Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medan and Zhoushan

For one person, living costs are similar in Medan and in Zhoushan: $613 and $620 a month, rent and utilities included.

30

Cost of Living Index in Medan
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Medan Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Zhoushan
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Zhoushan Living Index

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Medan

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$613

/mo nomad

Zhoushan

🇨🇳 China

$620

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medan and in Zhoushan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $613 in Medan versus $620 in Zhoushan.

Medan $613
Zhoushan $620

Estimated couple costs with rent: $940 in Medan versus $1,005 in Zhoushan.

Medan $940
Zhoushan $1,005

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,266 in Medan versus $1,390 in Zhoushan.

Medan $1,266
Zhoushan $1,390

Living in Medan costs roughly 1% less than in Zhoushan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Medan 55% lower, Zhoushan 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.71 Rp 30.8K

$3.39 ¥22.63

-49.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$8.30 Rp 149.4K

$19.03 ¥127

-56.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.95 Rp 53.0K

$4.07 ¥27.24

-27.52%

Cappuccino

$1.53 Rp 27.5K

$2.95 ¥19.74

-48.14%

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

$0.35 Rp 6,215

$0.46 ¥3.10

-23.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 Rp 4,534

$0.25 ¥1.66

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.66 Rp 29.9K

$0.77 ¥5.15

115.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

$1.84 ¥12.32

95.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

$1.83 ¥12.26

-39.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$2.07 ¥13.87

-43.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 Rp 14.7K

$0.89 ¥5.95

-8.99%

Eggs

$1.32 Rp 23.8K

$1.06 ¥7.07

24.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.12 Rp 146.2K

$13.35 ¥89.2

-39.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

$3.51 ¥23.45

2.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.36 Rp 114.5K

$10.96 ¥73.3

-41.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.40 Rp 43.1K

$1.53 ¥10.26

56.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.05 Rp 18.9K

$1.22 ¥8.17

-13.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.42 Rp 25.5K

$1.45 ¥9.72

-2.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.93 Rp 16.7K

$1.22 ¥8.13

-23.77%

Potato (1kg)

$0.84 Rp 15.1K

$0.58 ¥3.88

44.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 Rp 32.3K

$0.81 ¥5.42

122.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.38 Rp 6,905

$0.63 ¥4.23

-39.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 Rp 7,872

$0.58 ¥3.90

-24.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.87 Rp 51.7K

$5.30 ¥35.45

-45.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.72 Rp 282.9K

$11.80 ¥78.9

33.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 Rp 32.9K

$0.88 ¥5.89

107.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 Rp 54.1K

$2.14 ¥14.34

40.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 Rp 4,816

$0.31 ¥2.10

-12.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.93 Rp 106.7K

$15.13 ¥101

-60.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.51 Rp 9,186

$1.45 ¥9.71

-64.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.19 Rp 3,465

$0.42 ¥2.81

-54.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.91 ¥59.6

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.80 Rp 14.4K

$1.22 ¥8.13

-34.43%

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

$24.7K Rp 444.1M

$19.4K ¥129.8K

27.12%

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

$32.2K Rp 579.9M

$16.4K ¥109.7K

96.36%

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

$84.8 Rp 1.5M

$36.17 ¥242

134.56%

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

$3.17 Rp 57.0K

$11.52 ¥77.0

-72.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.57 Rp 424.3K

$27.25 ¥182

-13.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.95 Rp 305.0K

$25.31 ¥169

-33.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.41 Rp 151.5K

$7.45 ¥49.79

12.89%

Cinema Ticket

$3.29 Rp 59.3K

$5.85 ¥39.10

-43.76%

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

$112 Rp 2.0M

$440 ¥2,942

-74.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,692 Rp 30.5M

$16.3K ¥108.7K

-89.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 Rp 975.9K

$34.64 ¥232

56.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.53 Rp 693.6K

$21.10 ¥141

82.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 Rp 1.9M

$65.4 ¥437

65.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 Rp 2.0M

$44.10 ¥295

151.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$233 Rp 4.2M

$329 ¥2,197

-29.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$89.8 Rp 1.6M

$119 ¥797

-24.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$494 Rp 8.9M

$745 ¥4,979

-33.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$212 Rp 3.8M

$273 ¥1,827

-22.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,158 Rp 20.8M

$2,953 ¥19.7K

-60.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$560 Rp 10.1M

$2,009 ¥13.4K

-72.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$215 Rp 3.9M

$589 ¥3,935

-63.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.25

3.13

195.53%

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

Last update for Medan: October 12, 2026

Last update for Zhoushan: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Medan

$181 29.5%

Zhoushan

$209 33.8% 15.8% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Medan

$140 22.9%

Zhoushan

$74 12% 47% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medan

$112 18.2%

Zhoushan

$75 12.1% 32.8% $37

Accommodation & Living

Medan

$90 14.6%

Zhoushan

$119 19.2% 32.8% $29

Eating Out

Medan

$59 9.6%

Zhoushan

$85 13.7% 45% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Medan

$24 3.8%

Zhoushan

$37 6% 57.2% $13

Getting Around

Medan

$8.5 1.4%

Zhoushan

$20 3.2% 136% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $233 in Medan and $329 in Zhoushan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zhoushan pays 174% 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 $19.00 in Zhoushan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $181 vs $209 per month, with Medan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Medan

🇨🇳 Zhoushan

🕒 Local time

16:29 4:29 PM

17:29 5:29 PM

1 h ahead of Medan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,097,610

1,157,817

💱 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 Zhoushan 3,840 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Medan
Zhoushan

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 Zhoushan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 1% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 174% lower in Zhoushan. 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 $329 in Zhoushan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Medan runs roughly 155% less than in Zhoushan. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $112 in Medan versus $440 in Zhoushan. 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 1% less than in Zhoushan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.