Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medan and Bangalore

For one person, living is cheaper in Bangalore: $552 a month against $613 in Medan, rent and utilities included – about $730 less a year. The total is higher in Medan despite lower rent and utilities.

30

Cost of Living Index in Medan
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Medan Living Index
27

Cost of Living Index in Bangalore
Learn more

Bangalore Living Index

Jump to prices

Medan

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$613

/mo nomad

Bangalore

🇮🇳 India

$552

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medan and in Bangalore

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $613 in Medan versus $552 in Bangalore.

Medan $613
Bangalore $552

Estimated couple costs with rent: $940 in Medan versus $936 in Bangalore.

Medan $940
Bangalore $936

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,266 in Medan versus $1,320 in Bangalore.

Medan $1,266
Bangalore $1,320

Living in Medan is roughly 11% more expensive than in Bangalore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Medan 55% lower, Bangalore 59% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.71 Rp 30.8K

$3.20 ₹304

-46.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$8.30 Rp 149.4K

$17.72 ₹1,683

-53.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.95 Rp 53.0K

$4.74 ₹451

-37.76%

Cappuccino

$1.53 Rp 27.5K

$2.24 ₹213

-31.70%

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

$0.35 Rp 6,215

$0.38 ₹36.16

-7.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 Rp 4,534

$0.13 ₹11.88

92.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.66 Rp 29.9K

$2.29 ₹217

-27.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

$3.69 ₹351

-2.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

$0.63 ₹60.1

76.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$0.59 ₹55.6

100.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 Rp 14.7K

$0.81 ₹77.2

Eggs

$1.32 Rp 23.8K

$1.12 ₹106

17.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.12 Rp 146.2K

$5.97 ₹567

36.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

$3.75 ₹356

-4.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.36 Rp 114.5K

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 Rp 43.1K

$2.80 ₹266

-14.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.05 Rp 18.9K

$0.76 ₹72.6

38.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.42 Rp 25.5K

$1.18 ₹112

20.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.93 Rp 16.7K

$0.38 ₹36.11

144.74%

Potato (1kg)

$0.84 Rp 15.1K

$0.38 ₹35.71

121.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 Rp 32.3K

$0.36 ₹34.08

400.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.38 Rp 6,905

$0.42 ₹40.06

-9.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 Rp 7,872

$0.32 ₹30.82

37.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.87 Rp 51.7K

$4.80 ₹456

-40.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.72 Rp 282.9K

$9.31 ₹884

68.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 Rp 32.9K

$1.95 ₹185

-6.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 Rp 54.1K

$3.00 ₹285

0.33%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$6.37 ₹605

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 Rp 4,816

$0.54 ₹50.9

-50.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.93 Rp 106.7K

$15.55 ₹1,477

-61.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.51 Rp 9,186

$1.02 ₹97.2

-50.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.19 Rp 3,465

$0.30 ₹28.63

-36.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.04 ₹194

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 Rp 14.4K

$1.10 ₹105

-27.27%

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

$24.7K Rp 444.1M

$12.5K ₹1.2M

96.79%

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

$32.2K Rp 579.9M

$18.7K ₹1.8M

72.02%

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

$84.8 Rp 1.5M

$30.94 ₹2,938

174.21%

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

$3.17 Rp 57.0K

$4.10 ₹389

-22.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.57 Rp 424.3K

$10.39 ₹987

126.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.95 Rp 305.0K

$18.87 ₹1,792

-10.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.41 Rp 151.5K

$5.79 ₹550

45.25%

Cinema Ticket

$3.29 Rp 59.3K

$4.82 ₹457

-31.74%

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

$112 Rp 2.0M

$102 ₹9,658

9.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,692 Rp 30.5M

$3,257 ₹309.3K

-48.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 Rp 975.9K

$33.54 ₹3,185

61.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.53 Rp 693.6K

$30.76 ₹2,921

25.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 Rp 1.9M

$52.7 ₹5,002

105.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 Rp 2.0M

$40.37 ₹3,834

174.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$233 Rp 4.2M

$307 ₹29.1K

-24.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$89.8 Rp 1.6M

$176 ₹16.7K

-48.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$494 Rp 8.9M

$782 ₹74.2K

-36.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$212 Rp 3.8M

$482 ₹45.8K

-56.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,158 Rp 20.8M

$1,857 ₹176.3K

-37.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$560 Rp 10.1M

$1,074 ₹102.0K

-47.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$215 Rp 3.9M

$940 ₹89.2K

-77.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.25

8.46

9.34%

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

Last update for Medan: October 12, 2026

Last update for Bangalore: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Medan

$181 29.5%

Bangalore

$124 22.4% 31.7% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Medan

$140 22.9%

Bangalore

$71 12.8% 49.5% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medan

$112 18.2%

Bangalore

$45 8.2% 59.3% $66

Accommodation & Living

Medan

$90 14.6%

Bangalore

$176 31.9% 96% $86

Eating Out

Medan

$59 9.6%

Bangalore

$88 15.9% 49.3% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Medan

$24 3.8%

Bangalore

$29 5.2% 21.1% $5

Getting Around

Medan

$8.5 1.4%

Bangalore

$20 3.7% 139% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $233 in Medan and $307 in Bangalore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bangalore pays 337% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $8.00 in Medan vs $18.00 in Bangalore. Groceries flip the comparison at $181 vs $124, with Bangalore cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Medan

🇮🇳 Bangalore

🕒 Local time

03:54 3:54 AM

02:24 2:24 AM

1 h 30 min behind Medan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,097,610

8,495,492

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Medan Bangalore 2,540 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Medan
Bangalore

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

Medan vs Bangalore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bangalore wins on cost – living expenses run 11% lower than in Medan. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Bangalore the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 337% lower in Bangalore. 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: $233 in Medan versus $307 in Bangalore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Bangalore runs roughly 162% less than in Medan. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $112 in Medan versus $102 in Bangalore. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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.

Both work as nomad bases, but Bangalore delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $552 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bangalore hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Bangalore gentler on the wallet – expenses run 11% less than in Medan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.