Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medan and Singapore

For one person, living is cheaper in Medan: $613 a month against $3,500 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $34,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Medan
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Medan Living Index
169

Cost of Living Index in Singapore
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Singapore Living Index

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Medan

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$613

/mo nomad

Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,500

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medan and in Singapore

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $613 in Medan versus $3,500 in Singapore.

Medan $613
Singapore $3,500

Estimated couple costs with rent: $940 in Medan versus $5,265 in Singapore.

Medan $940
Singapore $5,265

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,266 in Medan versus $7,030 in Singapore.

Medan $1,266
Singapore $7,030

Living in Medan costs roughly 82% less than in Singapore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medan is 55% below, Singapore is 159% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.71 Rp 30.8K

$11.76 SGD 15.05

-85.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$8.30 Rp 149.4K

$70.6 SGD 90.4

-88.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.95 Rp 53.0K

$8.55 SGD 10.94

-65.50%

Cappuccino

$1.53 Rp 27.5K

$5.20 SGD 6.66

-70.58%

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

$0.35 Rp 6,215

$1.77 SGD 2.27

-80.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 Rp 4,534

$1.23 SGD 1.58

-79.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.66 Rp 29.9K

$8.26 SGD 10.58

-79.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

$10.17 SGD 13.01

-64.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

$3.04 SGD 3.89

-63.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$2.55 SGD 3.26

-53.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 Rp 14.7K

$2.86 SGD 3.66

-71.68%

Eggs

$1.32 Rp 23.8K

$3.53 SGD 4.51

-62.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.12 Rp 146.2K

$21.12 SGD 27.02

-61.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

$9.90 SGD 12.67

-63.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.36 Rp 114.5K

$25.42 SGD 32.53

-74.98%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 Rp 43.1K

$4.57 SGD 5.85

-47.48%

Banana (1kg)

$1.05 Rp 18.9K

$3.13 SGD 4.00

-66.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.42 Rp 25.5K

$4.72 SGD 6.04

-69.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.93 Rp 16.7K

$2.23 SGD 2.85

-58.30%

Potato (1kg)

$0.84 Rp 15.1K

$2.57 SGD 3.29

-67.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 Rp 32.3K

$2.29 SGD 2.93

-21.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.38 Rp 6,905

$1.87 SGD 2.39

-79.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 Rp 7,872

$1.44 SGD 1.84

-69.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.87 Rp 51.7K

$13.97 SGD 17.88

-79.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.72 Rp 282.9K

$23.48 SGD 30.05

-33.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 Rp 32.9K

$4.54 SGD 5.80

-59.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 Rp 54.1K

$4.44 SGD 5.68

-32.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 Rp 4,816

$1.57 SGD 2.01

-82.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.93 Rp 106.7K

$93.8 SGD 120

-93.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.51 Rp 9,186

$3.64 SGD 4.66

-85.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.19 Rp 3,465

$0.76 SGD 0.97

-75.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.14 SGD 20.66

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 Rp 14.4K

$2.45 SGD 3.14

-67.35%

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

$24.7K Rp 444.1M

$155.2K SGD 198.5K

-84.10%

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

$32.2K Rp 579.9M

$148.5K SGD 190.0K

-78.31%

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

$84.8 Rp 1.5M

$172 SGD 220

-50.55%

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

$3.17 Rp 57.0K

$12.39 SGD 15.86

-74.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.57 Rp 424.3K

$26.21 SGD 33.54

-10.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.95 Rp 305.0K

$108 SGD 138

-84.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.41 Rp 151.5K

$12.31 SGD 15.75

-31.68%

Cinema Ticket

$3.29 Rp 59.3K

$11.64 SGD 14.90

-71.74%

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

$112 Rp 2.0M

$1,481 SGD 1,895

-92.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,692 Rp 30.5M

$28.3K SGD 36.3K

-94.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 Rp 975.9K

$80.6 SGD 103

-32.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.53 Rp 693.6K

$50.1 SGD 64.1

-23.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 Rp 1.9M

$112 SGD 143

-3.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 Rp 2.0M

$129 SGD 165

-13.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$233 Rp 4.2M

$3,015 SGD 3,858

-92.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$89.8 Rp 1.6M

$2,171 SGD 2,778

-95.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$494 Rp 8.9M

$5,842 SGD 7,475

-91.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$212 Rp 3.8M

$4,044 SGD 5,174

-94.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,158 Rp 20.8M

$23.8K SGD 30.4K

-95.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$560 Rp 10.1M

$16.8K SGD 21.4K

-96.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$215 Rp 3.9M

$4,385 SGD 5,611

-95.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.25

2.44

279.10%

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

Last update for Medan: October 12, 2026

Last update for Singapore: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Medan

$181 29.5%

Singapore

$458 13.1% 153% $277

Clothing & Footwear

Medan

$140 22.9%

Singapore

$167 4.8% 19.1% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medan

$112 18.2%

Singapore

$210 6% 88.3% $99

Accommodation & Living

Medan

$90 14.6%

Singapore

$2.2K 62% 2319% $2.1K

Eating Out

Medan

$59 9.6%

Singapore

$256 7.3% 336% $197

Sport & Entertainment

Medan

$24 3.8%

Singapore

$131 3.8% 458% $108

Getting Around

Medan

$8.5 1.4%

Singapore

$107 3.1% 1169% $99

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $233 in Medan and $3,015 in Singapore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Singapore pays 1938% 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 $71.0 in Singapore for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $181 vs $458 per month, with Medan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Medan

🇸🇬 Singapore

🕒 Local time

06:22 6:22 AM

07:22 7:22 AM

1 h ahead of Medan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,097,610

5,535,002 Capital

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Singapore Dollar SGD $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 SGD = 0.781 USD

1 SGD = 0.695 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SGD, 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).

Singapore Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 SGD (1 SGD = 0.781 USD). 1 EUR = 1.44 SGD (1 SGD = 0.695 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medan Singapore 630 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Medan
Singapore

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 Singapore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 471% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 1938% lower in Singapore. 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 $3,015 in Singapore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Medan runs roughly 1481% less than in Singapore. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $112 in Medan versus $1,481 in Singapore. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $613 in Medan versus $3,500 in Singapore, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Medan but tight or insufficient in Singapore. The gap between the two cities makes Medan 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.

Safety-wise, Medan and Singapore are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Medan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 471% less than in Singapore. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.