Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sandakan, Sabah and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $428 a month against $934 in Sandakan, Sabah, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Sandakan, Sabah
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Sandakan, Sabah Living Index
21

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index

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Sandakan, Sabah

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$934

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$428

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $934 in Sandakan, Sabah versus $428 in Dhaka.

Sandakan, Sabah $934
Dhaka $428

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,397 in Sandakan, Sabah versus $724 in Dhaka.

Sandakan, Sabah $1,397
Dhaka $724

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,860 in Sandakan, Sabah versus $1,019 in Dhaka.

Sandakan, Sabah $1,860
Dhaka $1,019

Living in Sandakan, Sabah is roughly 118% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sandakan, Sabah 31% lower, Dhaka 68% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.75 MYR 15.28

$2.50 ৳309

50.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.24 MYR 78.5

$13.26 ৳1,638

45.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.77 MYR 19.45

$4.99 ৳616

-4.41%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.87 ৳602

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.14 ৳511

Cappuccino

$2.83 MYR 11.53

$2.35 ৳291

20.43%

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

$0.79 MYR 3.23

$0.33 ৳41.07

139.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 MYR 1.63

$0.16 ৳19.62

150.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.77 MYR 15.39

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 MYR 18.27

Milk (1 liter)

$1.82 MYR 7.44

$0.85 ৳105

114.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 MYR 4.26

$0.63 ৳77.9

65.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 MYR 6.09

$0.67 ৳83.1

122.39%

Eggs

$2.05 MYR 8.37

$1.19 ৳147

72.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.38 MYR 54.6

$8.83 ৳1,092

51.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.36 MYR 17.77

$3.30 ৳408

32.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.69 MYR 39.54

$6.41 ৳792

51.17%

Apples (1kg)

$3.28 MYR 13.39

$2.75 ৳340

19.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 MYR 6.83

$0.94 ৳116

77.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.42 MYR 9.85

$2.37 ৳293

2.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 MYR 6.25

$0.64 ৳79.1

139.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.31 MYR 5.35

$0.26 ৳32.25

403.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.18 MYR 4.82

$0.49 ৳60.6

140.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 MYR 4.57

$0.30 ৳37.63

273.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 MYR 2.15

$0.30 ৳37.49

76.67%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.24 ৳1,512

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.43 ৳671

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.53 ৳807

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.50 MYR 18.35

$3.17 ৳392

41.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.33 MYR 78.9

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.02 MYR 12.30

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.55 MYR 18.55

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 MYR 2.92

$0.38 ৳47.44

89.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.43 MYR 50.7

$23.06 ৳2,849

-46.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 MYR 4.85

$1.17 ৳145

1.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.50 MYR 2.05

$0.38 ৳46.99

31.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.51 MYR 30.63

$3.28 ৳405

128.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 MYR 3.28

$1.11 ৳137

-27.93%

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

$41.3K MYR 168.5K

$29.1K ৳3.6M

41.84%

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

$34.3K MYR 140.0K

$32.9K ৳4.1M

4.23%

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

$48.48 MYR 198

$46.77 ৳5,779

3.66%

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

$9.82 MYR 40.07

$4.51 ৳557

117.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.45 MYR 112

$11.22 ৳1,387

144.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.94 MYR 163

$16.43 ৳2,031

143.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.11 MYR 29.01

$14.87 ৳1,838

-52.19%

Cinema Ticket

$4.94 MYR 20.14

$4.20 ৳519

17.62%

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

$190 MYR 776

$91.6 ৳11.3K

107.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,001 MYR 28.6K

$2,596 ৳320.8K

169.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.6 MYR 231

$16.63 ৳2,055

240.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.71 MYR 142

$19.80 ৳2,447

75.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.6 MYR 333

$46.87 ৳5,791

74.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.7 MYR 309

$37.00 ৳4,572

104.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$403 MYR 1,644

$148 ৳18.2K

172.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$299 MYR 1,221

$70.8 ৳8,743

323.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$681 MYR 2,779

$432 ৳53.4K

57.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$489 MYR 1,994

$213 ৳26.3K

129.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,002 MYR 8,167

$1,605 ৳198.4K

24.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,079 MYR 4,402

$751 ৳92.8K

43.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,220 MYR 4,976

$245 ৳30.3K

398.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

10.67

-61.95%

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

Last update for Sandakan, Sabah: October 17, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sandakan, Sabah

$299 32.1%

Dhaka

$71 16.5% 76.4% $229

Groceries & Markets

Sandakan, Sabah

$258 27.6%

Dhaka

$123 28.8% 52.2% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Sandakan, Sabah

$112 12%

Dhaka

$54 12.6% 51.6% $58

Eating Out

Sandakan, Sabah

$111 11.9%

Dhaka

$65 15.2% 41.2% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sandakan, Sabah

$86 9.2%

Dhaka

$63 14.6% 27.1% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Sandakan, Sabah

$50 5.3%

Dhaka

$25 5.8% 50.2% $25

Getting Around

Sandakan, Sabah

$19 2%

Dhaka

$28 6.5% 45.7% $8.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $403 in Sandakan, Sabah and $148 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sandakan, Sabah pays 398% 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 Sandakan, Sabah vs $13.00 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $123 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Sandakan, Sabah

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

06:00 6:00 AM

04:00 4:00 AM

2 h behind Sandakan, Sabah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

439,050

21,741,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sandakan, Sabah Dhaka 3,570 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Sandakan, Sabah
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

Sandakan, Sabah vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 118% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 398% higher in Sandakan, Sabah, 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: $403 in Sandakan, Sabah versus $148 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $934 per month in Sandakan, Sabah versus $428 in Dhaka – a 118% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 86% less than in Sandakan, Sabah. 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.

Safety-wise, Sandakan, Sabah 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 118% less than in Sandakan, Sabah. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.