Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lapu-Lapu and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $845 in Lapu-Lapu, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Lapu-Lapu
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Lapu-Lapu Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index

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Lapu-Lapu

🇵🇭 Philippines

$845

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $845 in Lapu-Lapu versus $406 in Dhaka.

Lapu-Lapu $845
Dhaka $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,195 in Lapu-Lapu versus $687 in Dhaka.

Lapu-Lapu $1,195
Dhaka $687

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,545 in Lapu-Lapu versus $969 in Dhaka.

Lapu-Lapu $1,545
Dhaka $969

Living in Lapu-Lapu is roughly 108% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lapu-Lapu 37% lower, Dhaka 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.95 ₱186

$2.28 ৳282

29.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.86 ₱998

$12.33 ৳1,523

28.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.90 ₱246

$3.95 ৳488

-1.27%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳554

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳510

Cappuccino

$2.54 ₱160

$2.28 ৳281

11.40%

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

$0.58 ₱36.53

$0.33 ৳40.88

75.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 ₱23.93

$0.16 ৳19.86

137.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.29 ₱80.9

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 ₱142

Milk (1 liter)

$1.76 ₱111

$0.85 ৳104

107.06%

White Bread (500g)

$1.42 ₱89.2

$0.60 ৳74.5

136.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.94 ₱59.5

$0.69 ৳85.4

36.23%

Eggs

$2.04 ₱129

$1.23 ৳152

65.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.68 ₱358

$8.80 ৳1,087

-35.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.45 ₱280

$3.33 ৳412

33.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.71 ₱486

$6.63 ৳819

16.29%

Apples (1kg)

$3.36 ₱211

$2.85 ৳352

17.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 ₱91.5

$0.90 ৳111

61.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.37 ₱149

$2.34 ৳289

1.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₱97.1

$0.63 ৳78.4

144.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.39 ₱151

$0.24 ৳29.59

895.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.98 ₱125

$0.46 ৳57.3

330.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 ₱75.2

$0.35 ৳42.79

240.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 ₱42.80

$0.28 ৳34.24

142.86%

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)

$1.62 ₱102

$3.28 ৳405

-50.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.07 ₱256

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 ₱65.9

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 ₱95.2

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 ₱15.81

$0.42 ৳52.3

-40.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ₱46.77

$1.19 ৳147

-37.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.51

$0.39 ৳48.71

-41.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.90 ₱246

$3.28 ৳406

18.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 ₱83.4

$1.10 ৳136

20.91%

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

$21.5K ₱1.4M

$29.4K ৳3.6M

-26.85%

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

$19.6K ₱1.2M

$32.2K ৳4.0M

-39.21%

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

$120 ₱7,559

$38.28 ৳4,729

213.66%

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

$13.99 ₱881

$4.09 ৳506

242.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.04 ₱1,765

$9.02 ৳1,114

210.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$12.62 ₱795

$13.66 ৳1,688

-7.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

Cinema Ticket

$5.60 ₱353

$4.11 ৳508

36.25%

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

$103 ₱6,509

$90.7 ৳11.2K

13.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,848 ₱494.1K

$2,591 ৳320.2K

202.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.78 ₱3,008

$17.06 ৳2,108

180.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.45 ₱1,603

$21.38 ৳2,641

19.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$23.86 ₱1,502

$51.4 ৳6,355

-53.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$58.5 ₱3,683

$36.78 ৳4,545

59.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$437 ₱27.5K

$133 ৳16.4K

228.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$317 ₱19.9K

$65.1 ৳8,041

386.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,214 ₱76.4K

$377 ৳46.6K

221.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$473 ₱29.8K

$192 ৳23.8K

145.67%

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)

$229 ₱14.4K

$246 ৳30.4K

-7.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

10.48

-31.30%

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

Last update for Lapu-Lapu: 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

Lapu-Lapu

$317 37.5%

Dhaka

$65 16% 79.4% $251

Groceries & Markets

Lapu-Lapu

$189 22.4%

Dhaka

$124 30.5% 34.7% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lapu-Lapu

$162 19.2%

Dhaka

$51 12.7% 68.3% $111

Eating Out

Lapu-Lapu

$81 9.5%

Dhaka

$59 14.6% 26.3% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Lapu-Lapu

$70 8.3%

Dhaka

$57 14.1% 18.6% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Lapu-Lapu

$24 2.8%

Dhaka

$22 5.4% 8.1% $1.9

Getting Around

Lapu-Lapu

$2.9 * 0.3%

Dhaka

$27 6.7% 841% $24

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $437 in Lapu-Lapu and $133 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dhaka pays 8% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $16.00 in Lapu-Lapu vs $12.00 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $189 vs $124 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Lapu-Lapu

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

03:50 3:50 AM

01:50 1:50 AM

2 h behind Lapu-Lapu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

497,604

21,741,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.79 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

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).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lapu-Lapu Dhaka 3,850 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Lapu-Lapu
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

Lapu-Lapu vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 108% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 8% lower in Dhaka. 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: $437 in Lapu-Lapu versus $133 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $103 in Lapu-Lapu versus $90.7 in Dhaka. 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 $16.00 in Lapu-Lapu. 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, Lapu-Lapu 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 108% less than in Lapu-Lapu. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.