Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Songdo-dong

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $1,444 in Songdo-dong, rent and utilities included – about $12,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Songdo-dong
Learn more

Songdo-dong Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Songdo-dong

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,444

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Songdo-dong

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 Songdo-dong actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $1,444 in Songdo-dong.

Dhaka $406
Songdo-dong $1,444

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $2,292 in Songdo-dong.

Dhaka $687
Songdo-dong $2,292

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $3,140 in Songdo-dong.

Dhaka $969
Songdo-dong $3,140

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 72% less than in Songdo-dong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dhaka is 70% below, Songdo-dong is 7% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$5.87 ₩7,798

-61.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$34.90 ₩46.4K

-64.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$6.63 ₩8,816

-40.42%

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

$3.62 ₩4,815

-37.02%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$1.53 ₩2,032

-78.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.58 ₩777

-72.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 ₩4,063

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 ₩6,067

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$2.20 ₩2,925

-61.36%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$3.06 ₩4,066

-80.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$2.35 ₩3,126

-70.64%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$3.33 ₩4,429

-63.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$15.79 ₩21.0K

-44.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$7.80 ₩10.4K

-57.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$11.34 ₩15.1K

-41.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$7.80 ₩10.4K

-63.46%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$3.18 ₩4,234

-71.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$7.67 ₩10.2K

-69.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$6.78 ₩9,017

-90.71%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$3.55 ₩4,720

-93.24%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$2.42 ₩3,216

-80.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$2.04 ₩2,718

-82.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$1.47 ₩1,960

-80.95%

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

$3.29 ₩4,379

-0.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.48 ₩24.6K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 ₩3,043

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$3.64 ₩4,836

-67.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$0.61 ₩817

-36.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$1.35 ₩1,790

-18.52%

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$29.2K ₩38.8M

0.85%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$35.7K ₩47.4M

-9.85%

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$210 ₩278.6K

-81.73%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$43.59 ₩58.0K

-90.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$20.61 ₩27.4K

-56.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$11.32 ₩15.1K

-63.69%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$380 ₩505.4K

-76.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$17.9K ₩23.8M

-85.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$64.3 ₩85.5K

-73.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$64.7 ₩86.0K

-66.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$75.5 ₩100.4K

-31.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$99.0 ₩131.6K

-62.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

$453 ₩602.6K

-85.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

$1,914 ₩2.5M

-80.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

$1,064 ₩1.4M

-81.90%

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

$3,372 ₩4.5M

-92.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

4.1

155.61%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Songdo-dong: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Songdo-dong

$408 * 28.3% 230% $284

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Songdo-dong

$453 31.4% 596% $388

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Songdo-dong

$143 9.9% 141% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Songdo-dong

$137 9.5% 140% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Songdo-dong

$274 19% 433% $222

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Songdo-dong

$6.7 * 0.5% 75.4% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Songdo-dong

$23 * 1.6% 3.5% $0.8

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Songdo-dong pays 1270% 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: $12.00 in Dhaka vs $35.00 in Songdo-dong for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $408 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇰🇷 Songdo-dong

🕒 Local time

03:38 3:38 AM

06:38 6:38 AM

3 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Songdo-dong 3,750 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Songdo-dong

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 Songdo-dong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 256% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 1270% lower in Songdo-dong. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Childcare runs $90.7 in Dhaka versus $380 in Songdo-dong. 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 $35.00 in Songdo-dong. 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 Songdo-dong 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 256% less than in Songdo-dong. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.