Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pasay and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $907 in Pasay, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Pasay
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Pasay Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index

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Pasay

🇵🇭 Philippines

$907

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $907 in Pasay versus $406 in Dhaka.

Pasay $907
Dhaka $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,237 in Pasay versus $687 in Dhaka.

Pasay $1,237
Dhaka $687

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,567 in Pasay versus $969 in Dhaka.

Pasay $1,567
Dhaka $969

Living in Pasay is roughly 123% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Pasay 33% lower, Dhaka 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.40 ₱277

$2.28 ৳282

92.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.94 ₱1,193

$12.33 ৳1,523

53.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.84 ₱179

$3.95 ৳488

-28.10%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳554

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳510

Cappuccino

$2.26 ₱142

$2.28 ৳281

-0.88%

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

$0.59 ₱37.36

$0.33 ৳40.88

78.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 ₱19.20

$0.16 ৳19.86

87.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.16 ₱73.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 ₱99.3

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 ₱108

$0.85 ৳104

101.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.13 ₱71.4

$0.60 ৳74.5

88.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.97 ₱61.4

$0.69 ৳85.4

40.58%

Eggs

$1.96 ₱123

$1.23 ৳152

59.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.15 ₱324

$8.80 ৳1,087

-41.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.13 ₱260

$3.33 ৳412

24.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.18 ₱452

$6.63 ৳819

8.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 ₱141

$2.85 ৳352

-21.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 ₱96.4

$0.90 ৳111

70.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 ₱146

$2.34 ৳289

-1.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.16 ₱73.2

$0.63 ৳78.4

84.13%

Potato (1kg)

$2.37 ₱149

$0.24 ৳29.59

887.50%

Onion (1kg)

$3.34 ₱211

$0.46 ৳57.3

626.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 ₱78.7

$0.35 ৳42.79

257.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.87 ₱55.0

$0.28 ৳34.24

210.71%

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)

$2.88 ₱181

$3.28 ৳405

-12.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.68 ₱483

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 ₱61.7

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 ₱111

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.17 ₱10.43

$0.42 ৳52.3

-59.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.43 ৳2,772

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.77 ₱48.72

$1.19 ৳147

-35.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 ₱13.20

$0.39 ৳48.71

-46.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.87 ₱118

$3.28 ৳406

-42.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 ₱78.1

$1.10 ৳136

12.73%

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

$21.5K ₱1.4M

$29.4K ৳3.6M

-26.89%

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

$19.2K ₱1.2M

$32.2K ৳4.0M

-40.17%

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

$139 ₱8,741

$38.28 ৳4,729

262.70%

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

$14.54 ₱916

$4.09 ৳506

255.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.75 ₱1,558

$9.02 ৳1,114

174.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.70 ₱3,003

$13.66 ৳1,688

249.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.21 ৳1,261

Cinema Ticket

$5.26 ₱331

$4.11 ৳508

27.98%

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

$71.9 ₱4,524

$90.7 ৳11.2K

-20.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,541 ₱160.0K

$2,591 ৳320.2K

-1.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$35.39 ₱2,228

$17.06 ৳2,108

107.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.32 ₱1,217

$21.38 ৳2,641

-9.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.6 ₱4,505

$51.4 ৳6,355

39.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$63.6 ₱4,004

$36.78 ৳4,545

72.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$429 ₱27.0K

$133 ৳16.4K

222.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$312 ₱19.7K

$65.1 ৳8,041

380.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$827 ₱52.1K

$377 ৳46.6K

119.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$364 ₱22.9K

$192 ৳23.8K

89.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,891 ₱119.0K

$1,621 ৳200.3K

16.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$575 ₱36.2K

$760 ৳93.9K

-24.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$510 ₱32.1K

$246 ৳30.4K

107.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.48

-33.21%

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

Last update for Pasay: October 12, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Pasay

$313 34.5%

Dhaka

$65 16% 79.2% $247

Groceries & Markets

Pasay

$186 20.6%

Dhaka

$124 30.5% 33.7% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pasay

$178 19.7%

Dhaka

$51 12.7% 71.2% $127

Clothing & Footwear

Pasay

$85 9.4%

Dhaka

$57 14.1% 33.3% $28

Eating Out

Pasay

$83 9.2%

Dhaka

$59 14.6% 28.8% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Pasay

$58 6.4%

Dhaka

$22 5.4% 62.4% $36

Getting Around

Pasay

$2.5 * 0.3%

Dhaka

$27 6.7% 1000% $25

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 $429 in Pasay and $133 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pasay pays 107% 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: $19.00 in Pasay vs $12.00 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $186 vs $124 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Pasay

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

20:19 8:19 PM

18:19 6:19 PM

2 h behind Pasay

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

416,522

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Pasay Dhaka 3,370 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Pasay
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

Pasay vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 123% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 107% higher in Pasay, 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: $429 in Pasay versus $133 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $71.9 in Pasay 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 $19.00 in Pasay. 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.

Safety-wise, Pasay 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 123% less than in Pasay. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.