Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Manado and Austin, TX

For one person, living is cheaper in Manado: $557 a month against $2,698 in Austin, TX, rent and utilities included – about $25,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

27

Cost of Living Index in Manado
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Manado Living Index
129

Cost of Living Index in Austin, TX
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Austin, TX Living Index

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Manado

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$557

/mo nomad

Austin, TX

🇺🇸 United States

$2,698

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Manado and in Austin, TX

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $557 in Manado versus $2,698 in Austin, TX.

Manado $557
Austin, TX $2,698

Estimated couple costs with rent: $881 in Manado versus $4,160 in Austin, TX.

Manado $881
Austin, TX $4,160

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,206 in Manado versus $5,622 in Austin, TX.

Manado $1,206
Austin, TX $5,622

Living in Manado costs roughly 79% less than in Austin, TX, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Manado is 59% below, Austin, TX is 99% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.44 Rp 25.9K

$20.63 $20.63

-93.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.91 Rp 304.4K

$84.6 $84.6

-80.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.78 Rp 50.0K

$12.07 $12.07

-76.97%

Cappuccino

$1.75 Rp 31.6K

$5.48 $5.48

-68.07%

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

$0.61 Rp 11.0K

$3.80 $3.80

-83.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 Rp 4,526

$2.47 $2.47

-89.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 Rp 61.6K

$8.05 $8.05

-57.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 Rp 49.6K

$8.88 $8.88

-69.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 Rp 24.8K

$1.11 $1.11

24.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 Rp 19.8K

$3.72 $3.72

-70.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 Rp 13.9K

$3.37 $3.37

-77.15%

Eggs

$1.85 Rp 33.2K

$4.32 $4.32

-57.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.47 Rp 296.4K

$13.13 $13.13

25.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.73 Rp 49.1K

$14.15 $14.15

-80.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.25 Rp 112.5K

$16.33 $16.33

-61.73%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 Rp 41.2K

$4.55 $4.55

-49.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 Rp 27.1K

$1.46 $1.46

3.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.30 Rp 23.4K

$4.71 $4.71

-72.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.02 Rp 18.3K

$4.15 $4.15

-75.42%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

$2.58 $2.58

-67.83%

Onion (1kg)

$2.78 Rp 50.1K

$2.35 $2.35

18.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.80 Rp 14.3K

$1.77 $1.77

-54.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 Rp 8,183

$2.14 $2.14

-78.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.38 Rp 42.8K

$10.10 $10.10

-76.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.83 Rp 374.9K

$15.19 $15.19

37.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 Rp 33.0K

$2.82 $2.82

-35.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 Rp 54.4K

$3.44 $3.44

-12.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 Rp 5,363

$1.54 $1.54

-80.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.99 $40.99

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.52 Rp 9,385

$2.80 $2.80

-81.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.34 Rp 6,183

$1.60 $1.60

-78.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.68 Rp 48.2K

$34.34 $34.34

-92.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.65 Rp 11.7K

$0.94 $0.94

-30.85%

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

$23.5K Rp 422.4M

$34.0K $34.0K

-30.94%

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

$31.5K Rp 566.9M

$26.8K $26.8K

17.67%

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

$52.9 Rp 951.8K

$223 $223

-76.25%

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

$4.26 Rp 76.6K

$58.9 $58.9

-92.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.10 Rp 253.8K

$70.6 $70.6

-80.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.16 Rp 236.9K

$57.7 $57.7

-77.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.53 Rp 153.5K

$16.53 $16.53

-48.40%

Cinema Ticket

$2.56 Rp 46.1K

$14.26 $14.26

-82.05%

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

$126 Rp 2.3M

$1,511 $1,511

-91.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,771 Rp 85.9M

$20.9K $20.9K

-77.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.1 Rp 991.0K

$51.3 $51.3

7.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$20.35 Rp 366.3K

$44.17 $44.17

-53.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.5 Rp 1.3M

$87.0 $87.0

-20.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$64.5 Rp 1.2M

$104 $104

-38.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$253 Rp 4.5M

$1,940 $1,940

-86.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$81.6 Rp 1.5M

$1,316 $1,316

-93.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$302 Rp 5.4M

$3,664 $3,664

-91.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$169 Rp 3.0M

$2,565 $2,565

-93.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,185 Rp 21.3M

$7,354 $7,354

-83.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$790 Rp 14.2M

$3,129 $3,129

-74.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$215 Rp 3.9M

$5,286 $5,286

-95.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

47.28%

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

Last update for Manado: October 19, 2026

Last update for Austin, TX: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Manado

$221 39.7%

Austin, TX

$406 15.1% 83.4% $185

Clothing & Footwear

Manado

$94 16.9%

Austin, TX

$129 4.8% 37% $35

Accommodation & Living

Manado

$82 14.7%

Austin, TX

$1.3K 48.8% 1513% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Manado

$71 12.8%

Austin, TX

$352 13.1% 394% $281

Eating Out

Manado

$67 12%

Austin, TX

$350 13% 423% $283

Sport & Entertainment

Manado

$18 3.3%

Austin, TX

$86 3.2% 372% $68

Getting Around

Manado

$3.4 * 0.6%

Austin, TX

$58 2.2% 1589% $54

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 $253 in Manado and $1,940 in Austin, TX. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Austin, TX pays 2354% 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: $17.00 in Manado vs $85.0 in Austin, TX for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $221 vs $406 per month, with Manado cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Manado

🇺🇸 Austin, TX

🕒 Local time

20:26 8:26 PM

07:26 7:26 AM

13 h behind Manado

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

423,257

974,447

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Manado Austin, TX 14,290 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Manado
Austin, TX

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

Manado vs Austin, TX: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Manado wins on cost – living expenses run 384% lower than in Austin, TX. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Manado the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 2354% lower in Austin, TX. 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: $253 in Manado versus $1,940 in Austin, TX. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $126 in Manado versus $1,511 in Austin, TX. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Manado – a meal for two runs $17.00 versus $85.0 in Austin, TX. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $557 in Manado versus $2,698 in Austin, TX, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Manado but tight or insufficient in Austin, TX. The gap between the two cities makes Manado 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.

Expats usually find Manado gentler on the wallet – expenses run 384% less than in Austin, TX. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.