Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and San Juan

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $749 in San Juan, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 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 San Juan
Learn more

San Juan Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

San Juan

🇵🇭 Philippines

$749

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in San Juan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $749 in San Juan.

Dhaka $406
San Juan $749

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $1,101 in San Juan.

Dhaka $687
San Juan $1,101

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $1,452 in San Juan.

Dhaka $969
San Juan $1,452

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 46% less than in San Juan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 70% lower, San Juan 45% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$4.05 ₱255

-43.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$16.88 ₱1,063

-26.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$2.82 ₱177

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

$2.76 ₱174

-17.39%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$0.66 ₱41.30

-50.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.31 ₱19.48

-48.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.07 ₱67.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 ₱98.5

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$1.69 ₱107

-49.70%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$1.12 ₱70.5

-46.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$0.84 ₱52.7

-17.86%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$1.82 ₱114

-32.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$5.24 ₱330

67.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$3.46 ₱218

-3.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$7.21 ₱454

-8.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$2.32 ₱146

22.84%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$1.36 ₱85.9

-33.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$2.33 ₱147

0.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$1.06 ₱66.8

-40.57%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$1.69 ₱107

-85.80%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$1.74 ₱109

-73.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$0.67 ₱42.17

-47.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$0.97 ₱61.3

-71.13%

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

$2.71 ₱171

21.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.79 ₱490

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 ₱58.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 ₱116

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

$0.26 ₱16.26

61.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

$12.14 ₱764

84.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$0.79 ₱49.71

50.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$0.23 ₱14.52

69.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$1.95 ₱123

68.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$1.24 ₱77.8

-11.29%

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$21.0K ₱1.3M

40.31%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$19.0K ₱1.2M

69.61%

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$141 ₱8,877

-72.85%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$14.25 ₱897

-71.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$24.38 ₱1,535

-63.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

$30.07 ₱1,893

-54.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

$4.41 ₱278

131.52%

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$5.07 ₱319

-18.93%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$74.3 ₱4,677

22.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$2,556 ₱160.9K

1.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$29.32 ₱1,846

-41.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$19.71 ₱1,241

8.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$72.1 ₱4,539

-28.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$56.8 ₱3,573

-35.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$303 ₱19.1K

-56.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

$173 ₱10.9K

-62.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

$515 ₱32.4K

-26.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

$302 ₱19.0K

-36.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

$2,681 ₱168.8K

-39.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

$1,115 ₱70.2K

-31.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

$243 ₱15.3K

1.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

6.75

55.26%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for San Juan: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

San Juan

$175 23.3% 41.2% $51

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

San Juan

$173 23.1% 166% $108

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

San Juan

$86 11.5% 45.3% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

San Juan

$80 10.7% 40.5% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

San Juan

$180 24% 250% $128

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

San Juan

$15 2% 44.6% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

San Juan

$40 5.4% 83.7% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $133 in Dhaka and $303 in San Juan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dhaka pays 1% 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 $17.00 in San Juan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $175 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇵🇭 San Juan

🕒 Local time

03:09 3:09 AM

05:09 5:09 AM

2 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

126,347

💱 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 = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka San Juan 3,370 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
San Juan

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 San Juan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 85% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 1% 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 $303 in San Juan. 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 $749 in San Juan – a 85% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 85% less than in San Juan. 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.

Expats usually find Dhaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 85% less than in San Juan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.