Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pekanbaru and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $628 in Pekanbaru, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Pekanbaru
Learn more

Pekanbaru Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index

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Pekanbaru

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$628

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $628 in Pekanbaru versus $406 in Dhaka.

Pekanbaru $628
Dhaka $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $983 in Pekanbaru versus $687 in Dhaka.

Pekanbaru $983
Dhaka $687

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,339 in Pekanbaru versus $969 in Dhaka.

Pekanbaru $1,339
Dhaka $969

Living in Pekanbaru is roughly 55% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Pekanbaru 53% lower, Dhaka 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.43 Rp 25.8K

$2.28 ৳282

-37.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$8.20 Rp 147.6K

$12.33 ৳1,523

-33.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.41 Rp 43.4K

$3.95 ৳488

-38.99%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳554

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳510

Cappuccino

$1.30 Rp 23.3K

$2.28 ৳281

-42.98%

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

$0.58 Rp 10.4K

$0.33 ৳40.88

75.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 Rp 5,954

$0.16 ৳19.86

106.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.07 Rp 37.3K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 Rp 62.1K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 Rp 23.3K

$0.85 ৳104

52.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.15 Rp 20.6K

$0.60 ৳74.5

91.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.89 Rp 16.1K

$0.69 ৳85.4

28.99%

Eggs

$1.68 Rp 30.3K

$1.23 ৳152

36.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.30 Rp 131.3K

$8.80 ৳1,087

-17.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.37 Rp 42.7K

$3.33 ৳412

-28.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.49 Rp 116.9K

$6.63 ৳819

-2.11%

Apples (1kg)

$2.70 Rp 48.5K

$2.85 ৳352

-5.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 Rp 30.6K

$0.90 ৳111

88.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.41 Rp 43.4K

$2.34 ৳289

2.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

$0.63 ৳78.4

101.59%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 Rp 22.3K

$0.24 ৳29.59

416.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$0.46 ৳57.3

315.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 Rp 13.5K

$0.35 ৳42.79

114.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.35 Rp 6,350

$0.28 ৳34.24

25.00%

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)

$2.16 Rp 38.9K

$3.28 ৳405

-34.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.45 Rp 386.0K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 Rp 54.2K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 Rp 5,230

$0.42 ৳52.3

-30.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.44 Rp 152.0K

$22.43 ৳2,772

-62.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 Rp 16.6K

$1.19 ৳147

-22.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 Rp 7,154

$0.39 ৳48.71

2.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.68 Rp 48.2K

$3.28 ৳406

-18.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.76 Rp 13.6K

$1.10 ৳136

-30.91%

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

$23.3K Rp 418.9M

$29.4K ৳3.6M

-20.93%

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

$26.0K Rp 468.5M

$32.2K ৳4.0M

-19.06%

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

$62.1 Rp 1.1M

$38.28 ৳4,729

62.17%

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

$5.99 Rp 107.9K

$4.09 ৳506

46.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.78 Rp 428.1K

$9.02 ৳1,114

163.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.34 Rp 510.2K

$13.66 ৳1,688

107.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.31 Rp 149.7K

$10.21 ৳1,261

-18.61%

Cinema Ticket

$3.03 Rp 54.6K

$4.11 ৳508

-26.28%

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

$96.0 Rp 1.7M

$90.7 ৳11.2K

5.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,773 Rp 139.9M

$2,591 ৳320.2K

200.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.96 Rp 575.3K

$17.06 ৳2,108

87.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.42 Rp 511.6K

$21.38 ৳2,641

32.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$54.8 Rp 985.5K

$51.4 ৳6,355

6.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.8 Rp 1.5M

$36.78 ৳4,545

119.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$262 Rp 4.7M

$133 ৳16.4K

96.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$145 Rp 2.6M

$65.1 ৳8,041

122.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$540 Rp 9.7M

$377 ৳46.6K

43.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$356 Rp 6.4M

$192 ৳23.8K

85.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,070 Rp 19.3M

$1,621 ৳200.3K

-34.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$807 Rp 14.5M

$760 ৳93.9K

6.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$176 Rp 3.2M

$246 ৳30.4K

-28.48%

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 Pekanbaru: October 12, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Pekanbaru

$201 32%

Dhaka

$124 30.5% 38.4% $77

Accommodation & Living

Pekanbaru

$145 23.1%

Dhaka

$65 16% 55.1% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pekanbaru

$92 14.6%

Dhaka

$51 12.7% 44.1% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Pekanbaru

$88 14%

Dhaka

$57 14.1% 35.4% $31

Eating Out

Pekanbaru

$55 8.8%

Dhaka

$59 14.6% 7.7% $4.3

Sport & Entertainment

Pekanbaru

$34 5.5%

Dhaka

$22 5.4% 36.4% $13

Getting Around

Pekanbaru

$13 2%

Dhaka

$27 6.7% 118% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $262 in Pekanbaru and $133 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dhaka pays 40% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $8.00 in Pekanbaru vs $12.00 in Dhaka. Groceries flip the comparison at $201 vs $124, with Dhaka cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Pekanbaru

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

10:17 10:17 AM

09:17 9:17 AM

1 h behind Pekanbaru

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,020,308

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 19, 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 19, 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

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Highest

Between locations

Pekanbaru Dhaka 2,840 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Pekanbaru
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

Pekanbaru vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 55% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 40% lower in Dhaka. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $262 in Pekanbaru versus $133 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $628 per month in Pekanbaru versus $406 in Dhaka – a 55% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 166% less than in Pekanbaru. 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 55% less than in Pekanbaru. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.