Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Seoul

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $426 a month against $1,822 in Seoul, rent and utilities included – about $16,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

21

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
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Seoul Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$426

/mo nomad

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,822

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Seoul

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $426 in Dhaka versus $1,822 in Seoul.

Dhaka $426
Seoul $1,822

Estimated couple costs with rent: $735 in Dhaka versus $2,847 in Seoul.

Dhaka $735
Seoul $2,847

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,043 in Dhaka versus $3,872 in Seoul.

Dhaka $1,043
Seoul $3,872

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 77% less than in Seoul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dhaka is 68% below, Seoul is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.49 ৳306

$9.10 ₩12.2K

-72.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.06 ৳1,605

$67.0 ₩90.0K

-80.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.83 ৳594

$7.42 ₩9,964

-34.91%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.93 ৳606

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 ৳504

Cappuccino

$2.34 ৳287

$4.08 ₩5,482

-42.65%

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

$0.30 ৳37.39

$1.60 ₩2,146

-81.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.96

$0.80 ₩1,081

-80.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.65 ₩4,898

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.94 ₩7,974

Milk (1 liter)

$0.80 ৳98.1

$2.05 ₩2,748

-60.98%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 ৳79.3

$3.08 ₩4,139

-78.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.71 ৳87.3

$4.21 ₩5,659

-83.14%

Eggs

$1.21 ৳149

$3.57 ₩4,795

-66.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.67 ৳1,065

$17.95 ₩24.1K

-51.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.21 ৳395

$10.64 ₩14.3K

-69.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.70 ৳823

$26.44 ₩35.5K

-74.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.73 ৳335

$7.42 ₩9,969

-63.21%

Banana (1kg)

$0.88 ৳109

$3.53 ₩4,743

-75.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 ৳291

$5.87 ₩7,884

-59.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.65 ৳79.6

$6.37 ₩8,554

-89.80%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.20

$3.75 ₩5,040

-93.60%

Onion (1kg)

$0.49 ৳60.7

$2.49 ₩3,345

-80.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.32 ৳38.88

$2.92 ₩3,920

-89.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.30 ৳37.31

$1.15 ₩1,545

-73.91%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.07 ৳1,483

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.51 ৳677

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.66 ৳819

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.23 ৳396

$3.29 ₩4,418

-1.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.49 ₩24.8K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.28 ₩3,064

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 ₩4,408

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.1

$1.14 ₩1,529

-63.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.54 ৳2,770

$45.47 ₩61.1K

-50.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$3.48 ₩4,674

-65.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 ৳48.60

$0.60 ₩805

-33.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.35 ৳411

$8.70 ₩11.7K

-61.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 ৳141

$1.50 ₩2,008

-23.33%

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

$30.3K ৳3.7M

$29.1K ₩39.1M

4.04%

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

$33.0K ৳4.1M

$28.2K ₩37.9M

17.17%

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

$46.32 ৳5,692

$209 ₩280.5K

-77.82%

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

$4.33 ৳532

$35.13 ₩47.2K

-87.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.63 ৳1,306

$21.18 ₩28.4K

-49.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.37 ৳2,012

$57.3 ₩77.0K

-71.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.14 ৳1,983

$15.89 ₩21.3K

1.57%

Cinema Ticket

$4.13 ৳508

$11.33 ₩15.2K

-63.55%

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

$90.7 ৳11.1K

$1,902 ₩2.6M

-95.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,649 ৳325.5K

$22.5K ₩30.2M

-88.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$16.48 ৳2,025

$58.9 ₩79.1K

-72.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.00 ৳2,580

$32.12 ₩43.1K

-34.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.3 ৳6,175

$70.1 ₩94.2K

-28.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.46 ৳4,480

$82.5 ₩110.8K

-55.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$152 ৳18.6K

$885 ₩1.2M

-82.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.6 ৳9,044

$624 ₩837.5K

-88.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$436 ৳53.6K

$2,494 ₩3.3M

-82.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$214 ৳26.3K

$1,275 ₩1.7M

-83.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,622 ৳199.3K

$29.8K ₩40.1M

-94.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$761 ৳93.5K

$11.8K ₩15.9M

-93.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$249 ৳30.6K

$3,649 ₩4.9M

-93.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

4.08

156.86%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 4, 2026

Last update for Seoul: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$123 28.5%

Seoul

$479 26.7% 291% $357

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$74 17.1%

Seoul

$624 34.7% 747% $550

Eating Out

Dhaka

$64 15%

Seoul

$184 10.2% 186% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$61 14.3%

Seoul

$265 14.8% 333% $204

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$56 13%

Seoul

$110 6.1% 96.2% $54

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.4%

Seoul

$57 3.1% 106% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$25 5.7%

Seoul

$80 4.5% 225% $55

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $152 in Dhaka and $885 in Seoul. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Seoul pays 1366% 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: $13.00 in Dhaka vs $67.0 in Seoul for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $123 vs $479 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇰🇷 Seoul

🕒 Local time

11:30 11:30 AM

14:30 2:30 PM

3 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

9,509,458 Capital

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Taka (৳)

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 123 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD). 1 EUR = 138 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,343 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD). 1 EUR = 1,506 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.64 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Seoul 3,790 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Seoul

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 Seoul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 327% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 1366% lower in Seoul. 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: $152 in Dhaka versus $885 in Seoul. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $426 per month in Dhaka versus $1,822 in Seoul – a 327% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 102% less than in Seoul. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $426 in Dhaka versus $1,822 in Seoul, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Seoul. The gap between the two cities makes Dhaka the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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 Seoul 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 327% less than in Seoul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.