Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Samarinda and Bangalore

For one person, living is cheaper in Bangalore: $552 a month against $647 in Samarinda, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

Samarinda
🇮🇩 Indonesia
$647
/mo nomad
Bangalore
🇮🇳 India
$552
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Samarinda 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 Samarinda and in Bangalore actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $647 in Samarinda versus $552 in Bangalore.

  • Samarinda $647
  • Bangalore $552

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,021 in Samarinda versus $936 in Bangalore.

  • Samarinda $1,021
  • Bangalore $936

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,395 in Samarinda versus $1,320 in Bangalore.

  • Samarinda $1,395
  • Bangalore $1,320

Living in Samarinda is roughly 17% more expensive than in Bangalore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Samarinda 52% lower, Bangalore 59% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Samarinda
Bangalore
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$1.70 Rp 30.6K
$3.20 ₹304
-46.88%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$13.69 Rp 246.4K
$17.72 ₹1,683
-22.74%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$3.35 Rp 60.2K
$4.74 ₹451
-29.32%
Cappuccino
$1.53 Rp 27.5K
$2.24 ₹213
-31.70%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.44 Rp 7,903
$0.38 ₹36.16
15.79%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.25 Rp 4,499
$0.13 ₹11.88
92.31%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.27 Rp 40.9K
$2.29 ₹217
-0.87%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.45 Rp 62.1K
$3.69 ₹351
-6.50%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Samarinda
Bangalore
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.07 Rp 19.2K
$0.63 ₹60.1
69.84%
White Bread (500g)
$0.83 Rp 14.9K
$0.59 ₹55.6
40.68%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.71 Rp 12.8K
$0.81 ₹77.2
-12.35%
Eggs
$1.40 Rp 25.3K
$1.12 ₹106
25.00%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.21 Rp 129.9K
$5.97 ₹567
20.77%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.61 Rp 65.0K
$3.75 ₹356
-3.73%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$10.04 Rp 180.7K
-
-
Apples (1kg)
$5.14 Rp 92.4K
$2.80 ₹266
83.57%
Banana (1kg)
$1.11 Rp 20.0K
$0.76 ₹72.6
46.05%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.09 Rp 19.5K
$1.18 ₹112
-7.63%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.47 Rp 26.5K
$0.38 ₹36.11
286.84%
Potato (1kg)
$1.32 Rp 23.8K
$0.38 ₹35.71
247.37%
Onion (1kg)
$1.76 Rp 31.7K
$0.36 ₹34.08
388.89%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.75 Rp 13.6K
$0.42 ₹40.06
78.57%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.51 Rp 9,097
$0.32 ₹30.82
59.38%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.08 Rp 37.4K
$4.80 ₹456
-56.67%
Wine (Bottle)
$21.04 Rp 378.7K
$9.31 ₹884
125.99%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.60 Rp 28.8K
$1.95 ₹185
-17.95%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.52 Rp 45.4K
$3.00 ₹285
-16.00%
Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)
-
$6.37 ₹605
-
🚌 Getting Around
Samarinda
Bangalore
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.30 Rp 5,403
$0.54 ₹50.9
-44.44%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$15.55 ₹1,477
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.50 Rp 8,935
$1.02 ₹97.2
-50.98%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.34 Rp 6,183
$0.30 ₹28.63
13.33%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$2.67 Rp 48.0K
$2.04 ₹194
30.88%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$0.81 Rp 14.6K
$1.10 ₹105
-26.36%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$26.8K Rp 482.4M
$12.5K ₹1.2M
113.79%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.1K Rp 559.1M
$18.7K ₹1.8M
65.88%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Samarinda
Bangalore
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$67.2 Rp 1.2M
$30.94 ₹2,938
117.32%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$4.75 Rp 85.5K
$4.10 ₹389
15.85%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$18.78 Rp 338.0K
$10.39 ₹987
80.75%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Samarinda
Bangalore
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$19.72 Rp 354.9K
$18.87 ₹1,792
4.50%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$8.94 Rp 160.9K
$5.79 ₹550
54.40%
Cinema Ticket
$2.75 Rp 49.4K
$4.82 ₹457
-42.95%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Samarinda
Bangalore
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$89.9 Rp 1.6M
$102 ₹9,658
-11.60%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$8,095 Rp 145.7M
$3,257 ₹309.3K
148.53%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Samarinda
Bangalore
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$47.77 Rp 859.9K
$33.54 ₹3,185
42.43%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$32.33 Rp 582.0K
$30.76 ₹2,921
5.10%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$76.9 Rp 1.4M
$52.7 ₹5,002
46.03%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$74.1 Rp 1.3M
$40.37 ₹3,834
83.55%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Samarinda
Bangalore
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$195 Rp 3.5M
$307 ₹29.1K
-36.27%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$148 Rp 2.7M
$176 ₹16.7K
-16.08%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$491 Rp 8.8M
$782 ₹74.2K
-37.24%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$338 Rp 6.1M
$482 ₹45.8K
-29.92%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,107 Rp 19.9M
$1,857 ₹176.3K
-40.38%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$730 Rp 13.1M
$1,074 ₹102.0K
-32.04%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Samarinda
Bangalore
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$336 Rp 6.0M
$940 ₹89.2K
-64.24%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
9.46
8.46
11.82%

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

Last update for Samarinda: 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
Samarinda
$213
Bangalore
$124 42% $89
Accommodation & Living
Samarinda
$148
Bangalore
$176 19.2% $28
Clothing & Footwear
Samarinda
$104
Bangalore
$71 31.9% $33
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Samarinda
$91
Bangalore
$45 50% $45
Eating Out
Samarinda
$63
Bangalore
$88 39.1% $25
Sport & Entertainment
Samarinda
$25
Bangalore
$29 13.1% $3.3
Getting Around
Samarinda
$3.4 *
Bangalore
$20 493% $17

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 $195 in Samarinda and $307 in Bangalore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bangalore pays 180% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $14.00 in Samarinda vs $18.00 in Bangalore. Groceries flip the comparison at $213 vs $124, with Bangalore cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇮🇩 Samarinda
🇮🇳 Bangalore
🕒 Local time
12:46 12:46 PM
10:16 10:16 AM
2 h 30 min behind Samarinda
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
726,223
8,495,492
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

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).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Samarinda Bangalore 4,610 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Samarinda
  • 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
Samarinda vs Bangalore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Samarinda or Bangalore?
Bangalore wins on cost – living expenses run 17% lower than in Samarinda. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Bangalore the obvious pick if budget is a priority.
Are salaries higher in Samarinda or in Bangalore?
On paper, salaries run 180% 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.
How much does a 1-bedroom apartment cost in Samarinda compared to Bangalore?
Rent for a central apartment: $195 in Samarinda versus $307 in Bangalore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Are groceries more expensive in Samarinda or in Bangalore?
Supermarket bills run roughly 72% higher in Samarinda. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
How much does it cost to live in Samarinda compared to Bangalore?
All in, you'll spend $647 per month in Samarinda versus $552 in Bangalore – a 17% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Can you live on $800/month in Samarinda or in Bangalore?
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.
Which city is better for digital nomads, Samarinda or Bangalore?
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.
Which city is more affordable for expats?
Expats usually find Bangalore gentler on the wallet – expenses run 17% less than in Samarinda. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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