Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Labuan and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $1,020 in Labuan, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Labuan
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Labuan Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index

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Labuan

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,020

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Labuan 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 Labuan and in Dhaka actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,020 in Labuan versus $406 in Dhaka.

Labuan $1,020
Dhaka $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,487 in Labuan versus $687 in Dhaka.

Labuan $1,487
Dhaka $687

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,953 in Labuan versus $969 in Dhaka.

Labuan $1,953
Dhaka $969

Living in Labuan is roughly 151% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Labuan 24% lower, Dhaka 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.52 MYR 22.53

$2.28 ৳282

142.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.16 MYR 98.6

$12.33 ৳1,523

95.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.66 MYR 27.19

$3.95 ৳488

68.61%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳554

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳510

Cappuccino

$3.93 MYR 16.05

$2.28 ৳281

72.37%

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

$1.06 MYR 4.34

$0.33 ৳40.88

221.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.45 MYR 1.83

$0.16 ৳19.86

181.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.72 MYR 15.19

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.53 MYR 18.48

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 MYR 7.43

$0.85 ৳104

114.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 MYR 4.26

$0.60 ৳74.5

73.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 MYR 6.07

$0.69 ৳85.4

115.94%

Eggs

$2.10 MYR 8.58

$1.23 ৳152

70.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.82 MYR 68.6

$8.80 ৳1,087

91.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.42 MYR 18.03

$3.33 ৳412

32.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.50 MYR 38.76

$6.63 ৳819

43.29%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 MYR 12.95

$2.85 ৳352

11.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.83 MYR 7.46

$0.90 ৳111

103.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.39 MYR 9.75

$2.34 ৳289

2.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.76 MYR 7.17

$0.63 ৳78.4

179.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.39 MYR 5.68

$0.24 ৳29.59

479.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 MYR 4.20

$0.46 ৳57.3

123.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 MYR 4.81

$0.35 ৳42.79

237.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 MYR 2.20

$0.28 ৳34.24

92.86%

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)

$5.04 MYR 20.57

$3.28 ৳405

53.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.29 MYR 66.5

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.21 MYR 13.11

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.39 MYR 17.90

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.78 MYR 3.17

$0.42 ৳52.3

85.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.66 MYR 43.48

$22.43 ৳2,772

-52.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.34 MYR 5.47

$1.19 ৳147

12.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.48 MYR 1.97

$0.39 ৳48.71

23.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.48 MYR 26.43

$3.28 ৳406

97.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 MYR 3.58

$1.10 ৳136

-20.00%

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

$44.0K MYR 179.5K

$29.4K ৳3.6M

49.50%

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

$32.5K MYR 132.7K

$32.2K ৳4.0M

1.15%

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

$48.90 MYR 199

$38.28 ৳4,729

27.74%

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

$9.68 MYR 39.49

$4.09 ৳506

136.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.69 MYR 113

$9.02 ৳1,114

206.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.60 MYR 170

$13.66 ৳1,688

204.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.68 MYR 31.32

$10.21 ৳1,261

-24.78%

Cinema Ticket

$4.29 MYR 17.51

$4.11 ৳508

4.38%

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

$208 MYR 849

$90.7 ৳11.2K

129.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,011 MYR 28.6K

$2,591 ৳320.2K

170.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.8 MYR 228

$17.06 ৳2,108

227.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.07 MYR 123

$21.38 ৳2,641

40.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.0 MYR 355

$51.4 ৳6,355

69.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.8 MYR 334

$36.78 ৳4,545

122.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$433 MYR 1,768

$133 ৳16.4K

225.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$342 MYR 1,397

$65.1 ৳8,041

426.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$641 MYR 2,614

$377 ৳46.6K

69.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$464 MYR 1,892

$192 ৳23.8K

141.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,282 MYR 9,308

$1,621 ৳200.3K

40.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,136 MYR 4,636

$760 ৳93.9K

49.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$374 MYR 1,525

$246 ৳30.4K

51.93%

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 Labuan: October 12, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Labuan

$342 33.6%

Dhaka

$65 16% 81% $277

Groceries & Markets

Labuan

$264 25.9%

Dhaka

$124 30.5% 53.2% $140

Eating Out

Labuan

$145 14.2%

Dhaka

$59 14.6% 59.1% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Labuan

$115 11.2%

Dhaka

$57 14.1% 50.3% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Labuan

$86 8.5%

Dhaka

$51 12.7% 40.4% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Labuan

$50 4.9%

Dhaka

$22 5.4% 56.4% $28

Getting Around

Labuan

$18 1.7%

Dhaka

$27 6.7% 55.8% $9.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $433 in Labuan and $133 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Labuan pays 52% 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: $24.00 in Labuan vs $12.00 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $264 vs $124 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Labuan

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

13:21 1:21 PM

11:21 11:21 AM

2 h behind Labuan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

95,120

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 19, 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 19, 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

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Between locations

Labuan Dhaka 3,360 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Labuan
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

Labuan vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 151% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 52% higher in Labuan, 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: $433 in Labuan versus $133 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,020 per month in Labuan versus $406 in Dhaka – a 151% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 110% less than in Labuan. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $406 in Dhaka versus $1,020 in Labuan, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Labuan. 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, Labuan 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 151% less than in Labuan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.