Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Shanghai

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $426 a month against $1,250 in Shanghai, rent and utilities included – about $9,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

21

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$426

/mo nomad

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,250

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Shanghai

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $426 in Dhaka versus $1,250 in Shanghai.

Dhaka $426
Shanghai $1,250

Estimated couple costs with rent: $735 in Dhaka versus $2,019 in Shanghai.

Dhaka $735
Shanghai $2,019

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,043 in Dhaka versus $2,789 in Shanghai.

Dhaka $1,043
Shanghai $2,789

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 66% less than in Shanghai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 68% lower, Shanghai 7% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.49 ৳306

$4.55 ¥30.45

-45.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.06 ৳1,605

$29.52 ¥198

-55.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.83 ৳594

$5.10 ¥34.13

-5.29%

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

$3.42 ¥22.92

-31.58%

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

$0.30 ৳37.39

$0.61 ¥4.12

-50.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.96

$0.36 ¥2.41

-55.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.21 ¥8.08

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 ¥15.33

Milk (1 liter)

$0.80 ৳98.1

$1.86 ¥12.48

-56.99%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 ৳79.3

$2.01 ¥13.47

-67.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.71 ৳87.3

$1.02 ¥6.84

-30.39%

Eggs

$1.21 ৳149

$1.72 ¥11.48

-29.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.67 ৳1,065

$17.19 ¥115

-49.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.21 ৳395

$3.35 ¥22.43

-4.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.70 ৳823

$12.80 ¥85.7

-47.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.73 ৳335

$2.17 ¥14.54

25.81%

Banana (1kg)

$0.88 ৳109

$1.74 ¥11.67

-49.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 ৳291

$1.94 ¥12.99

22.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.65 ৳79.6

$1.68 ¥11.25

-61.31%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.20

$0.77 ¥5.18

-68.83%

Onion (1kg)

$0.49 ৳60.7

$0.93 ¥6.22

-47.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.32 ৳38.88

$0.62 ¥4.17

-48.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.30 ৳37.31

$0.58 ¥3.88

-48.28%

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

$3.83 ¥25.64

-15.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.94 ¥73.2

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 ¥5.60

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ¥10.73

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.1

$0.59 ¥3.92

-28.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.54 ৳2,770

$30.27 ¥203

-25.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$2.06 ¥13.79

-42.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 ৳48.60

$0.47 ¥3.13

-14.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.35 ৳411

$8.80 ¥58.9

-61.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 ৳141

$1.27 ¥8.53

-9.45%

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

$30.3K ৳3.7M

$19.6K ¥131.2K

54.58%

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

$33.0K ৳4.1M

$18.6K ¥124.4K

77.80%

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

$46.32 ৳5,692

$57.2 ¥383

-19.06%

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

$4.33 ৳532

$8.06 ¥53.9

-46.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.63 ৳1,306

$10.52 ¥70.4

1.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.37 ৳2,012

$64.6 ¥433

-74.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.14 ৳1,983

$17.63 ¥118

-8.45%

Cinema Ticket

$4.13 ৳508

$8.84 ¥59.1

-53.28%

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

$90.7 ৳11.1K

$1,437 ¥9,620

-93.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,649 ৳325.5K

$28.1K ¥187.9K

-90.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$16.48 ৳2,025

$54.7 ¥366

-69.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.00 ৳2,580

$36.43 ¥244

-42.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.3 ৳6,175

$75.4 ¥504

-33.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.46 ৳4,480

$104 ¥696

-64.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$152 ৳18.6K

$1,039 ¥6,956

-85.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.6 ৳9,044

$589 ¥3,940

-87.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$436 ৳53.6K

$2,487 ¥16.6K

-82.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$214 ৳26.3K

$1,237 ¥8,282

-82.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,622 ৳199.3K

$13.6K ¥90.9K

-88.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$761 ৳93.5K

$6,191 ¥41.4K

-87.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$249 ৳30.6K

$1,715 ¥11.5K

-85.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

3.36

211.90%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 4, 2026

Last update for Shanghai: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$123 28.5%

Shanghai

$237 19% 93.2% $114

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$74 17.1%

Shanghai

$589 47.1% 700% $515

Eating Out

Dhaka

$64 15%

Shanghai

$107 8.6% 66.9% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$61 14.3%

Shanghai

$76 6.1% 23.7% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$56 13%

Shanghai

$122 9.7% 118% $66

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.4%

Shanghai

$37 3% 35% $9.6

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$25 5.7%

Shanghai

$82 6.6% 234% $58

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $152 in Dhaka and $1,039 in Shanghai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays 589% 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 $30.00 in Shanghai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $123 vs $237 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🕒 Local time

12:22 12:22 PM

14:22 2:22 PM

2 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

24,870,895

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR

1 CNY = 0.149 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, 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).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.51 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dhaka Shanghai 3,160 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Shanghai

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 Shanghai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 193% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 589% lower in Shanghai. 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 $1,039 in Shanghai. 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 $1,250 in Shanghai – a 193% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 34% less than in Shanghai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $426 in Dhaka versus $1,250 in Shanghai, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Shanghai. 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.

Expats usually find Dhaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 193% less than in Shanghai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.