Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kota Damansara and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $963 in Kota Damansara, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Kota Damansara
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Kota Damansara Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index

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Kota Damansara

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$963

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kota Damansara and in Dhaka

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Kota Damansara and in Dhaka actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $963 in Kota Damansara versus $406 in Dhaka.

Kota Damansara $963
Dhaka $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,455 in Kota Damansara versus $687 in Dhaka.

Kota Damansara $1,455
Dhaka $687

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,946 in Kota Damansara versus $969 in Dhaka.

Kota Damansara $1,946
Dhaka $969

Living in Kota Damansara is roughly 137% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kota Damansara 29% lower, Dhaka 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.79 MYR 19.55

$2.28 ৳282

110.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.44 MYR 79.3

$12.33 ৳1,523

57.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.81 MYR 19.63

$3.95 ৳488

21.77%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳554

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳510

Cappuccino

$2.97 MYR 12.10

$2.28 ৳281

30.26%

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

$0.79 MYR 3.22

$0.33 ৳40.88

139.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.50 MYR 2.05

$0.16 ৳19.86

212.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.50 MYR 18.36

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.15 MYR 25.09

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 MYR 7.09

$0.85 ৳104

104.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 MYR 4.31

$0.60 ৳74.5

76.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.45 MYR 5.91

$0.69 ৳85.4

110.14%

Eggs

$1.73 MYR 7.07

$1.23 ৳152

40.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.90 MYR 56.7

$8.80 ৳1,087

57.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.47 MYR 18.23

$3.33 ৳412

34.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.94 MYR 40.56

$6.63 ৳819

49.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.36 MYR 13.72

$2.85 ৳352

17.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 MYR 7.06

$0.90 ৳111

92.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 MYR 9.43

$2.34 ৳289

-1.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 MYR 6.27

$0.63 ৳78.4

144.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.27 MYR 5.19

$0.24 ৳29.59

429.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.39 MYR 5.68

$0.46 ৳57.3

202.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 MYR 4.76

$0.35 ৳42.79

234.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 MYR 2.27

$0.28 ৳34.24

100.00%

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)

$4.36 MYR 17.79

$3.28 ৳405

32.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.74 MYR 60.1

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.19 MYR 13.03

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.24 MYR 17.31

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.64 MYR 2.59

$0.42 ৳52.3

52.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.02 MYR 53.1

$22.43 ৳2,772

-41.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.94 MYR 3.85

$1.19 ৳147

-21.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 MYR 2.89

$0.39 ৳48.71

82.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.03 MYR 20.53

$3.28 ৳406

53.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 MYR 3.54

$1.10 ৳136

-20.91%

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

$41.0K MYR 167.4K

$29.4K ৳3.6M

39.46%

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

$34.4K MYR 140.3K

$32.2K ৳4.0M

6.91%

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

$52.0 MYR 212

$38.28 ৳4,729

35.84%

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

$8.82 MYR 35.97

$4.09 ৳506

115.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.10 MYR 106

$9.02 ৳1,114

189.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.68 MYR 182

$13.66 ৳1,688

227.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.57 MYR 30.90

$10.21 ৳1,261

-25.86%

Cinema Ticket

$4.98 MYR 20.33

$4.11 ৳508

21.17%

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

$164 MYR 667

$90.7 ৳11.2K

80.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,538 MYR 18.5K

$2,591 ৳320.2K

75.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 MYR 221

$17.06 ৳2,108

217.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.64 MYR 67.9

$21.38 ৳2,641

-22.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.9 MYR 338

$51.4 ৳6,355

61.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.2 MYR 384

$36.78 ৳4,545

156.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$451 MYR 1,841

$133 ৳16.4K

239.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$311 MYR 1,267

$65.1 ৳8,041

377.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$691 MYR 2,818

$377 ৳46.6K

83.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$537 MYR 2,191

$192 ৳23.8K

179.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,037 MYR 8,308

$1,621 ৳200.3K

25.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,083 MYR 4,417

$760 ৳93.9K

42.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$853 MYR 3,478

$246 ৳30.4K

246.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

10.48

-61.26%

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

Last update for Kota Damansara: October 10, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kota Damansara

$311 32.3%

Dhaka

$65 16% 79% $245

Groceries & Markets

Kota Damansara

$251 26%

Dhaka

$124 30.5% 50.7% $127

Eating Out

Kota Damansara

$128 13.3%

Dhaka

$59 14.6% 53.7% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Kota Damansara

$112 11.6%

Dhaka

$57 14.1% 48.9% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kota Damansara

$87 9%

Dhaka

$51 12.7% 40.9% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Kota Damansara

$55 5.7%

Dhaka

$22 5.4% 59.9% $33

Getting Around

Kota Damansara

$20 2.1%

Dhaka

$27 6.7% 36% $7.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $451 in Kota Damansara and $133 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kota Damansara pays 246% 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: $19.00 in Kota Damansara vs $12.00 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $251 vs $124 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Kota Damansara

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

15:27 3:27 PM

13:27 1:27 PM

2 h behind Kota Damansara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

500,000

21,741,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kota Damansara Dhaka 2,590 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Kota Damansara
Dhaka

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

Kota Damansara vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 137% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 246% higher in Kota Damansara, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $451 in Kota Damansara versus $133 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $963 per month in Kota Damansara versus $406 in Dhaka – a 137% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 72% less than in Kota Damansara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $406 in Dhaka versus $963 in Kota Damansara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Kota Damansara. 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, Kota Damansara and Dhaka 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 137% less than in Kota Damansara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.