Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Santa Cruz, Laguna

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $626 in Santa Cruz, Laguna, rent and utilities included – about $2,600 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz, Laguna
Learn more

Santa Cruz, Laguna Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Santa Cruz, Laguna

🇵🇭 Philippines

$626

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Santa Cruz, Laguna

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 Santa Cruz, Laguna actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $626 in Santa Cruz, Laguna.

Dhaka $406
Santa Cruz, Laguna $626

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $931 in Santa Cruz, Laguna.

Dhaka $687
Santa Cruz, Laguna $931

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $1,236 in Santa Cruz, Laguna.

Dhaka $969
Santa Cruz, Laguna $1,236

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 35% less than in Santa Cruz, Laguna, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 70% lower, Santa Cruz, Laguna 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$1.57 ₱99.0

45.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$8.09 ₱509

52.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$2.76 ₱174

43.12%

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

$1.78 ₱112

28.09%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$0.38 ₱23.98

-13.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.23 ₱14.42

-30.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.99 ₱62.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 ₱62.1

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$1.63 ₱103

-47.85%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$1.16 ₱72.9

-48.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$1.00 ₱63.3

-31.00%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$1.55 ₱97.5

-20.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$4.65 ₱293

89.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$3.50 ₱220

-4.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$7.07 ₱445

-6.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$1.46 ₱92.1

95.21%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$0.46 ₱28.85

95.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$1.44 ₱91.0

62.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$1.02 ₱64.2

-38.24%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$1.76 ₱111

-86.36%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$1.74 ₱109

-73.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$0.67 ₱41.99

-47.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$0.53 ₱33.46

-47.17%

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

$2.89 ₱182

13.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.60 ₱541

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 ₱61.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 ₱131

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

$0.21 ₱13.40

100.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

$11.41 ₱718

96.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$0.81 ₱51.2

46.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$0.23 ₱14.36

69.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$1.92 ₱121

70.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$1.25 ₱78.7

-12.00%

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$21.2K ₱1.3M

38.84%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$19.2K ₱1.2M

67.07%

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$85.1 ₱5,359

-55.03%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$17.58 ₱1,107

-76.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$23.61 ₱1,487

-61.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

$31.48 ₱1,982

-56.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

$4.14 ₱261

146.62%

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$5.13 ₱323

-19.88%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$134 ₱8,442

-32.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$10.7K ₱675.9K

-75.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$28.89 ₱1,819

-40.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$19.72 ₱1,242

8.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$72.5 ₱4,565

-29.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$55.8 ₱3,515

-34.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$242 ₱15.2K

-45.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

$157 ₱9,895

-58.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

$475 ₱29.9K

-20.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

$302 ₱19.0K

-36.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

$2,296 ₱144.5K

-29.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

$886 ₱55.8K

-14.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

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 Santa Cruz, Laguna: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$156 24.9% 25.9% $32

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$157 25.1% 142% $92

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$52 8.2% 13.2% $7.8

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$80 12.7% 39.7% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$126 20.2% 146% $75

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$14 2.3% 47.9% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Santa Cruz, Laguna

$42 6.7% 90.7% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $133 in Dhaka and $242 in Santa Cruz, Laguna. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $12.00 in Dhaka vs $8.00 in Santa Cruz, Laguna. Groceries flip the comparison at $124 vs $156, with Dhaka cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇵🇭 Santa Cruz, Laguna

🕒 Local time

06:26 6:26 AM

08:26 8:26 AM

2 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

123,574

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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 Santa Cruz, Laguna 3,420 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Santa Cruz, Laguna

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 Santa Cruz, Laguna: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 54% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $609 in Dhaka and $940 in Santa Cruz, Laguna 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 $242 in Santa Cruz, Laguna. 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 $626 in Santa Cruz, Laguna – a 54% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 97% less than in Santa Cruz, Laguna. 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 54% less than in Santa Cruz, Laguna. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.