Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Sa Pa

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $731 in Sa Pa, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Sa Pa
Learn more

Sa Pa Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Sa Pa

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$731

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Sa Pa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $731 in Sa Pa.

Dhaka $406
Sa Pa $731

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $1,170 in Sa Pa.

Dhaka $687
Sa Pa $1,170

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $1,608 in Sa Pa.

Dhaka $969
Sa Pa $1,608

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 45% less than in Sa Pa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 70% lower, Sa Pa 46% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$1.89 ₫48.9K

20.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$21.25 ₫550.1K

-41.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$4.50 ₫116.4K

-12.22%

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

$1.70 ₫44.1K

34.12%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$0.47 ₫12.1K

-29.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.30 ₫7,831

-46.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.97 ₫25.1K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 ₫41.0K

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$1.38 ₫35.7K

-38.41%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$0.99 ₫25.8K

-39.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$0.99 ₫25.5K

-30.30%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$1.40 ₫36.2K

-12.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$11.73 ₫303.8K

-24.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$3.68 ₫95.4K

-9.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$10.07 ₫260.7K

-34.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$2.74 ₫71.0K

4.01%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$1.03 ₫26.6K

-12.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$1.36 ₫35.1K

72.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$1.07 ₫27.8K

-41.12%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$1.02 ₫26.5K

-76.47%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$1.05 ₫27.1K

-56.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$0.65 ₫16.8K

-46.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$0.48 ₫12.4K

-41.67%

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

$1.38 ₫35.7K

137.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.61 ₫300.6K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ₫19.4K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 ₫41.7K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

$0.32 ₫8,276

31.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

$6.51 ₫168.6K

244.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$0.72 ₫18.7K

65.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$0.62 ₫16.0K

-37.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$2.83 ₫73.2K

15.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$0.83 ₫21.6K

32.53%

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$35.5K ₫920.2M

-17.20%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$32.1K ₫829.7M

0.35%

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$76.5 ₫2.0M

-49.98%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$5.96 ₫154.3K

-31.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$8.62 ₫223.1K

4.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

$22.19 ₫574.5K

-38.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

$7.59 ₫196.5K

34.52%

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$3.09 ₫79.9K

33.01%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$266 ₫6.9M

-65.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$11.7K ₫303.6M

-77.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$40.21 ₫1.0M

-57.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$23.33 ₫603.9K

-8.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$85.4 ₫2.2M

-39.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$75.8 ₫2.0M

-51.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$365 ₫9.4M

-63.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

$248 ₫6.4M

-73.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

$729 ₫18.9M

-48.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

$535 ₫13.8M

-64.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

$2,076 ₫53.7M

-21.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

$1,264 ₫32.7M

-39.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

9.1

15.16%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Sa Pa: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Sa Pa

$191 26.2% 54.9% $68

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Sa Pa

$248 33.9% 281% $183

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Sa Pa

$60 8.2% 1.2% $0.7

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Sa Pa

$101 13.8% 77.4% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Sa Pa

$91 12.5% 77.3% $40

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Sa Pa

$12 1.6% 57.5% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Sa Pa

$28 3.9% 29.6% $6.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $133 in Dhaka and $365 in Sa Pa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $12.00 in Dhaka vs $21.00 in Sa Pa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $191 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇻🇳 Sa Pa

🕒 Local time

06:49 6:49 AM

07:49 7:49 AM

1 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

22,882

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, 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).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,105 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Sa Pa 1,380 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Sa Pa

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 Sa Pa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 80% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $609 in Dhaka and $1,097 in Sa Pa 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 $365 in Sa Pa. 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 $731 in Sa Pa – a 80% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 245% less than in Sa Pa. 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 Sa Pa 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 80% less than in Sa Pa. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.