Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phnom Penh and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $426 a month against $1,037 in Phnom Penh, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Phnom Penh
Learn more

Phnom Penh Living Index
21

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index

Jump to prices

Phnom Penh

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$1,037

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$426

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,037 in Phnom Penh versus $426 in Dhaka.

Phnom Penh $1,037
Dhaka $426

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,654 in Phnom Penh versus $735 in Dhaka.

Phnom Penh $1,654
Dhaka $735

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,271 in Phnom Penh versus $1,043 in Dhaka.

Phnom Penh $2,271
Dhaka $1,043

Living in Phnom Penh is roughly 143% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Phnom Penh 23% lower, Dhaka 68% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.08 ៛16.6K

$2.49 ৳305

63.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.62 ៛160.7K

$13.06 ৳1,604

203.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.91 ៛28.0K

$4.83 ৳594

43.06%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.93 ৳606

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 ৳504

Cappuccino

$3.02 ៛12.3K

$2.34 ৳287

29.06%

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

$1.87 ៛7,583

$0.30 ৳37.38

523.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.61 ៛2,487

$0.16 ৳19.96

281.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.98 ៛3,969

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.94 ៛11.9K

Milk (1 liter)

$2.17 ៛8,815

$0.80 ৳98.1

171.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 ៛6,516

$0.65 ৳79.3

147.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 ៛4,322

$0.71 ৳87.2

50.70%

Eggs

$1.73 ៛7,033

$1.21 ৳149

42.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.96 ៛60.7K

$8.67 ৳1,065

72.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.07 ៛16.5K

$3.21 ৳395

26.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.25 ៛37.5K

$6.70 ৳823

38.06%

Apples (1kg)

$3.87 ៛15.7K

$2.73 ৳335

41.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.70 ៛6,889

$0.88 ৳108

93.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.30 ៛17.4K

$2.37 ৳291

81.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 ៛8,659

$0.65 ৳79.5

227.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.62 ៛6,559

$0.24 ৳29.19

575.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.28 ៛5,180

$0.49 ৳60.6

161.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ៛4,663

$0.32 ৳38.87

259.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 ៛3,104

$0.30 ৳37.30

156.67%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.07 ৳1,483

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.51 ৳677

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.66 ৳818

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.95 ៛7,895

$3.23 ৳396

-39.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.20 ៛45.4K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 ៛4,171

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 ៛7,274

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.47 ៛1,903

$0.42 ৳52.1

11.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.74 ៛39.5K

$22.54 ৳2,769

-56.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.10 ៛4,461

$1.19 ৳147

-7.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ៛3,960

$0.40 ৳48.58

145.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.15 ៛20.9K

$3.35 ৳411

53.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 ៛5,492

$1.15 ৳141

17.39%

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

$35.5K ៛144.1M

$30.3K ৳3.7M

17.31%

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

$43.9K ៛177.9M

$33.0K ৳4.1M

32.75%

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

$106 ៛431.9K

$46.32 ৳5,690

129.90%

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

$7.39 ៛30.0K

$4.33 ৳531

70.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.24 ៛102.4K

$10.63 ৳1,306

137.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.80 ៛165.5K

$16.37 ৳2,011

149.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.94 ៛44.4K

$16.14 ৳1,982

-32.22%

Cinema Ticket

$4.97 ៛20.2K

$4.13 ৳508

20.34%

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

$665 ៛2.7M

$90.7 ৳11.1K

633.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K ៛44.6M

$2,649 ৳325.4K

315.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.67 ៛112.2K

$16.48 ৳2,024

67.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.26 ៛98.4K

$21.00 ৳2,579

15.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.8 ៛364.1K

$50.3 ৳6,173

78.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.1 ៛239.7K

$36.46 ৳4,478

62.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$639 ៛2.6M

$152 ৳18.6K

320.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$370 ៛1.5M

$73.6 ৳9,041

402.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 ៛4.7M

$436 ৳53.5K

163.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$803 ៛3.3M

$214 ৳26.3K

275.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,883 ៛11.7M

$1,622 ৳199.2K

77.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,488 ៛6.0M

$761 ৳93.5K

95.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$330 ៛1.3M

$249 ৳30.6K

32.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.07

10.48

-23.00%

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

Last update for Phnom Penh: October 6, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Phnom Penh

$370 35.9%

Dhaka

$74 17.1% 80.1% $296

Groceries & Markets

Phnom Penh

$252 24.5%

Dhaka

$123 28.5% 51.3% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phnom Penh

$139 13.5%

Dhaka

$61 14.3% 56% $78

Eating Out

Phnom Penh

$110 10.7%

Dhaka

$64 15% 41.8% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Phnom Penh

$90 8.8%

Dhaka

$56 13% 38.2% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Phnom Penh

$51 4.9%

Dhaka

$25 5.7% 51.4% $26

Getting Around

Phnom Penh

$18 1.7%

Dhaka

$27 6.4% 55.7% $9.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $639 in Phnom Penh and $152 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phnom Penh pays 33% 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: $40.00 in Phnom Penh vs $13.00 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $252 vs $123 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇭 Phnom Penh

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

08:06 8:06 AM

07:06 7:06 AM

1 h behind Phnom Penh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,009,264 Capital

21,741,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, USD, EUR to KHR – Cambodian Riel Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇭 Cambodian Riel (៛)

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4,056 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD). 1 EUR = 4,549 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 123 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD). 1 EUR = 138 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR).

USD to KHR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Phnom Penh Dhaka 2,050 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Phnom Penh
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

Phnom Penh vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 143% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 33% higher in Phnom Penh, 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: $639 in Phnom Penh versus $152 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,037 per month in Phnom Penh versus $426 in Dhaka – a 143% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 131% less than in Phnom Penh. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $426 in Dhaka versus $1,037 in Phnom Penh, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Phnom Penh. The gap between the two cities makes Dhaka the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Dhaka is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Phnom Penh, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Phnom Penh 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 143% less than in Phnom Penh. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.