Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Juan and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $749 in San Juan, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
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San Juan Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index

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San Juan

🇵🇭 Philippines

$749

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $749 in San Juan versus $406 in Dhaka.

San Juan $749
Dhaka $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,101 in San Juan versus $687 in Dhaka.

San Juan $1,101
Dhaka $687

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,452 in San Juan versus $969 in Dhaka.

San Juan $1,452
Dhaka $969

Living in San Juan is roughly 85% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: San Juan 45% lower, Dhaka 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.05 ₱255

$2.28 ৳282

77.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.88 ₱1,063

$12.33 ৳1,523

36.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.82 ₱177

$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

$2.76 ₱174

$2.28 ৳281

21.05%

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

$0.66 ₱41.30

$0.33 ৳40.88

100.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ₱19.48

$0.16 ৳19.86

93.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.07 ₱67.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 ₱98.5

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 ₱107

$0.85 ৳104

98.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 ₱70.5

$0.60 ৳74.5

86.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.84 ₱52.7

$0.69 ৳85.4

21.74%

Eggs

$1.82 ₱114

$1.23 ৳152

47.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.24 ₱330

$8.80 ৳1,087

-40.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.46 ₱218

$3.33 ৳412

3.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.21 ₱454

$6.63 ৳819

8.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.32 ₱146

$2.85 ৳352

-18.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.36 ₱85.9

$0.90 ৳111

51.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.33 ₱147

$2.34 ৳289

-0.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.06 ₱66.8

$0.63 ৳78.4

68.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.69 ₱107

$0.24 ৳29.59

604.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 ₱109

$0.46 ৳57.3

278.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 ₱42.17

$0.35 ৳42.79

91.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 ₱61.3

$0.28 ৳34.24

246.43%

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)

$2.71 ₱171

$3.28 ৳405

-17.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.79 ₱490

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 ₱58.0

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 ₱116

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 ₱16.26

$0.42 ৳52.3

-38.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.14 ₱764

$22.43 ৳2,772

-45.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 ₱49.71

$1.19 ৳147

-33.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.52

$0.39 ৳48.71

-41.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.95 ₱123

$3.28 ৳406

-40.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 ₱77.8

$1.10 ৳136

12.73%

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

$21.0K ₱1.3M

$29.4K ৳3.6M

-28.73%

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

$19.0K ₱1.2M

$32.2K ৳4.0M

-41.04%

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

$141 ₱8,877

$38.28 ৳4,729

268.31%

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

$14.25 ₱897

$4.09 ৳506

248.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.38 ₱1,535

$9.02 ৳1,114

170.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.07 ₱1,893

$13.66 ৳1,688

120.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.41 ₱278

$10.21 ৳1,261

-56.81%

Cinema Ticket

$5.07 ₱319

$4.11 ৳508

23.36%

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

$74.3 ₱4,677

$90.7 ৳11.2K

-18.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,556 ₱160.9K

$2,591 ৳320.2K

-1.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$29.32 ₱1,846

$17.06 ৳2,108

71.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.71 ₱1,241

$21.38 ৳2,641

-7.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.1 ₱4,539

$51.4 ৳6,355

40.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.8 ₱3,573

$36.78 ৳4,545

54.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$303 ₱19.1K

$133 ৳16.4K

128.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$173 ₱10.9K

$65.1 ৳8,041

166.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$515 ₱32.4K

$377 ৳46.6K

36.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$302 ₱19.0K

$192 ৳23.8K

56.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,681 ₱168.8K

$1,621 ৳200.3K

65.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,115 ₱70.2K

$760 ৳93.9K

46.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$243 ₱15.3K

$246 ৳30.4K

-1.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.75

10.48

-35.59%

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

Last update for San Juan: October 13, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Juan

$180 24%

Dhaka

$51 12.7% 71.4% $128

Groceries & Markets

San Juan

$175 23.3%

Dhaka

$124 30.5% 29.2% $51

Accommodation & Living

San Juan

$173 23.1%

Dhaka

$65 16% 62.5% $108

Eating Out

San Juan

$86 11.5%

Dhaka

$59 14.6% 31.2% $27

Clothing & Footwear

San Juan

$80 10.7%

Dhaka

$57 14.1% 28.8% $23

Sport & Entertainment

San Juan

$40 5.4%

Dhaka

$22 5.4% 45.6% $18

Getting Around

San Juan

$15 2%

Dhaka

$27 6.7% 80.5% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $303 in San Juan and $133 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dhaka pays 1% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $17.00 in San Juan vs $12.00 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $175 vs $124 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 San Juan

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

22:32 10:32 PM

20:32 8:32 PM

2 h behind San Juan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

126,347

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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Highest

Between locations

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

From you

San Juan
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

San Juan vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 85% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 1% 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: $303 in San Juan versus $133 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $749 per month in San Juan versus $406 in Dhaka – a 85% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 85% less than in San Juan. 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 85% less than in San Juan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.