Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Salatiga

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $456 in Salatiga, rent and utilities included – about $600 less a year. The total is higher in Salatiga despite lower rent and utilities.

20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Salatiga
Learn more

Salatiga Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Salatiga

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$456

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Salatiga

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $456 in Salatiga.

Dhaka $406
Salatiga $456

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $675 in Salatiga.

Dhaka $687
Salatiga $675

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $893 in Salatiga.

Dhaka $969
Salatiga $893

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 11% less than in Salatiga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 70% lower, Salatiga 66% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$0.87 Rp 15.7K

162.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$8.95 Rp 161.1K

37.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$2.73 Rp 49.1K

44.69%

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

$1.43 Rp 25.7K

59.44%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$0.30 Rp 5,485

10.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.19 Rp 3,381

-15.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.90 Rp 34.2K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.23 Rp 76.1K

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$1.21 Rp 21.8K

-29.75%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$1.33 Rp 24.0K

-54.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$0.85 Rp 15.4K

-18.82%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$1.20 Rp 21.6K

2.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$7.70 Rp 138.6K

14.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$3.09 Rp 55.7K

7.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$7.64 Rp 137.6K

-13.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$2.01 Rp 36.2K

41.79%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

-29.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$1.83 Rp 32.9K

27.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$1.51 Rp 27.2K

-58.28%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$1.31 Rp 23.6K

-81.68%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

-75.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$0.35 Rp 6,213

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$0.36 Rp 6,413

-22.22%

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

$1.98 Rp 35.7K

65.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$24.70 Rp 444.6K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 Rp 30.0K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.5K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

$0.21 Rp 3,744

100.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$0.44 Rp 7,900

170.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$0.43 Rp 7,736

-9.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$2.73 Rp 49.1K

20.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$0.67 Rp 12.0K

64.18%

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$24.6K Rp 443.5M

19.46%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$32.2K Rp 579.2M

-0.05%

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$87.8 Rp 1.6M

-56.38%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$4.59 Rp 82.7K

-10.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$19.52 Rp 351.3K

-53.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

$11.25 Rp 202.4K

21.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$2.00 Rp 36.0K

105.50%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$283 Rp 5.1M

-67.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$9,389 Rp 169.0M

-72.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$22.60 Rp 406.8K

-24.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$11.36 Rp 204.4K

88.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$44.96 Rp 809.2K

14.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$73.3 Rp 1.3M

-49.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$165 Rp 3.0M

-19.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

$148 Rp 2.7M

65.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

7.5

39.73%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Salatiga: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Salatiga

$205 44.9% 65.6% $81

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Salatiga

- * 0% 100%

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Salatiga

$52 11.4% 12.2% $7.2

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Salatiga

$69 15% 20.2% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Salatiga

$112 24.5% 118% $60

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Salatiga

$3.4 * 0.8% 87.5% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Salatiga

$15 3.3% 30.4% $6.7

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 $165 in Salatiga. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dhaka pays 66% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $12.00 in Dhaka vs $9.00 in Salatiga. Groceries flip the comparison at $124 vs $205, with Dhaka cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇮🇩 Salatiga

🕒 Local time

09:19 9:19 AM

10:19 10:19 AM

1 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

190,000

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.19 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.93 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.19 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,268 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.93 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Salatiga 4,090 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Salatiga

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 Salatiga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and utilities. The 12% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 66% higher in Dhaka, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $133 in Dhaka versus $165 in Salatiga. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $90.7 in Dhaka versus $283 in Salatiga. 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 $9.00 in Salatiga. 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.

Safety-wise, Dhaka and Salatiga 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 12% less than in Salatiga. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.