Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Taipei and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $426 a month against $1,395 in Taipei, rent and utilities included – about $11,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Taipei
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Taipei Living Index
21

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index

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Taipei

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$1,395

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$426

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,395 in Taipei versus $426 in Dhaka.

Taipei $1,395
Dhaka $426

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,227 in Taipei versus $735 in Dhaka.

Taipei $2,227
Dhaka $735

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,059 in Taipei versus $1,043 in Dhaka.

Taipei $3,059
Dhaka $1,043

Living in Taipei is roughly 227% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Taipei is 4% above, Dhaka is 68% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.76 NT$152

$2.49 ৳305

91.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.18 NT$1,537

$13.06 ৳1,604

268.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.75 NT$183

$4.83 ৳594

19.05%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.93 ৳606

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.10 ৳504

Cappuccino

$3.49 NT$112

$2.34 ৳287

49.15%

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

$0.88 NT$28.03

$0.30 ৳37.38

193.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 NT$20.61

$0.16 ৳19.96

306.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.86 NT$91.4

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 NT$117

Milk (1 liter)

$3.09 NT$98.5

$0.80 ৳98.1

286.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.05 NT$65.5

$0.65 ৳79.3

215.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.06 NT$97.5

$0.71 ৳87.2

330.99%

Eggs

$2.70 NT$86.0

$1.21 ৳149

123.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.66 NT$627

$8.67 ৳1,065

126.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.83 NT$314

$3.21 ৳395

206.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.11 NT$674

$6.70 ৳823

215.07%

Apples (1kg)

$5.08 NT$162

$2.73 ৳335

86.08%

Banana (1kg)

$3.39 NT$108

$0.88 ৳108

285.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.00 NT$95.8

$2.37 ৳291

26.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.56 NT$146

$0.65 ৳79.5

601.54%

Potato (1kg)

$2.72 NT$86.8

$0.24 ৳29.19

1033.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.28 NT$72.9

$0.49 ৳60.6

365.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.68 NT$53.7

$0.32 ৳38.87

425.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 NT$36.81

$0.30 ৳37.30

283.33%

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)

$4.05 NT$129

$3.23 ৳396

25.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.32 NT$457

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 NT$54.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 NT$73.0

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.61 NT$19.46

$0.42 ৳52.1

45.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.47 NT$1,228

$22.54 ৳2,769

70.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.73 NT$87.0

$1.19 ৳147

129.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 NT$24.02

$0.40 ৳48.58

87.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.59 NT$306

$3.35 ৳411

186.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 NT$32.56

$1.15 ৳141

-11.30%

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

$34.1K NT$1.1M

$30.3K ৳3.7M

12.52%

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

$24.2K NT$771.9K

$33.0K ৳4.1M

-26.77%

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

$86.4 NT$2,756

$46.32 ৳5,690

86.46%

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

$17.12 NT$546

$4.33 ৳531

295.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.06 NT$864

$10.63 ৳1,306

154.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.77 NT$1,301

$16.37 ৳2,011

149.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.04 NT$512

$16.14 ৳1,982

-0.62%

Cinema Ticket

$9.63 NT$307

$4.13 ৳508

133.17%

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

$656 NT$20.9K

$90.7 ৳11.1K

623.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.4K NT$524.1K

$2,649 ৳325.4K

520.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.7 NT$2,001

$16.48 ৳2,024

280.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.50 NT$1,261

$21.00 ৳2,579

88.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.9 NT$2,677

$50.3 ৳6,173

66.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 NT$3,392

$36.46 ৳4,478

191.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,016 NT$32.4K

$152 ৳18.6K

569.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$479 NT$15.3K

$73.6 ৳9,041

550.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,568 NT$50.0K

$436 ৳53.5K

259.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$952 NT$30.4K

$214 ৳26.3K

345.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$12.2K NT$389.2K

$1,622 ৳199.2K

652.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,207 NT$230.0K

$761 ৳93.5K

846.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,772 NT$56.5K

$249 ৳30.6K

611.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.4

10.48

-77.10%

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

Last update for Taipei: October 4, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Taipei

$479 34.8%

Dhaka

$74 17.1% 84.6% $405

Groceries & Markets

Taipei

$401 29.2%

Dhaka

$123 28.5% 69.5% $279

Clothing & Footwear

Taipei

$132 9.6%

Dhaka

$56 13% 57.5% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Taipei

$131 9.5%

Dhaka

$61 14.3% 53.1% $69

Eating Out

Taipei

$125 9.1%

Dhaka

$64 15% 48.6% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Taipei

$60 4.4%

Dhaka

$25 5.7% 59% $35

Getting Around

Taipei

$47 3.5%

Dhaka

$27 6.4% 42.2% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,016 in Taipei and $152 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Taipei pays 612% 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: $48.00 in Taipei vs $13.00 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $401 vs $123 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Taipei

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

10:54 10:54 AM

08:54 8:54 AM

2 h behind Taipei

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,635,286 Capital

21,741,000 Capital

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.13 USD

100 TWD = 2.79 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.14 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 31.91 TWD (100 TWD = 3.13 USD). 1 EUR = 35.79 TWD (100 TWD = 2.79 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 TWD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Taipei Dhaka 3,150 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Taipei
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

Taipei vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 227% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 612% higher in Taipei, 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: $1,016 in Taipei versus $152 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,395 per month in Taipei versus $426 in Dhaka – a 227% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 71% less than in Taipei. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $426 in Dhaka versus $1,395 in Taipei, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dhaka but tight or insufficient in Taipei. 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, Taipei 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 227% less than in Taipei. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.