$0.71 ₱44.86

-60.56%

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

$2.78 ₱175

17.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.85 ₱431

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 ₱75.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ₱128

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

$0.28 ₱17.81

50.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

$11.29 ₱711

98.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$0.83 ₱52.4

43.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$0.24 ₱15.20

62.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$2.15 ₱136

52.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$1.10 ₱69.2

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$26.5K ₱1.7M

11.06%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$20.1K ₱1.3M

60.32%

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$114 ₱7,183

-66.45%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$32.54 ₱2,049

-87.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$27.55 ₱1,734

-67.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

$34.48 ₱2,171

-60.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

$4.36 ₱275

134.17%

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$5.80 ₱365

-29.14%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$150 ₱9,463

-39.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$4,228 ₱266.2K

-38.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$45.09 ₱2,839

-62.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$26.54 ₱1,671

-19.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$74.9 ₱4,713

-31.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$53.6 ₱3,377

-31.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$264 ₱16.6K

-49.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

$177 ₱11.1K

-63.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

$589 ₱37.1K

-35.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

$390 ₱24.5K

-50.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

$2,359 ₱148.5K

-31.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

$994 ₱62.6K

-23.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

6.67

57.12%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Palawan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Palawan

$204 25.7% 64.7% $80

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Palawan

$177 22.4% 172% $112

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Palawan

$86 10.9% 45.3% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Palawan

$90 11.4% 58% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Palawan

$174 22% 239% $123

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Palawan

$14 1.8% 47% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Palawan

$46 5.8% 111% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $133 in Dhaka and $264 in Palawan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $12.00 in Dhaka vs $19.00 in Palawan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $204 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇵🇭 Palawan

🕒 Local time

00:47 12:47 AM

02:47 2:47 AM

2 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

939,594

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, 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).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Palawan 3,380 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Palawan

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 Palawan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 95% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $609 in Dhaka and $1,187 in Palawan 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 $264 in Palawan. 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 $792 in Palawan – a 95% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 99% less than in Palawan. 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.

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 Palawan 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 95% less than in Palawan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.