🇧🇩 Bangladesh · A realistic 2026 budget for newcomers — rent, food, transport, and what a month actually costs.
Wondering how far your salary goes in Chattogram? Here’s what everyday life costs, in local prices — the numbers that matter when you’re deciding to move or negotiating a package.
What things cost
Furnished three-bed, Khulshi, South Khulshi or NasirabadBDT 45,000–90,000 / month plus service charge
Two- to three-bed apartment, Panchlaish, GEC or AgrabadBDT 20,000–40,000 / month
Utilities including gas, electricity and internetBDT 5,000–12,000 / month
Groceries, one personBDT 12,000–25,000 / month; imported goods cost several times more
Kala bhuna and rice at a city restaurantBDT 250–450 per person
CNG auto-rickshaw fare across the cityBDT 150–300 depending on distance
Karnaphuli Tunnel toll, private carBDT 200 each way
Good to know
Population
3,230,507 in Chattogram City Corporation at the 2022 census — Bangladesh's second-largest city
Languages
Chittagonian (Chatgaiya) is the everyday spoken language and is not mutually intelligible with standard Bengali; standard Bengali is the language of writing, schooling and officialdom, and English is used in the port, shipping and international business
Currency
Bangladeshi taka (BDT)
Time zone
BST (GMT+6) — no daylight saving
Power plug
Type C, D and G, 220 V
Climate
Tropical monsoon — very wet, with a heavy June–September monsoon, hot humid summers, a mild dry winter, cyclone exposure from the Bay of Bengal and much better dry-season air than inland Bangladesh
Terrain
Built across low hills — the only large Bangladeshi city that is, which is why monsoon landslides are a hillside-housing risk here and not in Dhaka
Working week
Sunday to Thursday for government and much of the private sector; Friday is the weekly holiday, Saturday variable. Port and terminal operations run around the clock
Public transport
No metro — buses, CNG auto-rickshaws, rickshaws and ride-hailing, plus the Karnaphuli road tunnel to the southern shore
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.
A note on budgeting
Rent is usually the swing factor — location and whether bills are included move the number most. Build your estimate from the rent band above, add a monthly living figure, and keep a buffer for one-off setup costs (deposits, a residence permit, a local SIM, first-month transport). Globe Quest turns this into a personalized Chattogram checklist so nothing setup-related catches you off guard.
Plan your move to Chattogram
A free, AI-personalized plan — the language, culture, and setup steps timed to your move date.