Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Palawan and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $792 in Palawan, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Palawan
Learn more

Palawan Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index

Jump to prices

Palawan

🇵🇭 Philippines

$792

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $792 in Palawan versus $406 in Dhaka.

Palawan $792
Dhaka $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,230 in Palawan versus $687 in Dhaka.

Palawan $1,230
Dhaka $687

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,668 in Palawan versus $969 in Dhaka.

Palawan $1,668
Dhaka $969

Living in Palawan is roughly 95% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Palawan 41% lower, Dhaka 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.62 ₱228

$2.28 ৳282

58.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.14 ₱1,205

$12.33 ৳1,523

55.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.37 ₱212

$3.95 ৳488

-14.68%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳554

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳510

Cappuccino

$2.63 ₱165

$2.28 ৳281

15.35%

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

$0.83 ₱52.5

$0.33 ৳40.88

151.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 ₱24.65

$0.16 ৳19.86

143.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.29 ₱81.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 ₱136

Milk (1 liter)

$1.90 ₱120

$0.85 ৳104

123.53%

White Bread (500g)

$1.26 ₱79.4

$0.60 ৳74.5

110.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 ₱63.5

$0.69 ৳85.4

46.38%

Eggs

$1.98 ₱125

$1.23 ৳152

60.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.83 ₱493

$8.80 ৳1,087

-11.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.21 ₱265

$3.33 ৳412

26.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.78 ₱490

$6.63 ৳819

17.35%

Apples (1kg)

$3.00 ₱189

$2.85 ৳352

5.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 ₱98.2

$0.90 ৳111

73.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.72 ₱171

$2.34 ৳289

16.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.62 ₱102

$0.63 ৳78.4

157.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 ₱146

$0.24 ৳29.59

862.50%

Onion (1kg)

$2.59 ₱163

$0.46 ৳57.3

463.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 ₱66.9

$0.35 ৳42.79

202.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 ₱44.86

$0.28 ৳34.24

153.57%

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)

$2.78 ₱175

$3.28 ৳405

-15.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.85 ₱431

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.20 ₱75.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ₱128

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 ₱17.81

$0.42 ৳52.3

-33.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.29 ₱711

$22.43 ৳2,772

-49.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.83 ₱52.4

$1.19 ৳147

-30.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.24 ₱15.20

$0.39 ৳48.71

-38.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.15 ₱136

$3.28 ৳406

-34.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ₱69.2

$1.10 ৳136

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

$26.5K ₱1.7M

$29.4K ৳3.6M

-9.96%

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

$20.1K ₱1.3M

$32.2K ৳4.0M

-37.63%

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

$114 ₱7,183

$38.28 ৳4,729

198.04%

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

$32.54 ₱2,049

$4.09 ৳506

695.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.55 ₱1,734

$9.02 ৳1,114

205.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.48 ₱2,171

$13.66 ৳1,688

152.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.36 ₱275

$10.21 ৳1,261

-57.30%

Cinema Ticket

$5.80 ₱365

$4.11 ৳508

41.12%

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

$150 ₱9,463

$90.7 ৳11.2K

65.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,228 ₱266.2K

$2,591 ৳320.2K

63.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.09 ₱2,839

$17.06 ৳2,108

164.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.54 ₱1,671

$21.38 ৳2,641

24.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.9 ₱4,713

$51.4 ৳6,355

45.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$53.6 ₱3,377

$36.78 ৳4,545

45.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$264 ₱16.6K

$133 ৳16.4K

98.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$177 ₱11.1K

$65.1 ৳8,041

171.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$589 ₱37.1K

$377 ৳46.6K

56.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$390 ₱24.5K

$192 ৳23.8K

102.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,359 ₱148.5K

$1,621 ৳200.3K

45.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$994 ₱62.6K

$760 ৳93.9K

30.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$246 ৳30.4K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.67

10.48

-36.35%

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

Last update for Palawan: 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

Palawan

$204 25.7%

Dhaka

$124 30.5% 39.3% $80

Accommodation & Living

Palawan

$177 22.4%

Dhaka

$65 16% 63.2% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Palawan

$174 22%

Dhaka

$51 12.7% 70.5% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Palawan

$90 11.4%

Dhaka

$57 14.1% 36.7% $33

Eating Out

Palawan

$86 10.9%

Dhaka

$59 14.6% 31.2% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Palawan

$46 5.8%

Dhaka

$22 5.4% 52.5% $24

Getting Around

Palawan

$14 1.8%

Dhaka

$27 6.7% 88.7% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $264 in Palawan and $133 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $19.00 in Palawan vs $12.00 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $204 vs $124 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Palawan

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

23:00 11:00 PM

21:00 9:00 PM

2 h behind Palawan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

939,594

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

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Between locations

Palawan Dhaka 3,380 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Palawan
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

Palawan vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 95% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,187 in Palawan 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: $264 in Palawan versus $133 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $792 per month in Palawan versus $406 in Dhaka – a 95% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 99% less than in Palawan. 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.

Safety-wise, Palawan 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 95% less than in Palawan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.