Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Batam and Surabaya

For one person, living is cheaper in Batam: $586 a month against $685 in Surabaya, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

28

Cost of Living Index in Batam
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Batam Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Surabaya
Learn more

Surabaya Living Index

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Batam

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$586

/mo nomad

Surabaya

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $586 in Batam versus $685 in Surabaya.

Batam $586
Surabaya $685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $984 in Batam versus $1,189 in Surabaya.

Batam $984
Surabaya $1,189

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,382 in Batam versus $1,693 in Surabaya.

Batam $1,382
Surabaya $1,693

Living in Batam costs roughly 14% less than in Surabaya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Batam 57% lower, Surabaya 50% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.95 Rp 35.3K

$1.68 Rp 30.4K

16.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$8.07 Rp 146.3K

$11.51 Rp 208.6K

-29.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.90 Rp 70.7K

$3.11 Rp 56.4K

25.40%

Cappuccino

$2.05 Rp 37.1K

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

33.12%

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

$0.61 Rp 11.0K

$0.59 Rp 10.6K

3.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 Rp 5,449

$0.28 Rp 5,116

7.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 Rp 44.7K

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

10.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 Rp 66.4K

$4.20 Rp 76.2K

-12.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.12 Rp 20.3K

$1.25 Rp 22.6K

-10.40%

White Bread (500g)

$1.09 Rp 19.8K

$1.25 Rp 22.7K

-12.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 Rp 14.7K

$0.81 Rp 14.8K

Eggs

$1.22 Rp 22.1K

$1.18 Rp 21.4K

3.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.45 Rp 135.0K

$7.35 Rp 133.1K

1.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.47 Rp 44.8K

$3.02 Rp 54.8K

-18.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.31 Rp 78.1K

$7.40 Rp 134.1K

-41.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 Rp 39.2K

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

6.37%

Banana (1kg)

$2.00 Rp 36.2K

$1.24 Rp 22.5K

61.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

$1.86 Rp 33.8K

5.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.03 Rp 18.7K

$1.47 Rp 26.6K

-29.93%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 Rp 17.2K

$1.34 Rp 24.3K

-29.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.96 Rp 35.5K

$1.88 Rp 34.1K

4.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 Rp 23.4K

$0.96 Rp 17.3K

34.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 Rp 8,036

$0.39 Rp 7,100

12.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

$1.95 Rp 35.3K

39.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 Rp 249.8K

$24.42 Rp 442.5K

-43.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 Rp 30.4K

$1.72 Rp 31.1K

-2.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 Rp 42.3K

$2.97 Rp 53.8K

-21.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.41 Rp 7,419

$0.27 Rp 4,839

51.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.60 Rp 300.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.13 Rp 20.5K

$0.47 Rp 8,485

140.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.58 Rp 10.6K

$0.45 Rp 8,170

28.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.42 Rp 62.0K

$2.56 Rp 46.4K

33.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.84 Rp 15.2K

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

3.70%

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

$27.6K Rp 499.6M

$24.3K Rp 441.1M

13.25%

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

$24.6K Rp 445.8M

$31.7K Rp 573.8M

-22.31%

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

$67.8 Rp 1.2M

$86.6 Rp 1.6M

-21.66%

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

$4.09 Rp 74.2K

$4.57 Rp 82.7K

-10.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.58 Rp 409.2K

$19.49 Rp 353.1K

15.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.03 Rp 489.9K

$15.35 Rp 278.2K

76.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.66 Rp 102.5K

$6.53 Rp 118.2K

-13.32%

Cinema Ticket

$2.66 Rp 48.3K

$2.62 Rp 47.5K

1.53%

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

$83.0 Rp 1.5M

$270 Rp 4.9M

-69.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,186 Rp 57.7M

$9,294 Rp 168.4M

-65.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.46 Rp 570.0K

$69.1 Rp 1.3M

-54.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.99 Rp 326.0K

$38.24 Rp 693.0K

-52.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.4 Rp 1.2M

$78.8 Rp 1.4M

-18.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$23.72 Rp 429.9K

$74.5 Rp 1.4M

-68.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$265 Rp 4.8M

$274 Rp 5.0M

-3.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$145 Rp 2.6M

$148 Rp 2.7M

-1.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$796 Rp 14.4M

$1,204 Rp 21.8M

-33.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$499 Rp 9.0M

$607 Rp 11.0M

-17.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$542 Rp 9.8M

$2,146 Rp 38.9M

-74.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,065 Rp 19.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$334 Rp 6.0M

$266 Rp 4.8M

25.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.17

7.5

75.60%

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

Last update for Batam: October 26, 2026

Last update for Surabaya: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Batam

$172 29.3%

Surabaya

$205 29.8% 19.1% $33

Accommodation & Living

Batam

$145 24.8%

Surabaya

$148 21.5% 1.6% $2.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Batam

$94 16.1%

Surabaya

$111 16.1% 17.1% $16

Eating Out

Batam

$75 12.8%

Surabaya

$64 9.4% 14.5% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Batam

$62 10.6%

Surabaya

$117 17.1% 89.5% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Batam

$32 5.5%

Surabaya

$21 3% 36.3% $12

Getting Around

Batam

$5.7 * 1%

Surabaya

$20 3% 258% $15

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 $265 in Batam and $274 in Surabaya. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Batam pays 26% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $8 in Batam vs $12 in Surabaya for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $172 vs $205 per month, with Batam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Batam

🇮🇩 Surabaya

🕒 Local time

21:17 9:17 PM

Same time as Batam

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,196,396

2,765,487

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.52 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.52 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Batam Surabaya 1,340 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Batam
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

Batam vs Surabaya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Batam is about 14% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, groceries, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 26% higher in Batam, 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: $265 in Batam versus $274 in Surabaya. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 19% higher in Surabaya. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $586 per month in Batam versus $685 in Surabaya – Batam is about 14% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Batam gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Batam is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Surabaya, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.