Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surakarta and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $406 a month against $509 in Surakarta, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Surakarta
Learn more

Surakarta Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
Learn more

Dhaka Living Index

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Surakarta

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$509

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $509 in Surakarta versus $406 in Dhaka.

Surakarta $509
Dhaka $406

Estimated couple costs with rent: $817 in Surakarta versus $687 in Dhaka.

Surakarta $817
Dhaka $687

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,124 in Surakarta versus $969 in Dhaka.

Surakarta $1,124
Dhaka $969

Living in Surakarta is roughly 25% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Surakarta 62% lower, Dhaka 70% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.63 Rp 29.4K

$2.28 ৳282

-28.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.59 Rp 208.7K

$12.33 ৳1,523

-6.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.20 Rp 57.6K

$3.95 ৳488

-18.99%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.48 ৳554

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.13 ৳510

Cappuccino

$1.55 Rp 27.9K

$2.28 ৳281

-32.02%

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

$0.54 Rp 9,772

$0.33 ৳40.88

63.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 Rp 4,534

$0.16 ৳19.86

56.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.41 Rp 25.4K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 Rp 49.6K

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 Rp 15.6K

$0.85 ৳104

2.35%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 Rp 13.2K

$0.60 ৳74.5

21.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 Rp 13.8K

$0.69 ৳85.4

11.59%

Eggs

$0.96 Rp 17.3K

$1.23 ৳152

-21.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.62 Rp 137.2K

$8.80 ৳1,087

-13.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$1.71 Rp 30.7K

$3.33 ৳412

-48.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.40 Rp 97.3K

$6.63 ৳819

-18.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.01 Rp 36.3K

$2.85 ৳352

-29.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

$0.90 ৳111

41.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.81 Rp 32.5K

$2.34 ৳289

-22.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 Rp 24.6K

$0.63 ৳78.4

117.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.37 Rp 24.6K

$0.24 ৳29.59

470.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.69 Rp 30.4K

$0.46 ৳57.3

267.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.58 Rp 10.5K

$0.35 ৳42.79

65.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 Rp 7,732

$0.28 ৳34.24

53.57%

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)

$1.97 Rp 35.5K

$3.28 ৳405

-39.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.44 Rp 151.9K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 Rp 30.4K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.90 Rp 52.3K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 Rp 7,244

$0.42 ৳52.3

-4.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.88 Rp 393.8K

$22.43 ৳2,772

-2.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.50 Rp 9,071

$1.19 ৳147

-57.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,709

$0.39 ৳48.71

10.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.69 Rp 48.3K

$3.28 ৳406

-17.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$1.10 ৳136

-30.91%

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

$24.5K Rp 440.7M

$29.4K ৳3.6M

-16.82%

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

$32.3K Rp 582.1M

$32.2K ৳4.0M

0.55%

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

$77.5 Rp 1.4M

$38.28 ৳4,729

102.53%

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

$2.10 Rp 37.8K

$4.09 ৳506

-48.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.23 Rp 328.2K

$9.02 ৳1,114

102.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.74 Rp 283.3K

$13.66 ৳1,688

15.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.41 Rp 151.3K

$10.21 ৳1,261

-17.63%

Cinema Ticket

$1.93 Rp 34.7K

$4.11 ৳508

-53.04%

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

$33.42 Rp 601.5K

$90.7 ৳11.2K

-63.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,845 Rp 33.2M

$2,591 ৳320.2K

-28.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.1 Rp 1.1M

$17.06 ৳2,108

246.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.67 Rp 642.0K

$21.38 ৳2,641

66.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.2 Rp 1.3M

$51.4 ৳6,355

36.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$64.5 Rp 1.2M

$36.78 ৳4,545

75.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$168 Rp 3.0M

$133 ৳16.4K

26.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$56.6 Rp 1.0M

$65.1 ৳8,041

-13.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$338 Rp 6.1M

$377 ৳46.6K

-10.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$192 Rp 3.5M

$192 ৳23.8K

-0.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,621 ৳200.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$760 ৳93.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$158 Rp 2.8M

$246 ৳30.4K

-35.83%

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 Surakarta: October 12, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Surakarta

$148 29.2%

Dhaka

$124 30.5% 16.7% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Surakarta

$103 20.3%

Dhaka

$57 14.1% 44.8% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surakarta

$98 19.2%

Dhaka

$51 12.7% 47.5% $46

Eating Out

Surakarta

$57 11.2%

Dhaka

$59 14.6% 4.2% $2.4

Accommodation & Living

Surakarta

$57 11.1%

Dhaka

$65 16% 15% $8.5

Getting Around

Surakarta

$26 5.1%

Dhaka

$27 6.7% 4.4% $1.2

Sport & Entertainment

Surakarta

$20 3.9%

Dhaka

$22 5.4% 11.7% $2.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $168 in Surakarta and $133 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dhaka pays 56% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $12.00 in Surakarta vs $12.00 in Dhaka. Groceries flip the comparison at $148 vs $124, with Dhaka cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Surakarta

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

08:06 8:06 AM

07:06 7:06 AM

1 h behind Surakarta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

503,421

21,741,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 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 IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Surakarta Dhaka 4,130 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Surakarta
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

Surakarta vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and utilities. The 25% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 56% lower in Dhaka. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $168 in Surakarta versus $133 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $509 per month in Surakarta versus $406 in Dhaka – a 25% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 3% less than in Surakarta. 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.

Expats usually find Dhaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 25% less than in Surakarta. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.