Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medan and Nanning

For one person, living is cheaper in Medan: $613 a month against $730 in Nanning, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Medan
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Medan Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Nanning
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Nanning Living Index

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Medan

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$613

/mo nomad

Nanning

🇨🇳 China

$730

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medan and in Nanning

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 Nanning actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $613 in Medan versus $730 in Nanning.

Medan $613
Nanning $730

Estimated couple costs with rent: $940 in Medan versus $1,171 in Nanning.

Medan $940
Nanning $1,171

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,266 in Medan versus $1,612 in Nanning.

Medan $1,266
Nanning $1,612

Living in Medan costs roughly 16% less than in Nanning, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Medan 55% lower, Nanning 46% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.71 Rp 30.8K

$3.05 ¥20.41

-43.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$8.30 Rp 149.4K

$20.18 ¥135

-58.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.95 Rp 53.0K

$5.50 ¥36.78

-46.36%

Cappuccino

$1.53 Rp 27.5K

$2.37 ¥15.82

-35.44%

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

$0.35 Rp 6,215

$0.60 ¥4.00

-41.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 Rp 4,534

$0.29 ¥1.96

-13.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.66 Rp 29.9K

$0.88 ¥5.86

88.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

$2.18 ¥14.56

64.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

$2.18 ¥14.55

-49.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$2.30 ¥15.39

-48.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 Rp 14.7K

$1.13 ¥7.53

-28.32%

Eggs

$1.32 Rp 23.8K

$2.00 ¥13.36

-34.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.12 Rp 146.2K

$10.34 ¥69.1

-21.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

$3.97 ¥26.51

-9.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.36 Rp 114.5K

$17.63 ¥118

-63.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 Rp 43.1K

$1.79 ¥12.00

34.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.05 Rp 18.9K

$1.27 ¥8.51

-17.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.42 Rp 25.5K

$1.50 ¥10.05

-5.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.93 Rp 16.7K

$1.68 ¥11.21

-44.64%

Potato (1kg)

$0.84 Rp 15.1K

$0.98 ¥6.55

-14.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 Rp 32.3K

$1.19 ¥7.94

51.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.38 Rp 6,905

$0.57 ¥3.83

-33.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 Rp 7,872

$0.60 ¥4.02

-26.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.87 Rp 51.7K

$4.09 ¥27.37

-29.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.72 Rp 282.9K

$14.76 ¥98.7

6.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 Rp 32.9K

$0.91 ¥6.11

101.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 Rp 54.1K

$1.56 ¥10.43

92.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 Rp 4,816

$0.54 ¥3.62

-50.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.93 Rp 106.7K

$15.81 ¥106

-62.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.51 Rp 9,186

$1.32 ¥8.86

-61.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.19 Rp 3,465

$0.43 ¥2.90

-55.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.49 ¥50.1

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 Rp 14.4K

$1.32 ¥8.79

-39.39%

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

$24.7K Rp 444.1M

$23.0K ¥153.6K

7.39%

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

$32.2K Rp 579.9M

$13.2K ¥88.4K

143.74%

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

$84.8 Rp 1.5M

$33.88 ¥227

150.41%

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

$3.17 Rp 57.0K

$14.13 ¥94.5

-77.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.57 Rp 424.3K

$10.83 ¥72.4

117.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.95 Rp 305.0K

$73.8 ¥494

-77.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.41 Rp 151.5K

$7.66 ¥51.2

9.79%

Cinema Ticket

$3.29 Rp 59.3K

$6.77 ¥45.24

-51.40%

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

$112 Rp 2.0M

$303 ¥2,024

-63.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,692 Rp 30.5M

$4,424 ¥29.6K

-61.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 Rp 975.9K

$20.13 ¥135

169.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.53 Rp 693.6K

$30.01 ¥201

28.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 Rp 1.9M

$64.0 ¥428

68.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 Rp 2.0M

$74.4 ¥498

49.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$233 Rp 4.2M

$251 ¥1,681

-7.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$89.8 Rp 1.6M

$152 ¥1,016

-40.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$494 Rp 8.9M

$385 ¥2,572

28.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$212 Rp 3.8M

$298 ¥1,993

-28.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,158 Rp 20.8M

$3,545 ¥23.7K

-67.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$560 Rp 10.1M

$1,534 ¥10.3K

-63.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$215 Rp 3.9M

$682 ¥4,562

-68.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.25

3.63

154.82%

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

Last update for Medan: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nanning: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Medan

$181 29.5%

Nanning

$244 33.4% 34.9% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Medan

$140 22.9%

Nanning

$85 11.6% 39.5% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medan

$112 18.2%

Nanning

$59 8.1% 47.3% $53

Accommodation & Living

Medan

$90 14.6%

Nanning

$152 20.8% 69.4% $62

Eating Out

Medan

$59 9.6%

Nanning

$82 11.2% 39% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Medan

$24 3.8%

Nanning

$87 12% 271% $64

Getting Around

Medan

$8.5 1.4%

Nanning

$21 2.9% 154% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $233 in Medan and $251 in Nanning. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nanning pays 217% 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: $8.00 in Medan vs $20.00 in Nanning for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $181 vs $244 per month, with Medan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Medan

🇨🇳 Nanning

🕒 Local time

15:03 3:03 PM

16:03 4:03 PM

1 h ahead of Medan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,097,610

8,741,584

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medan Nanning 2,380 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Medan
Nanning

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 Nanning: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 19% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 217% lower in Nanning. 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 $251 in Nanning. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Medan runs roughly 167% less than in Nanning. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $112 in Medan versus $303 in Nanning. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

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 Medan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 19% less than in Nanning. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.