Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Madurai and Dhaka

For one person, living costs are similar in Madurai and in Dhaka: $415 and $406 a month, rent and utilities included.

20

Cost of Living Index in Madurai
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Madurai Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index

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Madurai

🇮🇳 India

$415

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $415 in Madurai versus $406 in Dhaka.

Madurai $415
Dhaka $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $668 in Madurai versus $687 in Dhaka.

Madurai $668
Dhaka $687

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $920 in Madurai versus $969 in Dhaka.

Madurai $920
Dhaka $969

Living in Madurai is roughly 2% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Madurai 69% lower, Dhaka 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.70 ₹162

$2.28 ৳282

-25.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$10.52 ₹999

$12.33 ৳1,523

-14.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.17 ₹396

$3.95 ৳488

5.57%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳554

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳510

Cappuccino

$2.24 ₹213

$2.28 ৳281

-1.75%

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

$0.57 ₹54.3

$0.33 ৳40.88

72.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 ₹21.76

$0.16 ৳19.86

43.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.14 ₹203

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.73 ₹354

Milk (1 liter)

$0.57 ₹54.5

$0.85 ৳104

-32.94%

White Bread (500g)

$0.57 ₹54.6

$0.60 ৳74.5

-5.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.68 ₹64.8

$0.69 ৳85.4

-1.45%

Eggs

$0.78 ₹74.3

$1.23 ৳152

-36.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.94 ₹564

$8.80 ৳1,087

-32.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.00 ₹284

$3.33 ৳412

-9.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.63 ৳819

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 ₹280

$2.85 ৳352

3.51%

Banana (1kg)

$0.75 ₹71.6

$0.90 ৳111

-16.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 ₹154

$2.34 ৳289

-30.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.52 ₹49.80

$0.63 ৳78.4

-17.46%

Potato (1kg)

$0.67 ₹63.5

$0.24 ৳29.59

179.17%

Onion (1kg)

$0.70 ₹66.1

$0.46 ৳57.3

52.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 ₹63.6

$0.35 ৳42.79

91.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.31 ₹29.46

$0.28 ৳34.24

10.71%

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)

$4.87 ₹463

$3.28 ৳405

48.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.59 ₹1,006

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.07 ₹197

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 ₹415

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$9.74 ₹925

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.22 ₹20.91

$0.42 ৳52.3

-47.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.48 ₹995

$22.43 ৳2,772

-53.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.12 ₹107

$1.19 ৳147

-5.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.33 ₹31.19

$0.39 ৳48.71

-15.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.29 ₹122

$3.28 ৳406

-60.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ₹106

$1.10 ৳136

0.91%

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

$19.1K ₹1.8M

$29.4K ৳3.6M

-34.94%

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

$23.8K ₹2.3M

$32.2K ৳4.0M

-25.87%

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

$23.06 ₹2,190

$38.28 ৳4,729

-39.76%

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

$4.69 ₹445

$4.09 ৳506

14.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.63 ₹724

$9.02 ৳1,114

-15.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.80 ₹1,500

$13.66 ৳1,688

15.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.38 ₹606

$10.21 ৳1,261

-37.51%

Cinema Ticket

$2.58 ₹245

$4.11 ৳508

-37.23%

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

$41.19 ₹3,911

$90.7 ৳11.2K

-54.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,583 ₹150.3K

$2,591 ৳320.2K

-38.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.35 ₹2,407

$17.06 ৳2,108

48.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.26 ₹2,399

$21.38 ৳2,641

18.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$53.2 ₹5,047

$51.4 ৳6,355

3.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$31.91 ₹3,030

$36.78 ৳4,545

-13.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$145 ₹13.8K

$133 ৳16.4K

9.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$80.4 ₹7,632

$65.1 ৳8,041

23.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$308 ₹29.3K

$377 ৳46.6K

-18.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$199 ₹18.9K

$192 ৳23.8K

3.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,152 ₹109.3K

$1,621 ৳200.3K

-28.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$481 ₹45.7K

$760 ৳93.9K

-36.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$355 ₹33.7K

$246 ৳30.4K

44.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.59

10.48

-8.49%

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

Last update for Madurai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Madurai

$129 31%

Dhaka

$124 30.5% 3.8% $4.9

Accommodation & Living

Madurai

$80 19.4%

Dhaka

$65 16% 19% $15

Eating Out

Madurai

$74 17.9%

Dhaka

$59 14.6% 20.1% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Madurai

$61 14.7%

Dhaka

$57 14.1% 6.7% $4.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Madurai

$35 8.5%

Dhaka

$51 12.7% 45.3% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Madurai

$21 5.1%

Dhaka

$22 5.4% 4.4% $0.9

Getting Around

Madurai

$14 3.4%

Dhaka

$27 6.7% 93.1% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $145 in Madurai and $133 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Madurai pays 44% 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: $11.00 in Madurai vs $12.00 in Dhaka. Groceries flip the comparison at $129 vs $124, with Dhaka cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇳 Madurai

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

06:34 6:34 AM

07:04 7:04 AM

30 min ahead of Madurai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,700,000

21,741,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Indian Rupee INR ₹

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, USD, EUR to INR – Indian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇳 Indian Rupee (₹)

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 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 INR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Madurai Dhaka 2,020 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Madurai
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

Madurai vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 2% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 44% higher in Madurai, 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: $145 in Madurai versus $133 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $415 per month in Madurai versus $406 in Dhaka – a 2% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 114% less than in Madurai. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

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.

Expats usually find Dhaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 2% less than in Madurai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.