Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surabaya and Bangalore

For one person, living is cheaper in Bangalore: $535 a month against $688 in Surabaya, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. The total is higher in Surabaya despite lower rent and utilities.

Surabaya
🇮🇩 Indonesia
$688
/mo nomad
Bangalore
🇮🇳 India
$535
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $688 in Surabaya versus $535 in Bangalore.

  • Surabaya $688
  • Bangalore $535

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,191 in Surabaya versus $927 in Bangalore.

  • Surabaya $1,191
  • Bangalore $927

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,695 in Surabaya versus $1,318 in Bangalore.

  • Surabaya $1,695
  • Bangalore $1,318

Living in Surabaya is roughly 28% more expensive than in Bangalore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Surabaya 49% lower, Bangalore 60% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Surabaya
Bangalore
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$1.69 Rp 30.2K
$3.04 ₹294
-44.41%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$11.40 Rp 203.9K
$17.83 ₹1,725
-36.06%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$3.05 Rp 54.6K
$4.78 ₹463
-36.19%
Cappuccino
$1.57 Rp 28.0K
$2.24 ₹217
-29.91%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.61 Rp 10.8K
$0.39 ₹37.49
56.41%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.28 Rp 5,026
$0.14 ₹13.64
100.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.26 Rp 40.5K
$2.34 ₹226
-3.42%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.09 Rp 73.1K
$3.91 ₹379
4.60%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Surabaya
Bangalore
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.22 Rp 21.8K
$0.61 ₹58.6
100.00%
White Bread (500g)
$1.27 Rp 22.8K
$0.57 ₹55.2
122.81%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.84 Rp 15.0K
$0.81 ₹77.9
3.70%
Eggs
$1.20 Rp 21.5K
$1.12 ₹109
7.14%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.66 Rp 136.9K
$5.93 ₹574
29.17%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.08 Rp 55.0K
$3.85 ₹373
-20.00%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.85 Rp 140.3K
-
-
Apples (1kg)
$2.09 Rp 37.4K
$2.78 ₹269
-24.82%
Banana (1kg)
$1.30 Rp 23.2K
$0.75 ₹72.2
73.33%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.82 Rp 32.6K
$1.22 ₹118
49.18%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.56 Rp 27.8K
$0.40 ₹39.19
290.00%
Potato (1kg)
$1.30 Rp 23.3K
$0.38 ₹36.40
242.11%
Onion (1kg)
$1.91 Rp 34.2K
$0.36 ₹34.72
430.56%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.96 Rp 17.2K
$0.42 ₹40.31
128.57%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.43 Rp 7,679
$0.32 ₹31.21
34.37%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$1.94 Rp 34.6K
$4.61 ₹446
-57.92%
Wine (Bottle)
$24.67 Rp 441.1K
$9.01 ₹872
173.81%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.73 Rp 30.9K
$1.86 ₹180
-6.99%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.00 Rp 53.5K
$2.92 ₹283
2.74%
Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)
-
$6.35 ₹614
-
🚌 Getting Around
Surabaya
Bangalore
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.32 Rp 5,669
$0.51 ₹48.89
-37.25%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$15.71 ₹1,520
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.48 Rp 8,519
$1.01 ₹97.8
-52.48%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.43 Rp 7,679
$0.30 ₹29.43
43.33%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$2.61 Rp 46.7K
$2.10 ₹203
24.29%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$0.83 Rp 14.8K
$1.08 ₹104
-23.15%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$25.0K Rp 446.0M
$12.6K ₹1.2M
98.48%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$32.8K Rp 585.5M
$19.1K ₹1.8M
71.89%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Surabaya
Bangalore
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$86.2 Rp 1.5M
$30.32 ₹2,934
184.17%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$4.58 Rp 81.9K
$4.11 ₹398
11.44%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$19.24 Rp 343.9K
$10.23 ₹990
88.07%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Surabaya
Bangalore
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$17.96 Rp 321.0K
$18.61 ₹1,801
-3.49%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$6.82 Rp 121.9K
$5.95 ₹576
14.62%
Cinema Ticket
$2.72 Rp 48.7K
$4.60 ₹446
-40.87%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Surabaya
Bangalore
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$280 Rp 5.0M
$104 ₹10.1K
169.04%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$9,557 Rp 170.8M
$3,176 ₹307.3K
200.96%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Surabaya
Bangalore
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$70.0 Rp 1.3M
$32.29 ₹3,125
116.79%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$39.31 Rp 702.6K
$29.85 ₹2,889
31.69%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$81.4 Rp 1.5M
$53.3 ₹5,160
52.77%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$73.4 Rp 1.3M
$39.66 ₹3,838
85.15%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Surabaya
Bangalore
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$279 Rp 5.0M
$309 ₹29.9K
-9.66%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$147 Rp 2.6M
$175 ₹16.9K
-16.10%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,247 Rp 22.3M
$788 ₹76.3K
58.22%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$620 Rp 11.1M
$481 ₹46.6K
28.75%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,155 Rp 38.5M
$1,889 ₹182.8K
14.10%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,047 Rp 18.7M
$1,067 ₹103.3K
-1.89%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Surabaya
Bangalore
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$273 Rp 4.9M
$919 ₹89.0K
-70.29%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
7.5
8.5
-11.76%

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

Last update for Surabaya: October 5, 2026

Last update for Bangalore: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Surabaya
$209
Bangalore
$122 41.4% $87
Accommodation & Living
Surabaya
$147
Bangalore
$175 19.2% $28
Clothing & Footwear
Surabaya
$119
Bangalore
$70 41.3% $49
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Surabaya
$110
Bangalore
$45 59.4% $65
Eating Out
Surabaya
$65
Bangalore
$87 35% $23
Sport & Entertainment
Surabaya
$23
Bangalore
$28 18.8% $4.4
Getting Around
Surabaya
$3.9 *
Bangalore
$20 421% $16

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 $279 in Surabaya and $309 in Bangalore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bangalore pays 237% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $11.00 in Surabaya vs $18.00 in Bangalore. Groceries flip the comparison at $209 vs $122, with Bangalore cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇮🇩 Surabaya
🇮🇳 Bangalore
🕒 Local time
10:51 10:51 AM
09:21 9:21 AM
1 h 30 min behind Surabaya
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
2,765,487
8,495,492
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 17,875 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD). 1 EUR = 20,048 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.99 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 96.78 INR (100 INR = 1.03 USD). 1 EUR = 109 INR (1,000 INR = 9.21 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Surabaya Bangalore 4,480 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Surabaya
  • 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
Surabaya vs Bangalore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Surabaya or Bangalore?
Bangalore wins on cost – living expenses run 28% lower than in Surabaya. 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 Surabaya or in Bangalore?
On paper, salaries run 237% 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 Surabaya compared to Bangalore?
Rent for a central apartment: $279 in Surabaya versus $309 in Bangalore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Are groceries more expensive in Surabaya or in Bangalore?
Supermarket bills run roughly 71% higher in Surabaya. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
How much does it cost to live in Surabaya compared to Bangalore?
All in, you'll spend $688 per month in Surabaya versus $535 in Bangalore – a 28% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Can you live on $800/month in Surabaya 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, Surabaya or Bangalore?
Both work as nomad bases, but Bangalore delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $535 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 28% less than in Surabaya. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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