Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bangalore and Surabaya

For one person, living is cheaper in Bangalore: $535 a month against $688 in Surabaya, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. The total is higher in Surabaya despite lower rent and utilities.

Bangalore
🇮🇳 India
$535
/mo nomad
Surabaya
🇮🇩 Indonesia
$688
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bangalore and in Surabaya

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bangalore and in Surabaya actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $535 in Bangalore versus $688 in Surabaya.

  • Bangalore $535
  • Surabaya $688

Estimated couple costs with rent: $927 in Bangalore versus $1,191 in Surabaya.

  • Bangalore $927
  • Surabaya $1,191

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,318 in Bangalore versus $1,695 in Surabaya.

  • Bangalore $1,318
  • Surabaya $1,695

Living in Bangalore costs roughly 22% less than in Surabaya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bangalore 60% lower, Surabaya 49% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Bangalore
Surabaya
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$3.04 ₹294
$1.69 Rp 30.2K
79.88%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$17.83 ₹1,725
$11.40 Rp 203.9K
56.40%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.78 ₹463
$3.05 Rp 54.6K
56.72%
Cappuccino
$2.24 ₹217
$1.57 Rp 28.0K
42.68%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.39 ₹37.49
$0.61 Rp 10.8K
-36.07%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.14 ₹13.64
$0.28 Rp 5,026
-50.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.34 ₹226
$2.26 Rp 40.5K
3.54%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.91 ₹379
$4.09 Rp 73.1K
-4.40%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Bangalore
Surabaya
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$0.61 ₹58.6
$1.22 Rp 21.8K
-50.00%
White Bread (500g)
$0.57 ₹55.2
$1.27 Rp 22.8K
-55.12%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.81 ₹77.9
$0.84 Rp 15.0K
-3.57%
Eggs
$1.12 ₹109
$1.20 Rp 21.5K
-6.67%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$5.93 ₹574
$7.66 Rp 136.9K
-22.58%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.85 ₹373
$3.08 Rp 55.0K
25.00%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
-
$7.85 Rp 140.3K
-
Apples (1kg)
$2.78 ₹269
$2.09 Rp 37.4K
33.01%
Banana (1kg)
$0.75 ₹72.2
$1.30 Rp 23.2K
-42.31%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.22 ₹118
$1.82 Rp 32.6K
-32.97%
Tomato (1kg)
$0.40 ₹39.19
$1.56 Rp 27.8K
-74.36%
Potato (1kg)
$0.38 ₹36.40
$1.30 Rp 23.3K
-70.77%
Onion (1kg)
$0.36 ₹34.72
$1.91 Rp 34.2K
-81.15%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.42 ₹40.31
$0.96 Rp 17.2K
-56.25%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.32 ₹31.21
$0.43 Rp 7,679
-25.58%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.61 ₹446
$1.94 Rp 34.6K
137.63%
Wine (Bottle)
$9.01 ₹872
$24.67 Rp 441.1K
-63.48%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.86 ₹180
$1.73 Rp 30.9K
7.51%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.92 ₹283
$3.00 Rp 53.5K
-2.67%
Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)
$6.35 ₹614
-
-
🚌 Getting Around
Bangalore
Surabaya
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.51 ₹48.89
$0.32 Rp 5,669
59.38%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$15.71 ₹1,520
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.01 ₹97.8
$0.48 Rp 8,519
110.42%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.30 ₹29.43
$0.43 Rp 7,679
-30.23%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$2.10 ₹203
$2.61 Rp 46.7K
-19.54%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.08 ₹104
$0.83 Rp 14.8K
30.12%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$12.6K ₹1.2M
$25.0K Rp 446.0M
-49.62%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$19.1K ₹1.8M
$32.8K Rp 585.5M
-41.82%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Bangalore
Surabaya
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$30.32 ₹2,934
$86.2 Rp 1.5M
-64.81%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$4.11 ₹398
$4.58 Rp 81.9K
-10.26%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$10.23 ₹990
$19.24 Rp 343.9K
-46.83%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Bangalore
Surabaya
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$18.61 ₹1,801
$17.96 Rp 321.0K
3.62%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$5.95 ₹576
$6.82 Rp 121.9K
-12.76%
Cinema Ticket
$4.60 ₹446
$2.72 Rp 48.7K
69.12%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Bangalore
Surabaya
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$104 ₹10.1K
$280 Rp 5.0M
-62.83%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$3,176 ₹307.3K
$9,557 Rp 170.8M
-66.77%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Bangalore
Surabaya
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$32.29 ₹3,125
$70.0 Rp 1.3M
-53.87%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$29.85 ₹2,889
$39.31 Rp 702.6K
-24.07%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$53.3 ₹5,160
$81.4 Rp 1.5M
-34.54%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$39.66 ₹3,838
$73.4 Rp 1.3M
-45.99%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Bangalore
Surabaya
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$309 ₹29.9K
$279 Rp 5.0M
10.70%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$175 ₹16.9K
$147 Rp 2.6M
19.19%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$788 ₹76.3K
$1,247 Rp 22.3M
-36.80%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$481 ₹46.6K
$620 Rp 11.1M
-22.33%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,889 ₹182.8K
$2,155 Rp 38.5M
-12.35%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,067 ₹103.3K
$1,047 Rp 18.7M
1.92%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Bangalore
Surabaya
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$919 ₹89.0K
$273 Rp 4.9M
236.64%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
8.5
7.5
13.33%

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

Last update for Bangalore: October 4, 2026

Last update for Surabaya: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Bangalore
$175
Surabaya
$147 16.1% $28
Groceries & Markets
Bangalore
$122
Surabaya
$209 70.8% $87
Eating Out
Bangalore
$87
Surabaya
$65 25.9% $23
Clothing & Footwear
Bangalore
$70
Surabaya
$119 70.3% $49
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Bangalore
$45
Surabaya
$110 146% $65
Sport & Entertainment
Bangalore
$28
Surabaya
$23 15.9% $4.4
Getting Around
Bangalore
$20
Surabaya
$3.9 * 80.8% $16

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 $309 in Bangalore and $279 in Surabaya. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bangalore pays 237% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $18.00 in Bangalore vs $11.00 in Surabaya. Groceries flip the comparison at $122 vs $209, with Bangalore cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇮🇳 Bangalore
🇮🇩 Surabaya
🕒 Local time
11:09 11:09 AM
12:39 12:39 PM
1 h 30 min ahead of Bangalore
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
8,495,492
2,765,487
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to INR – Indian Rupee Converter

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 96.78 INR (100 INR = 1.03 USD). 1 EUR = 109 INR (1,000 INR = 9.21 EUR).

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).

On the map
Between locations
  • Bangalore Surabaya 4,480 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Bangalore
  • Surabaya

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
Bangalore vs Surabaya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Bangalore or Surabaya?
Bangalore wins on cost – living expenses run 28% lower than in Surabaya. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Bangalore the obvious pick if budget is a priority.
Are salaries higher in Bangalore or in Surabaya?
Average pay runs 237% higher in Bangalore, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How much does a 1-bedroom apartment cost in Bangalore compared to Surabaya?
Rent for a central apartment: $309 in Bangalore versus $279 in Surabaya. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Are groceries more expensive in Bangalore or in Surabaya?
Supermarket bills run roughly 71% higher in Surabaya. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
How much does it cost to live in Bangalore compared to Surabaya?
All in, you'll spend $535 per month in Bangalore versus $688 in Surabaya – a 28% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Can you live on $800/month in Bangalore or in Surabaya?
Either city works on $800 a month, though Bangalore gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.
Which city is better for digital nomads, Bangalore or Surabaya?
Both work as nomad bases, but Bangalore delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $535 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bangalore hard to pass up.
Which city is more affordable for expats?
Expats usually find Bangalore gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Surabaya. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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