Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zamboanga and Dhaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Dhaka: $428 a month against $748 in Zamboanga, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Zamboanga
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Zamboanga Living Index
21

Cost of Living Index in Dhaka
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Dhaka Living Index

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Zamboanga

🇵🇭 Philippines

$748

/mo nomad

Dhaka

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$428

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $748 in Zamboanga versus $428 in Dhaka.

Zamboanga $748
Dhaka $428

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,123 in Zamboanga versus $724 in Dhaka.

Zamboanga $1,123
Dhaka $724

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,497 in Zamboanga versus $1,019 in Dhaka.

Zamboanga $1,497
Dhaka $1,019

Living in Zamboanga is roughly 75% more expensive than in Dhaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Zamboanga 45% lower, Dhaka 68% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.33 ₱83.5

$2.50 ৳309

-46.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.41 ₱1,033

$13.26 ৳1,638

23.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.50 ₱220

$4.99 ৳616

-29.86%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.87 ৳602

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.14 ৳511

Cappuccino

$2.09 ₱132

$2.35 ৳291

-11.06%

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

$0.86 ₱54.0

$0.33 ৳41.07

160.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 ₱24.88

$0.16 ৳19.62

150.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.44 ₱90.8

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 ₱129

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 ₱110

$0.85 ৳105

105.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 ₱89.0

$0.63 ৳77.9

123.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.16 ₱73.0

$0.67 ৳83.1

73.13%

Eggs

$1.46 ₱91.7

$1.19 ৳147

22.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.01 ₱630

$8.83 ৳1,092

13.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.05 ₱255

$3.30 ৳408

22.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.33 ₱209

$6.41 ৳792

-48.05%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 ₱200

$2.75 ৳340

15.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 ₱74.1

$0.94 ৳116

25.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.82 ₱241

$2.37 ৳293

61.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.16 ₱73.1

$0.64 ৳79.1

81.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 ₱79.6

$0.26 ৳32.25

384.62%

Onion (1kg)

$2.56 ₱161

$0.49 ৳60.6

422.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.86 ₱54.4

$0.30 ৳37.63

186.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 ₱32.39

$0.30 ৳37.49

70.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.24 ৳1,512

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$5.43 ৳671

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.53 ৳807

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.74 ₱172

$3.17 ৳392

-13.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.23 ₱266

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 ₱82.1

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 ₱124

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.22 ₱13.88

$0.38 ৳47.44

-42.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.19 ₱704

$23.06 ৳2,849

-51.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.82 ₱51.9

$1.17 ৳145

-29.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.23 ₱14.50

$0.38 ৳46.99

-39.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.88 ₱118

$3.28 ৳405

-42.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 ₱64.4

$1.11 ৳137

-8.11%

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

$21.7K ₱1.4M

$29.1K ৳3.6M

-25.34%

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

$19.4K ₱1.2M

$32.9K ৳4.1M

-40.97%

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

$124 ₱7,826

$46.77 ৳5,779

165.77%

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

$15.48 ₱975

$4.51 ৳557

243.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.25 ₱2,975

$11.22 ৳1,387

321.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.74 ₱2,250

$16.43 ৳2,031

117.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.67 ₱294

$14.87 ৳1,838

-68.59%

Cinema Ticket

$5.07 ₱319

$4.20 ৳519

20.71%

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

$133 ₱8,372

$91.6 ৳11.3K

45.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,082 ₱508.9K

$2,596 ৳320.8K

211.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.93 ₱2,073

$16.63 ৳2,055

98.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.29 ₱1,215

$19.80 ৳2,447

-2.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.8 ₱4,457

$46.87 ৳5,791

51.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.7 ₱3,505

$37.00 ৳4,572

50.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$266 ₱16.8K

$148 ৳18.2K

80.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$175 ₱11.0K

$70.8 ৳8,743

146.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$332 ₱20.9K

$432 ৳53.4K

-23.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$360 ₱22.6K

$213 ৳26.3K

69.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,366 ₱149.0K

$1,605 ৳198.4K

47.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$998 ₱62.9K

$751 ৳92.8K

32.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$193 ₱12.2K

$245 ৳30.3K

-21.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

10.67

-36.36%

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

Last update for Zamboanga: October 19, 2026

Last update for Dhaka: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zamboanga

$187 25%

Dhaka

$63 14.6% 66.6% $125

Groceries & Markets

Zamboanga

$184 24.6%

Dhaka

$123 28.8% 33% $61

Accommodation & Living

Zamboanga

$175 23.3%

Dhaka

$71 16.5% 59.5% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Zamboanga

$80 10.7%

Dhaka

$54 12.6% 32.7% $26

Eating Out

Zamboanga

$62 8.4%

Dhaka

$65 15.2% 4.2% $2.6

Sport & Entertainment

Zamboanga

$46 6.1%

Dhaka

$25 5.8% 45.9% $21

Getting Around

Zamboanga

$14 1.9%

Dhaka

$28 6.5% 96.9% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $266 in Zamboanga and $148 in Dhaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dhaka pays 27% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $16.00 in Zamboanga vs $13.00 in Dhaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $184 vs $123 per month, with Dhaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 Zamboanga

🇧🇩 Dhaka

🕒 Local time

03:15 3:15 AM

01:15 1:15 AM

2 h behind Zamboanga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

21,741,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.09 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Zamboanga Dhaka 3,860 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Zamboanga
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

Zamboanga vs Dhaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dhaka is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and utilities. The 75% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 27% 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: $266 in Zamboanga versus $148 in Dhaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $748 per month in Zamboanga versus $428 in Dhaka – a 75% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Dhaka runs roughly 106% less than in Zamboanga. 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 75% less than in Zamboanga. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.