Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sarawak and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $428 a month against $933 in Sarawak, 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 Sarawak
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Sarawak Living Index
21

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index

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Sarawak

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$933

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$428

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $933 in Sarawak versus $428 in Dhaka.

Sarawak $933
Dhaka $428

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,391 in Sarawak versus $724 in Dhaka.

Sarawak $1,391
Dhaka $724

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,849 in Sarawak versus $1,019 in Dhaka.

Sarawak $1,849
Dhaka $1,019

Living in Sarawak 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: Sarawak 31% lower, Dhaka 68% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.65 MYR 14.88

$2.50 ৳309

46.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.77 MYR 80.6

$13.26 ৳1,638

49.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.75 MYR 19.38

$4.99 ৳616

-4.81%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.87 ৳602

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.14 ৳511

Cappuccino

$2.88 MYR 11.74

$2.35 ৳291

22.55%

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

$0.81 MYR 3.29

$0.33 ৳41.07

145.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 MYR 1.61

$0.16 ৳19.62

143.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.60 MYR 14.68

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 MYR 18.81

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 MYR 7.58

$0.85 ৳105

118.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 MYR 4.24

$0.63 ৳77.9

65.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 MYR 6.04

$0.67 ৳83.1

120.90%

Eggs

$2.04 MYR 8.32

$1.19 ৳147

71.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.84 MYR 56.5

$8.83 ৳1,092

56.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.30 MYR 17.54

$3.30 ৳408

30.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.43 MYR 38.47

$6.41 ৳792

47.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 MYR 12.83

$2.75 ৳340

14.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 MYR 6.97

$0.94 ৳116

81.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.51 MYR 10.22

$2.37 ৳293

5.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 MYR 6.55

$0.64 ৳79.1

151.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.27 MYR 5.18

$0.26 ৳32.25

388.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 MYR 4.68

$0.49 ৳60.6

134.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 MYR 4.79

$0.30 ৳37.63

290.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 MYR 2.18

$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)

$4.54 MYR 18.52

$3.17 ৳392

43.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.12 MYR 78.0

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.94 MYR 12.01

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.51 MYR 18.38

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.71 MYR 2.89

$0.38 ৳47.44

86.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.15 MYR 49.57

$23.06 ৳2,849

-47.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.25 MYR 5.10

$1.17 ৳145

6.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.51 MYR 2.07

$0.38 ৳46.99

34.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.21 MYR 29.41

$3.28 ৳405

119.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 MYR 3.34

$1.11 ৳137

-26.13%

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

$42.2K MYR 172.1K

$29.1K ৳3.6M

44.91%

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

$34.8K MYR 141.8K

$32.9K ৳4.1M

5.60%

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

$48.56 MYR 198

$46.77 ৳5,779

3.83%

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

$9.65 MYR 39.38

$4.51 ৳557

113.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.71 MYR 113

$11.22 ৳1,387

146.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.76 MYR 166

$16.43 ৳2,031

148.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.10 MYR 28.98

$14.87 ৳1,838

-52.25%

Cinema Ticket

$4.92 MYR 20.05

$4.20 ৳519

17.14%

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

$190 MYR 775

$91.6 ৳11.3K

107.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,067 MYR 28.8K

$2,596 ৳320.8K

172.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.8 MYR 232

$16.63 ৳2,055

241.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.52 MYR 141

$19.80 ৳2,447

74.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.8 MYR 325

$46.87 ৳5,791

70.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.9 MYR 310

$37.00 ৳4,572

105.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$410 MYR 1,674

$148 ৳18.2K

177.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$299 MYR 1,219

$70.8 ৳8,743

322.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$672 MYR 2,742

$432 ৳53.4K

55.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$477 MYR 1,946

$213 ৳26.3K

124.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,042 MYR 8,329

$1,605 ৳198.4K

27.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,074 MYR 4,381

$751 ৳92.8K

43.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$339 MYR 1,381

$245 ৳30.3K

38.26%

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 Sarawak: October 18, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sarawak

$299 32%

Dhaka

$71 16.5% 76.3% $228

Groceries & Markets

Sarawak

$258 27.6%

Dhaka

$123 28.8% 52.2% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Sarawak

$111 11.9%

Dhaka

$54 12.6% 51.3% $57

Eating Out

Sarawak

$110 11.8%

Dhaka

$65 15.2% 40.8% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sarawak

$86 9.2%

Dhaka

$63 14.6% 27.3% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Sarawak

$51 5.4%

Dhaka

$25 5.8% 50.9% $26

Getting Around

Sarawak

$19 2%

Dhaka

$28 6.5% 47.4% $8.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $410 in Sarawak and $148 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sarawak pays 38% 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: $20.00 in Sarawak 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

🇲🇾 Sarawak

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

22:39 10:39 PM

20:39 8:39 PM

2 h behind Sarawak

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

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

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Between locations

Sarawak Dhaka 3,260 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sarawak
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

Sarawak 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 38% higher in Sarawak, 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: $410 in Sarawak versus $148 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $933 per month in Sarawak 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 90% less than in Sarawak. 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, Sarawak 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 Sarawak. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.