Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Malaybalay and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $756 in Malaybalay, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Malaybalay
Learn more

Malaybalay Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index

Jump to prices

Malaybalay

🇵🇭 Philippines

$756

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $756 in Malaybalay versus $406 in Dhaka.

Malaybalay $756
Dhaka $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,182 in Malaybalay versus $687 in Dhaka.

Malaybalay $1,182
Dhaka $687

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,607 in Malaybalay versus $969 in Dhaka.

Malaybalay $1,607
Dhaka $969

Living in Malaybalay is roughly 86% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Malaybalay 44% lower, Dhaka 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.89 ₱308

$2.28 ৳282

114.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.45 ₱1,035

$12.33 ৳1,523

33.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.51 ₱221

$3.95 ৳488

-11.14%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳554

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳510

Cappuccino

$2.18 ₱137

$2.28 ৳281

-4.39%

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

$0.49 ₱31.14

$0.33 ৳40.88

48.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ₱20.93

$0.16 ৳19.86

106.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.13 ₱71.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 ₱121

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 ₱127

$0.85 ৳104

137.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.13 ₱71.2

$0.60 ৳74.5

88.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.88 ₱55.2

$0.69 ৳85.4

27.54%

Eggs

$1.87 ₱118

$1.23 ৳152

52.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.41 ₱404

$8.80 ৳1,087

-27.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.87 ₱307

$3.33 ৳412

46.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.06 ₱570

$6.63 ৳819

36.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.77 ₱175

$2.85 ৳352

-2.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.07 ₱67.2

$0.90 ৳111

18.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.39 ₱150

$2.34 ৳289

2.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.14 ₱71.8

$0.63 ৳78.4

80.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 ₱123

$0.24 ৳29.59

716.67%

Onion (1kg)

$3.39 ₱213

$0.46 ৳57.3

636.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 ₱75.3

$0.35 ৳42.79

242.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.66 ₱41.82

$0.28 ৳34.24

135.71%

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)

$2.47 ₱156

$3.28 ৳405

-24.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.77 ₱489

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 ₱80.1

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 ₱102

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.22 ₱13.60

$0.42 ৳52.3

-47.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.70 ₱674

$22.43 ৳2,772

-52.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.84 ₱52.9

$1.19 ৳147

-29.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.40

$0.39 ৳48.71

-41.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.90 ₱119

$3.28 ৳406

-42.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 ₱80.2

$1.10 ৳136

15.45%

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

$21.6K ₱1.4M

$29.4K ৳3.6M

-26.66%

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

$19.0K ₱1.2M

$32.2K ৳4.0M

-40.99%

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

$109 ₱6,856

$38.28 ৳4,729

184.48%

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

$19.33 ₱1,217

$4.09 ৳506

372.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.17 ₱1,962

$9.02 ৳1,114

245.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.01 ₱1,890

$13.66 ৳1,688

119.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.18 ₱263

$10.21 ৳1,261

-59.06%

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 ₱306

$4.11 ৳508

18.25%

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

$106 ₱6,689

$90.7 ৳11.2K

17.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,589 ₱477.8K

$2,591 ৳320.2K

192.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.02 ₱2,079

$17.06 ৳2,108

93.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.31 ₱1,216

$21.38 ৳2,641

-9.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.7 ₱4,451

$51.4 ৳6,355

37.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$60.7 ₱3,821

$36.78 ৳4,545

65.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$279 ₱17.5K

$133 ৳16.4K

109.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$173 ₱10.9K

$65.1 ৳8,041

165.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$441 ₱27.8K

$377 ৳46.6K

16.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$403 ₱25.4K

$192 ৳23.8K

109.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,200 ₱138.5K

$1,621 ৳200.3K

35.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,006 ₱63.4K

$760 ৳93.9K

32.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.31

10.48

-20.71%

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

Last update for Malaybalay: October 11, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Malaybalay

$199 26.4%

Dhaka

$124 30.5% 38% $76

Accommodation & Living

Malaybalay

$173 22.8%

Dhaka

$65 16% 62.3% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Malaybalay

$159 21.1%

Dhaka

$51 12.7% 67.8% $108

Eating Out

Malaybalay

$89 11.7%

Dhaka

$59 14.6% 33% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Malaybalay

$83 10.9%

Dhaka

$57 14.1% 31.1% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Malaybalay

$40 5.3%

Dhaka

$22 5.4% 44.9% $18

Getting Around

Malaybalay

$14 1.8%

Dhaka

$27 6.7% 101% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $279 in Malaybalay and $133 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $16.00 in Malaybalay vs $12.00 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $199 vs $124 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Malaybalay

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

03:14 3:14 AM

01:14 1:14 AM

2 h behind Malaybalay

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

190,712

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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 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 PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Malaybalay Dhaka 4,080 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Malaybalay
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

Malaybalay vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 86% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,134 in Malaybalay and $609 in Dhaka to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $279 in Malaybalay versus $133 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $756 per month in Malaybalay versus $406 in Dhaka – a 86% 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 Malaybalay. 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 86% less than in Malaybalay. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.