Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Palembang

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $615 in Palembang, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Palembang
Learn more

Palembang Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Palembang

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$615

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Palembang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $615 in Palembang.

Dhaka $406
Palembang $615

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $980 in Palembang.

Dhaka $687
Palembang $980

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $1,344 in Palembang.

Dhaka $969
Palembang $1,344

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 34% less than in Palembang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 70% lower, Palembang 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$1.14 Rp 20.4K

100.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$16.00 Rp 287.9K

-22.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$2.82 Rp 50.8K

40.07%

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

$1.29 Rp 23.1K

76.74%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$0.84 Rp 15.1K

-60.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.25 Rp 4,503

-36.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.70 Rp 30.6K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 Rp 58.9K

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$1.12 Rp 20.1K

-24.11%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$1.15 Rp 20.6K

-47.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$0.82 Rp 14.7K

-15.85%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$1.22 Rp 22.0K

0.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$7.24 Rp 130.4K

21.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$2.99 Rp 53.9K

11.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$7.44 Rp 133.9K

-10.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$2.24 Rp 40.3K

27.23%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

-18.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$1.47 Rp 26.5K

59.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$1.37 Rp 24.6K

-54.01%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$1.17 Rp 21.1K

-79.49%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$1.95 Rp 35.0K

-76.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$0.65 Rp 11.7K

-46.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$0.44 Rp 7,856

-36.36%

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

$2.21 Rp 39.8K

48.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.49 Rp 386.7K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 Rp 33.9K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.94 Rp 52.9K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

$0.44 Rp 7,878

-4.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$0.53 Rp 9,526

124.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$0.40 Rp 7,284

-2.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$2.84 Rp 51.2K

15.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$0.82 Rp 14.8K

34.15%

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$23.2K Rp 417.8M

26.81%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$31.6K Rp 568.7M

1.79%

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$71.6 Rp 1.3M

-46.51%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$4.39 Rp 79.0K

-6.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$19.20 Rp 345.5K

-53.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

$19.72 Rp 355.0K

-30.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

$7.99 Rp 143.8K

27.78%

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$2.85 Rp 51.4K

44.21%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$90.1 Rp 1.6M

0.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$8,423 Rp 151.6M

-69.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$42.78 Rp 770.0K

-60.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$28.77 Rp 517.8K

-25.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$74.6 Rp 1.3M

-31.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$69.3 Rp 1.2M

-46.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$230 Rp 4.1M

-42.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

$147 Rp 2.6M

-55.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

$532 Rp 9.6M

-29.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

$361 Rp 6.5M

-46.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

$1,254 Rp 22.6M

29.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

$886 Rp 15.9M

-14.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

$309 Rp 5.6M

-20.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

9.46

10.78%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Palembang: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Palembang

$194 31.5% 56.9% $70

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Palembang

$147 23.9% 126% $82

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Palembang

$52 8.5% 11.8% $7

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Palembang

$97 15.8% 70.1% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Palembang

$95 15.5% 85.2% $44

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Palembang

$4.3 * 0.7% 84.2% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Palembang

$25 4.1% 16.2% $3.5

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 $133 in Dhaka and $230 in Palembang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Palembang pays 26% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $12.00 in Dhaka vs $16.00 in Palembang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $194 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇮🇩 Palembang

🕒 Local time

19:27 7:27 PM

20:27 8:27 PM

1 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

1,708,413

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 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 18, 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Palembang 3,360 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Palembang

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 Palembang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 52% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 26% lower in Palembang. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $133 in Dhaka versus $230 in Palembang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $90.7 in Dhaka versus $90.1 in Palembang. 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 $16.00 in Palembang. 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.

Expats usually find Dhaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Palembang. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.