Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surabaya and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $426 a month against $688 in Surabaya, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Surabaya
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Surabaya Living Index
21

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index

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Surabaya

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$688

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$426

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $688 in Surabaya versus $426 in Dhaka.

Surabaya $688
Dhaka $426

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,191 in Surabaya versus $735 in Dhaka.

Surabaya $1,191
Dhaka $735

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,695 in Surabaya versus $1,043 in Dhaka.

Surabaya $1,695
Dhaka $1,043

Living in Surabaya is roughly 61% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Surabaya 49% lower, Dhaka 68% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.69 Rp 30.2K

$2.49 ৳305

-32.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.40 Rp 203.9K

$13.06 ৳1,604

-12.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.05 Rp 54.6K

$4.83 ৳594

-36.85%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.93 ৳606

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 ৳504

Cappuccino

$1.57 Rp 28.0K

$2.34 ৳287

-32.91%

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

$0.61 Rp 10.8K

$0.30 ৳37.38

103.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 Rp 5,026

$0.16 ৳19.96

75.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 Rp 40.5K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.09 Rp 73.1K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 Rp 21.8K

$0.80 ৳98.1

52.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

$0.65 ৳79.3

95.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.84 Rp 15.0K

$0.71 ৳87.2

18.31%

Eggs

$1.20 Rp 21.5K

$1.21 ৳149

-0.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.66 Rp 136.9K

$8.67 ৳1,065

-11.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.08 Rp 55.0K

$3.21 ৳395

-4.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.85 Rp 140.3K

$6.70 ৳823

17.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.09 Rp 37.4K

$2.73 ৳335

-23.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 Rp 23.2K

$0.88 ৳108

47.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 Rp 32.6K

$2.37 ৳291

-23.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 Rp 27.8K

$0.65 ৳79.5

140.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.30 Rp 23.3K

$0.24 ৳29.19

441.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.2K

$0.49 ৳60.6

289.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.96 Rp 17.2K

$0.32 ৳38.87

200.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 Rp 7,679

$0.30 ৳37.30

43.33%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.07 ৳1,483

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.51 ৳677

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.66 ৳818

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.94 Rp 34.6K

$3.23 ৳396

-39.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$24.67 Rp 441.1K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 Rp 30.9K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 Rp 53.5K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.32 Rp 5,669

$0.42 ৳52.1

-23.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.54 ৳2,769

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.48 Rp 8,519

$1.19 ৳147

-59.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,679

$0.40 ৳48.58

7.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 Rp 46.7K

$3.35 ৳411

-22.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 14.8K

$1.15 ৳141

-27.83%

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

$25.0K Rp 446.0M

$30.3K ৳3.7M

-17.63%

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

$32.8K Rp 585.5M

$33.0K ৳4.1M

-0.84%

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

$86.2 Rp 1.5M

$46.32 ৳5,690

86.01%

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

$4.58 Rp 81.9K

$4.33 ৳531

5.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.24 Rp 343.9K

$10.63 ৳1,306

81.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.96 Rp 321.0K

$16.37 ৳2,011

9.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.82 Rp 121.9K

$16.14 ৳1,982

-57.74%

Cinema Ticket

$2.72 Rp 48.7K

$4.13 ৳508

-34.14%

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

$280 Rp 5.0M

$90.7 ৳11.1K

208.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,557 Rp 170.8M

$2,649 ৳325.4K

260.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.0 Rp 1.3M

$16.48 ৳2,024

324.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.31 Rp 702.6K

$21.00 ৳2,579

87.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.4 Rp 1.5M

$50.3 ৳6,173

62.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.4 Rp 1.3M

$36.46 ৳4,478

101.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$279 Rp 5.0M

$152 ৳18.6K

83.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$147 Rp 2.6M

$73.6 ৳9,041

99.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,247 Rp 22.3M

$436 ৳53.5K

186.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 Rp 11.1M

$214 ৳26.3K

189.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,155 Rp 38.5M

$1,622 ৳199.2K

32.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,047 Rp 18.7M

$761 ৳93.5K

37.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$273 Rp 4.9M

$249 ৳30.6K

9.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.5

10.48

-28.44%

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

Last update for Surabaya: October 5, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Surabaya

$209 30.9%

Dhaka

$123 28.5% 41.4% $86

Accommodation & Living

Surabaya

$147 21.7%

Dhaka

$74 17.1% 49.9% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Surabaya

$119 17.6%

Dhaka

$56 13% 53% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surabaya

$110 16.3%

Dhaka

$61 14.3% 44.3% $49

Eating Out

Surabaya

$65 9.5%

Dhaka

$64 15% 0.4% $0.3

Sport & Entertainment

Surabaya

$23 3.5%

Dhaka

$25 5.7% 5.3% $1.2

Getting Around

Surabaya

$3.9 * 0.6%

Dhaka

$27 6.4% 605% $24

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $279 in Surabaya and $152 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Surabaya pays 10% 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: $11.00 in Surabaya vs $13.00 in Dhaka. Groceries flip the comparison at $209 vs $123, with Dhaka cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Surabaya

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

14:16 2:16 PM

13:16 1:16 PM

1 h behind Surabaya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,765,487

21,741,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.99 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 17,875 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD). 1 EUR = 20,048 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.99 EUR).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 123 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD). 1 EUR = 138 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Surabaya Dhaka 4,220 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Surabaya
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

Surabaya vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 61% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 10% higher in Surabaya, 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: $279 in Surabaya versus $152 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $280 in Surabaya versus $90.7 in Dhaka. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Dhaka – a meal for two runs $13.00 versus $11.00 in Surabaya. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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 61% less than in Surabaya. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.