Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Muar and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $422 a month against $951 in Muar, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Muar
Learn more

Muar Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index

Jump to prices

Muar

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$951

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$422

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $951 in Muar versus $422 in Dhaka.

Muar $951
Dhaka $422

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,505 in Muar versus $728 in Dhaka.

Muar $1,505
Dhaka $728

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,059 in Muar versus $1,033 in Dhaka.

Muar $2,059
Dhaka $1,033

Living in Muar is roughly 125% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Muar 30% lower, Dhaka 69% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.82 MYR 19.72

$2.40 ৳297

100.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.01 MYR 119

$12.93 ৳1,603

124.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.88 MYR 15.86

$4.78 ৳593

-18.83%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.92 ৳610

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 ৳490

Cappuccino

$3.05 MYR 12.46

$2.38 ৳295

28.15%

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

$0.76 MYR 3.12

$0.30 ৳37.09

153.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 MYR 1.88

$0.17 ৳21.31

170.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.44 MYR 18.14

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.27 MYR 25.63

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 MYR 8.72

$0.79 ৳97.5

169.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.07 MYR 4.37

$0.63 ৳78.3

69.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 MYR 7.58

$0.72 ৳89.1

156.94%

Eggs

$2.44 MYR 9.96

$1.18 ৳147

106.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.25 MYR 58.3

$8.73 ৳1,082

63.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.44 MYR 18.17

$3.30 ৳409

34.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.95 MYR 40.68

$6.64 ৳824

49.85%

Apples (1kg)

$3.36 MYR 13.75

$2.80 ৳347

20.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 MYR 7.55

$0.86 ৳107

115.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.25 MYR 9.19

$2.32 ৳287

-3.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.51 MYR 6.19

$0.61 ৳75.7

147.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.22 MYR 4.97

$0.23 ৳28.29

430.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 MYR 5.60

$0.48 ৳59.9

185.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 MYR 4.74

$0.33 ৳41.23

251.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 MYR 2.91

$0.30 ৳37.56

136.67%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.23 ৳1,516

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.23 ৳649

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.51 ৳807

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.45 MYR 18.19

$3.29 ৳408

35.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.48 MYR 79.7

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.48 MYR 14.24

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.99 MYR 20.42

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.64 MYR 2.63

$0.41 ৳51.3

56.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.62 MYR 43.43

$21.27 ৳2,637

-50.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 MYR 4.85

$1.18 ৳147

0.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.25 MYR 5.10

$0.38 ৳47.16

228.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.87 MYR 19.93

$3.27 ৳406

48.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.81 MYR 3.32

$1.16 ৳143

-30.17%

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

$44.4K MYR 181.6K

$29.9K ৳3.7M

48.58%

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

$34.9K MYR 142.5K

$32.5K ৳4.0M

7.24%

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

$62.0 MYR 254

$46.86 ৳5,810

32.37%

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

$8.88 MYR 36.32

$4.31 ৳535

106.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.21 MYR 107

$11.09 ৳1,375

136.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.02 MYR 151

$17.52 ৳2,172

111.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.79 MYR 23.66

$17.67 ৳2,190

-67.23%

Cinema Ticket

$4.85 MYR 19.83

$4.31 ৳534

12.53%

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

$240 MYR 981

$139 ৳17.2K

72.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K MYR 54.5K

$2,570 ৳318.6K

418.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.2 MYR 295

$16.32 ৳2,024

342.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.83 MYR 171

$19.36 ৳2,401

116.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.3 MYR 345

$45.97 ৳5,699

83.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.3 MYR 394

$36.74 ৳4,555

162.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$445 MYR 1,818

$145 ৳18.0K

206.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$253 MYR 1,033

$68.1 ৳8,445

270.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$617 MYR 2,521

$461 ৳57.1K

33.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$518 MYR 2,117

$232 ৳28.8K

123.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,001 MYR 8,180

$1,575 ৳195.3K

27.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,229 MYR 5,023

$789 ৳97.9K

55.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$603 MYR 2,465

$245 ৳30.3K

146.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.17

10.67

-60.92%

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

Last update for Muar: October 26, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Muar

$274 28.9%

Dhaka

$122 29% 55.4% $152

Accommodation & Living

Muar

$253 26.6%

Dhaka

$68 16.1% 73% $185

Clothing & Footwear

Muar

$133 14%

Dhaka

$53 12.6% 59.8% $79

Eating Out

Muar

$126 13.3%

Dhaka

$64 15.2% 49.4% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Muar

$97 10.2%

Dhaka

$62 14.8% 35.9% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Muar

$47 4.9%

Dhaka

$26 6.2% 44.1% $21

Getting Around

Muar

$21 2.2%

Dhaka

$26 6.2% 26.2% $5.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $445 in Muar and $145 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Muar pays about 2.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $29 in Muar vs $13 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $274 vs $122 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Muar

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

01:03 1:03 AM

23:03 11:03 PM

2 h behind Muar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

314,776

21,741,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.07 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.22 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 27, 2026: 1 USD = 4.09 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.57 MYR (1 MYR = 0.219 EUR).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.07 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.22 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Muar Dhaka 2,750 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Muar
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

Muar vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 125% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Muar is about 2.5 times higher, 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: $445 in Muar versus $145 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $951 per month in Muar versus $422 in Dhaka – a 125% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Muar runs roughly 50% less than in Dhaka. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your 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.

It comes down to priorities – Dhaka wins on affordability, Muar on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.