Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sentul and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $878 in Sentul, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Sentul
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Sentul Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index

Jump to prices

Sentul

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$878

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $878 in Sentul versus $406 in Dhaka.

Sentul $878
Dhaka $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,334 in Sentul versus $687 in Dhaka.

Sentul $1,334
Dhaka $687

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,790 in Sentul versus $969 in Dhaka.

Sentul $1,790
Dhaka $969

Living in Sentul is roughly 116% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Sentul 35% lower, Dhaka 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.64 MYR 14.84

$2.28 ৳282

59.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.09 MYR 90.1

$12.33 ৳1,523

79.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.03 MYR 20.53

$3.95 ৳488

27.34%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳554

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳510

Cappuccino

$2.99 MYR 12.21

$2.28 ৳281

31.14%

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

$0.83 MYR 3.40

$0.33 ৳40.88

151.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.51 MYR 2.10

$0.16 ৳19.86

218.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 MYR 13.38

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.87 MYR 23.93

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 MYR 6.92

$0.85 ৳104

100.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.03 MYR 4.21

$0.60 ৳74.5

71.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 MYR 5.80

$0.69 ৳85.4

105.80%

Eggs

$1.74 MYR 7.11

$1.23 ৳152

41.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.66 MYR 39.39

$8.80 ৳1,087

9.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.17 MYR 12.94

$3.33 ৳412

-4.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.45 MYR 38.56

$6.63 ৳819

42.53%

Apples (1kg)

$3.25 MYR 13.26

$2.85 ৳352

14.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 MYR 6.87

$0.90 ৳111

86.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 MYR 10.81

$2.34 ৳289

13.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.60 MYR 6.53

$0.63 ৳78.4

153.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 MYR 5.97

$0.24 ৳29.59

508.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 MYR 6.70

$0.46 ৳57.3

256.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 MYR 5.38

$0.35 ৳42.79

277.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 MYR 2.08

$0.28 ৳34.24

82.14%

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)

$4.16 MYR 16.99

$3.28 ৳405

26.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.89 MYR 56.7

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 MYR 10.81

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 MYR 12.68

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 MYR 3.31

$0.42 ৳52.3

92.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.06 MYR 49.19

$22.43 ৳2,772

-46.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.96 MYR 3.91

$1.19 ৳147

-19.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 MYR 1.57

$0.39 ৳48.71

-2.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.97 MYR 36.60

$3.28 ৳406

173.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 MYR 3.54

$1.10 ৳136

-20.91%

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

$41.2K MYR 168.2K

$29.4K ৳3.6M

40.05%

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

$32.5K MYR 132.7K

$32.2K ৳4.0M

1.16%

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

$49.70 MYR 203

$38.28 ৳4,729

29.83%

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

$8.10 MYR 33.04

$4.09 ৳506

98.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.39 MYR 112

$9.02 ৳1,114

203.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.09 MYR 168

$13.66 ৳1,688

200.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.45 MYR 30.40

$10.21 ৳1,261

-27.03%

Cinema Ticket

$5.04 MYR 20.57

$4.11 ৳508

22.63%

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

$161 MYR 658

$90.7 ৳11.2K

77.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,446 MYR 18.1K

$2,591 ৳320.2K

71.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.5 MYR 206

$17.06 ৳2,108

196.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.38 MYR 66.8

$21.38 ৳2,641

-23.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.1 MYR 315

$51.4 ৳6,355

49.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.6 MYR 349

$36.78 ৳4,545

132.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$348 MYR 1,419

$133 ৳16.4K

161.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$282 MYR 1,150

$65.1 ৳8,041

333.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$707 MYR 2,883

$377 ৳46.6K

87.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$484 MYR 1,976

$192 ৳23.8K

151.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,147 MYR 8,759

$1,621 ৳200.3K

32.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,058 MYR 4,315

$760 ৳93.9K

39.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$890 MYR 3,631

$246 ৳30.4K

261.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

10.48

-61.26%

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

Last update for Sentul: October 11, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sentul

$282 32.1%

Dhaka

$65 16% 76.9% $217

Groceries & Markets

Sentul

$224 25.6%

Dhaka

$124 30.5% 44.9% $101

Eating Out

Sentul

$114 12.9%

Dhaka

$59 14.6% 47.7% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Sentul

$103 11.8%

Dhaka

$57 14.1% 44.8% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sentul

$85 9.7%

Dhaka

$51 12.7% 39.7% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Sentul

$51 5.8%

Dhaka

$22 5.4% 57.2% $29

Getting Around

Sentul

$18 2.1%

Dhaka

$27 6.7% 50.1% $9.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $348 in Sentul and $133 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sentul pays 262% 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: $22.00 in Sentul vs $12.00 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $224 vs $124 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Sentul

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

07:15 7:15 AM

05:15 5:15 AM

2 h behind Sentul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

100,000

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 17, 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 17, 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

Sentul Dhaka 2,590 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Sentul
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

Sentul vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 116% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 262% higher in Sentul, 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: $348 in Sentul versus $133 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $878 per month in Sentul versus $406 in Dhaka – a 116% 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 Sentul. 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, Sentul 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 116% less than in Sentul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.