Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Serdang and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $978 in Serdang, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Serdang
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Serdang Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index

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Serdang

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$978

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $978 in Serdang versus $406 in Dhaka.

Serdang $978
Dhaka $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,422 in Serdang versus $687 in Dhaka.

Serdang $1,422
Dhaka $687

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,865 in Serdang versus $969 in Dhaka.

Serdang $1,865
Dhaka $969

Living in Serdang is roughly 141% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Serdang 28% lower, Dhaka 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.52 MYR 10.29

$2.28 ৳282

10.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$17.01 MYR 69.4

$12.33 ৳1,523

37.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.58 MYR 14.62

$3.95 ৳488

-9.37%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳554

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳510

Cappuccino

$2.01 MYR 8.20

$2.28 ৳281

-11.84%

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

$0.84 MYR 3.44

$0.33 ৳40.88

154.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 MYR 1.93

$0.16 ৳19.86

193.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.43 MYR 18.06

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.02 MYR 24.56

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 MYR 8.68

$0.85 ৳104

150.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 MYR 4.51

$0.60 ৳74.5

83.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.95 MYR 7.95

$0.69 ৳85.4

182.61%

Eggs

$2.49 MYR 10.14

$1.23 ৳152

102.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.89 MYR 56.7

$8.80 ৳1,087

57.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.47 MYR 18.24

$3.33 ৳412

34.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.92 MYR 40.47

$6.63 ৳819

49.62%

Apples (1kg)

$3.44 MYR 14.02

$2.85 ৳352

20.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 MYR 7.18

$0.90 ৳111

95.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.27 MYR 9.26

$2.34 ৳289

-2.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.60 MYR 6.52

$0.63 ৳78.4

153.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.27 MYR 5.19

$0.24 ৳29.59

429.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.35 MYR 5.51

$0.46 ৳57.3

193.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 MYR 4.57

$0.35 ৳42.79

220.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 MYR 2.93

$0.28 ৳34.24

157.14%

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)

$4.53 MYR 18.47

$3.28 ৳405

38.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.72 MYR 80.4

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.50 MYR 14.29

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.91 MYR 20.01

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 MYR 2.82

$0.42 ৳52.3

64.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$13.93 MYR 56.8

$22.43 ৳2,772

-37.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.19 MYR 4.85

$1.19 ৳147

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.25 MYR 5.09

$0.39 ৳48.71

220.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 MYR 20.23

$3.28 ৳406

51.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 MYR 3.61

$1.10 ৳136

-20.00%

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

$41.5K MYR 169.4K

$29.4K ৳3.6M

41.11%

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

$34.4K MYR 140.2K

$32.2K ৳4.0M

6.90%

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

$61.8 MYR 252

$38.28 ৳4,729

61.52%

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

$8.90 MYR 36.30

$4.09 ৳506

117.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.69 MYR 109

$9.02 ৳1,114

195.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.43 MYR 173

$13.66 ৳1,688

210.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.33 MYR 29.89

$10.21 ৳1,261

-28.21%

Cinema Ticket

$5.12 MYR 20.88

$4.11 ৳508

24.57%

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

$298 MYR 1,215

$90.7 ৳11.2K

228.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.0K MYR 53.1K

$2,591 ৳320.2K

402.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.1 MYR 290

$17.06 ৳2,108

316.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.18 MYR 168

$21.38 ৳2,641

92.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.3 MYR 348

$51.4 ৳6,355

65.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.3 MYR 397

$36.78 ৳4,545

164.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$394 MYR 1,607

$133 ৳16.4K

196.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$302 MYR 1,231

$65.1 ৳8,041

363.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$685 MYR 2,794

$377 ৳46.6K

81.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$430 MYR 1,753

$192 ৳23.8K

123.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,783 MYR 7,272

$1,621 ৳200.3K

9.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,004 MYR 4,096

$760 ৳93.9K

32.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$964 MYR 3,932

$246 ৳30.4K

291.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.18

10.48

-60.11%

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

Last update for Serdang: October 13, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Serdang

$302 30.9%

Dhaka

$65 16% 78.4% $237

Groceries & Markets

Serdang

$275 28.1%

Dhaka

$124 30.5% 55.1% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Serdang

$133 13.6%

Dhaka

$57 14.1% 57% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Serdang

$97 10%

Dhaka

$51 12.7% 47.2% $46

Eating Out

Serdang

$94 9.7%

Dhaka

$59 14.6% 37.1% $35

Sport & Entertainment

Serdang

$53 5.4%

Dhaka

$22 5.4% 58.4% $31

Getting Around

Serdang

$24 2.5%

Dhaka

$27 6.7% 13.1% $3.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $394 in Serdang and $133 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Serdang pays 292% 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: $17.00 in Serdang vs $12.00 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $275 vs $124 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Serdang

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

07:20 7:20 AM

05:20 5:20 AM

2 h behind Serdang

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

130,252

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 18, 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 18, 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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Highest

Between locations

Serdang Dhaka 2,610 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Serdang
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

Serdang vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 141% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 292% higher in Serdang, 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: $394 in Serdang versus $133 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $978 per month in Serdang versus $406 in Dhaka – a 141% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 61% less than in Serdang. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $406 in Dhaka versus $978 in Serdang, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Serdang. The gap between the two cities makes Dhaka the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Serdang 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 141% less than in Serdang. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.