Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dhaka and Taipei

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $426 a month against $1,395 in Taipei, rent and utilities included – about $11,600 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
67

Cost of Living Index in Taipei
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Taipei Living Index

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Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$426

/mo nomad

Taipei

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,395

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Dhaka and in Taipei

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $426 in Dhaka versus $1,395 in Taipei.

Dhaka $426
Taipei $1,395

Estimated couple costs with rent: $735 in Dhaka versus $2,227 in Taipei.

Dhaka $735
Taipei $2,227

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,043 in Dhaka versus $3,059 in Taipei.

Dhaka $1,043
Taipei $3,059

Living in Dhaka costs roughly 69% less than in Taipei, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dhaka is 68% below, Taipei is 4% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.49 ৳305

$4.76 NT$152

-47.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.06 ৳1,604

$48.18 NT$1,537

-72.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.83 ৳594

$5.75 NT$183

-16.00%

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

$3.49 NT$112

-32.95%

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

$0.30 ৳37.38

$0.88 NT$28.03

-65.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.16 ৳19.96

$0.65 NT$20.61

-75.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.86 NT$91.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 NT$117

Milk (1 liter)

$0.80 ৳98.1

$3.09 NT$98.5

-74.11%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 ৳79.3

$2.05 NT$65.5

-68.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.71 ৳87.2

$3.06 NT$97.5

-76.80%

Eggs

$1.21 ৳149

$2.70 NT$86.0

-55.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.67 ৳1,065

$19.66 NT$627

-55.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.21 ৳395

$9.83 NT$314

-67.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.70 ৳823

$21.11 NT$674

-68.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.73 ৳335

$5.08 NT$162

-46.26%

Banana (1kg)

$0.88 ৳108

$3.39 NT$108

-74.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 ৳291

$3.00 NT$95.8

-21.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.65 ৳79.5

$4.56 NT$146

-85.75%

Potato (1kg)

$0.24 ৳29.19

$2.72 NT$86.8

-91.18%

Onion (1kg)

$0.49 ৳60.6

$2.28 NT$72.9

-78.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.32 ৳38.87

$1.68 NT$53.7

-80.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.30 ৳37.30

$1.15 NT$36.81

-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 ৳818

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.23 ৳396

$4.05 NT$129

-20.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.32 NT$457

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 NT$54.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 NT$73.0

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 ৳52.1

$0.61 NT$19.46

-31.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.54 ৳2,769

$38.47 NT$1,228

-41.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 ৳147

$2.73 NT$87.0

-56.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 ৳48.58

$0.75 NT$24.02

-46.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.35 ৳411

$9.59 NT$306

-65.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 ৳141

$1.02 NT$32.56

12.75%

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

$30.3K ৳3.7M

$34.1K NT$1.1M

-11.12%

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

$33.0K ৳4.1M

$24.2K NT$771.9K

36.55%

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

$46.32 ৳5,690

$86.4 NT$2,756

-46.37%

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

$4.33 ৳531

$17.12 NT$546

-74.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.63 ৳1,306

$27.06 NT$864

-60.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.37 ৳2,011

$40.77 NT$1,301

-59.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.14 ৳1,982

$16.04 NT$512

0.62%

Cinema Ticket

$4.13 ৳508

$9.63 NT$307

-57.11%

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

$90.7 ৳11.1K

$656 NT$20.9K

-86.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,649 ৳325.4K

$16.4K NT$524.1K

-83.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$16.48 ৳2,024

$62.7 NT$2,001

-73.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.00 ৳2,579

$39.50 NT$1,261

-46.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$50.3 ৳6,173

$83.9 NT$2,677

-40.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.46 ৳4,478

$106 NT$3,392

-65.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$152 ৳18.6K

$1,016 NT$32.4K

-85.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$73.6 ৳9,041

$479 NT$15.3K

-84.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$436 ৳53.5K

$1,568 NT$50.0K

-72.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$214 ৳26.3K

$952 NT$30.4K

-77.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,622 ৳199.2K

$12.2K NT$389.2K

-86.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$761 ৳93.5K

$7,207 NT$230.0K

-89.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$249 ৳30.6K

$1,772 NT$56.5K

-85.95%

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 4, 2026

Last update for Taipei: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Dhaka

$123 28.5%

Taipei

$401 29.2% 228% $279

Accommodation & Living

Dhaka

$74 17.1%

Taipei

$479 34.8% 550% $405

Eating Out

Dhaka

$64 15%

Taipei

$125 9.1% 94.5% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dhaka

$61 14.3%

Taipei

$131 9.5% 113% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Dhaka

$56 13%

Taipei

$132 9.6% 136% $76

Getting Around

Dhaka

$27 6.4%

Taipei

$47 3.5% 72.9% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Dhaka

$25 5.7%

Taipei

$60 4.4% 144% $35

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $152 in Dhaka and $1,016 in Taipei. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taipei pays 612% 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 $48.00 in Taipei for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $123 vs $401 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🇹🇼 Taipei

🕒 Local time

11:37 11:37 AM

13:37 1:37 PM

2 h ahead of Dhaka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

2,635,286 Capital

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR

100 TWD = 3.13 USD

100 TWD = 2.79 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 123 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD). 1 EUR = 138 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR).

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 31.91 TWD (100 TWD = 3.13 USD). 1 EUR = 35.79 TWD (100 TWD = 2.79 EUR).

USD to BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dhaka Taipei 3,150 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Dhaka
Taipei

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 Taipei: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 227% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 612% lower in Taipei. 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 $1,016 in Taipei. 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 $1,395 in Taipei – a 227% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 71% less than in Taipei. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $426 in Dhaka versus $1,395 in Taipei, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Taipei. 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 Taipei 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 227% less than in Taipei. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.