Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Tainan

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $1,068 in Tainan, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Tainan
Learn more

Tainan Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Tainan

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,068

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Tainan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $406 in Dhaka versus $1,068 in Tainan.

Dhaka $406
Tainan $1,068

Estimated couple costs with rent: $687 in Dhaka versus $1,837 in Tainan.

Dhaka $687
Tainan $1,837

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $969 in Dhaka versus $2,606 in Tainan.

Dhaka $969
Tainan $2,606

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 62% less than in Tainan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Dhaka 70% lower, Tainan 21% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ৳282

$3.74 NT$121

-39.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.33 ৳1,523

$24.62 NT$799

-49.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.95 ৳488

$4.79 NT$155

-17.54%

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

$3.27 NT$106

-30.28%

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

$0.33 ৳40.88

$0.95 NT$30.66

-65.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.86

$0.63 NT$20.54

-74.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.86 NT$92.6

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.49 NT$113

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 ৳104

$3.09 NT$100

-72.49%

White Bread (500g)

$0.60 ৳74.5

$1.77 NT$57.5

-66.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.69 ৳85.4

$3.15 NT$102

-78.10%

Eggs

$1.23 ৳152

$2.75 NT$89.3

-55.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ৳1,087

$19.50 NT$632

-54.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.33 ৳412

$9.88 NT$320

-66.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

$21.04 NT$682

-68.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.85 ৳352

$4.96 NT$161

-42.54%

Banana (1kg)

$0.90 ৳111

$2.86 NT$92.7

-68.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.34 ৳289

$3.00 NT$97.4

-22.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.63 ৳78.4

$4.48 NT$145

-85.94%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.59

$2.66 NT$86.4

-90.98%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.3

$2.27 NT$73.6

-79.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ৳42.79

$1.71 NT$55.3

-79.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 ৳34.24

$1.15 NT$37.31

-75.65%

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

$3.81 NT$124

-13.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.94 NT$452

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 NT$53.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 NT$70.3

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.3

$0.61 NT$19.68

-31.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

$33.89 NT$1,099

-33.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$2.53 NT$82.2

-52.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 ৳48.71

$0.77 NT$24.92

-49.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 ৳406

$5.74 NT$186

-42.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ৳136

$1.01 NT$32.90

8.91%

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

$29.4K ৳3.6M

$32.8K NT$1.1M

-10.28%

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

$32.2K ৳4.0M

$24.1K NT$780.6K

33.61%

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

$38.28 ৳4,729

$87.2 NT$2,828

-56.11%

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

$4.09 ৳506

$17.51 NT$568

-76.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.02 ৳1,114

$21.30 NT$691

-57.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.66 ৳1,688

$45.65 NT$1,480

-70.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

Cinema Ticket

$4.11 ৳508

$9.60 NT$311

-57.19%

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

$90.7 ৳11.2K

$433 NT$14.1K

-79.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,591 ৳320.2K

$5,413 NT$175.5K

-52.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.06 ৳2,108

$63.2 NT$2,050

-73.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.38 ৳2,641

$39.20 NT$1,271

-45.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$51.4 ৳6,355

$83.7 NT$2,716

-38.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.78 ৳4,545

$103 NT$3,353

-64.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 ৳16.4K

$297 NT$9,624

-55.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$65.1 ৳8,041

$200 NT$6,470

-67.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$377 ৳46.6K

$845 NT$27.4K

-55.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 ৳23.8K

$696 NT$22.6K

-72.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

$4,123 NT$133.7K

-60.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

$3,022 NT$98.0K

-74.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

$1,376 NT$44.6K

-82.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

2.4

336.67%

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

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Tainan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$124 30.5%

Tainan

$393 36.9% 218% $270

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$65 16%

Tainan

$200 18.7% 207% $134

Eating Out

Dhaka

$59 14.6%

Tainan

$111 10.4% 87% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$57 14.1%

Tainan

$130 12.2% 129% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$51 12.7%

Tainan

$126 11.8% 145% $75

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.7%

Tainan

$43 4% 56.4% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$22 5.4%

Tainan

$65 6.1% 196% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $133 in Dhaka and $297 in Tainan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tainan pays 459% 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 $25.00 in Tainan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $393 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇹🇼 Tainan

🕒 Local time

07:23 7:23 AM

09:23 9:23 AM

2 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

1,886,033

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TWD, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Taka (৳)

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Tainan 3,040 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Tainan

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 Tainan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 163% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 459% lower in Tainan. 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: $133 in Dhaka versus $297 in Tainan. 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 $1,068 in Tainan – a 163% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 51% less than in Tainan. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $406 in Dhaka versus $1,068 in Tainan, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Tainan. 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 Tainan 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 163% less than in Tainan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.