Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Palembang and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $615 in Palembang, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Palembang
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Palembang Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index

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Palembang

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$615

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $615 in Palembang versus $406 in Dhaka.

Palembang $615
Dhaka $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $980 in Palembang versus $687 in Dhaka.

Palembang $980
Dhaka $687

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,344 in Palembang versus $969 in Dhaka.

Palembang $1,344
Dhaka $969

Living in Palembang is roughly 52% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Palembang 54% lower, Dhaka 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.14 Rp 20.4K

$2.28 ৳282

-50.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.00 Rp 287.9K

$12.33 ৳1,523

29.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.82 Rp 50.8K

$3.95 ৳488

-28.61%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳554

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳510

Cappuccino

$1.29 Rp 23.1K

$2.28 ৳281

-43.42%

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

$0.84 Rp 15.1K

$0.33 ৳40.88

154.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 Rp 4,503

$0.16 ৳19.86

56.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.70 Rp 30.6K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 Rp 58.9K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Rp 20.1K

$0.85 ৳104

31.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.15 Rp 20.6K

$0.60 ৳74.5

91.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.82 Rp 14.7K

$0.69 ৳85.4

18.84%

Eggs

$1.22 Rp 22.0K

$1.23 ৳152

-0.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.24 Rp 130.4K

$8.80 ৳1,087

-17.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.99 Rp 53.9K

$3.33 ৳412

-10.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.44 Rp 133.9K

$6.63 ৳819

12.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 Rp 40.3K

$2.85 ৳352

-21.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

$0.90 ৳111

23.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.47 Rp 26.5K

$2.34 ৳289

-37.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 Rp 24.6K

$0.63 ৳78.4

117.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 Rp 21.1K

$0.24 ৳29.59

387.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 Rp 35.0K

$0.46 ৳57.3

323.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.65 Rp 11.7K

$0.35 ৳42.79

85.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 Rp 7,856

$0.28 ৳34.24

57.14%

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)

$2.21 Rp 39.8K

$3.28 ৳405

-32.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.49 Rp 386.7K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 Rp 33.9K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.94 Rp 52.9K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.44 Rp 7,878

$0.42 ৳52.3

4.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.53 Rp 9,526

$1.19 ৳147

-55.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 Rp 7,284

$0.39 ৳48.71

2.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.84 Rp 51.2K

$3.28 ৳406

-13.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 14.8K

$1.10 ৳136

-25.45%

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

$23.2K Rp 417.8M

$29.4K ৳3.6M

-21.14%

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

$31.6K Rp 568.7M

$32.2K ৳4.0M

-1.76%

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

$71.6 Rp 1.3M

$38.28 ৳4,729

86.96%

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

$4.39 Rp 79.0K

$4.09 ৳506

7.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.20 Rp 345.5K

$9.02 ৳1,114

112.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.72 Rp 355.0K

$13.66 ৳1,688

44.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.99 Rp 143.8K

$10.21 ৳1,261

-21.74%

Cinema Ticket

$2.85 Rp 51.4K

$4.11 ৳508

-30.66%

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

$90.1 Rp 1.6M

$90.7 ৳11.2K

-0.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,423 Rp 151.6M

$2,591 ৳320.2K

225.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.78 Rp 770.0K

$17.06 ৳2,108

150.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.77 Rp 517.8K

$21.38 ৳2,641

34.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.6 Rp 1.3M

$51.4 ৳6,355

44.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$69.3 Rp 1.2M

$36.78 ৳4,545

88.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$230 Rp 4.1M

$133 ৳16.4K

72.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$147 Rp 2.6M

$65.1 ৳8,041

126.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$532 Rp 9.6M

$377 ৳46.6K

41.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$361 Rp 6.5M

$192 ৳23.8K

87.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,254 Rp 22.6M

$1,621 ৳200.3K

-22.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$886 Rp 15.9M

$760 ৳93.9K

16.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$309 Rp 5.6M

$246 ৳30.4K

25.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.46

10.48

-9.73%

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

Last update for Palembang: 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

Palembang

$194 31.5%

Dhaka

$124 30.5% 36.3% $70

Accommodation & Living

Palembang

$147 23.9%

Dhaka

$65 16% 55.8% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Palembang

$97 15.8%

Dhaka

$57 14.1% 41.2% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Palembang

$95 15.5%

Dhaka

$51 12.7% 46% $44

Eating Out

Palembang

$52 8.5%

Dhaka

$59 14.6% 13.4% $7

Sport & Entertainment

Palembang

$25 4.1%

Dhaka

$22 5.4% 13.9% $3.5

Getting Around

Palembang

$4.3 * 0.7%

Dhaka

$27 6.7% 535% $23

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 $230 in Palembang and $133 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Palembang pays 26% 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: $16.00 in Palembang vs $12.00 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $194 vs $124 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Palembang

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

19:40 7:40 PM

18:40 6:40 PM

1 h behind Palembang

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,708,413

21,741,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Palembang Dhaka 3,360 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Palembang
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

Palembang vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 52% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 26% higher in Palembang, 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: $230 in Palembang versus $133 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $90.1 in Palembang 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 Palembang. 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.

Expats usually find Dhaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Palembang. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.