Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surabaya and Medan

For one person, living is cheaper in Medan: $613 a month against $677 in Surabaya, rent and utilities included – about $770 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Surabaya
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Surabaya Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Medan
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Medan Living Index

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Surabaya

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$677

/mo nomad

Medan

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$613

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Surabaya and in Medan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $677 in Surabaya versus $613 in Medan.

Surabaya $677
Medan $613

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,179 in Surabaya versus $940 in Medan.

Surabaya $1,179
Medan $940

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,680 in Surabaya versus $1,266 in Medan.

Surabaya $1,680
Medan $1,266

Living in Surabaya is roughly 10% more expensive than in Medan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Surabaya 50% lower, Medan 55% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.69 Rp 30.4K

$1.71 Rp 30.8K

-1.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.35 Rp 204.3K

$8.30 Rp 149.4K

36.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.15 Rp 56.6K

$2.95 Rp 53.0K

6.78%

Cappuccino

$1.55 Rp 28.0K

$1.53 Rp 27.5K

1.31%

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

$0.56 Rp 10.2K

$0.35 Rp 6,215

60.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 Rp 5,078

$0.25 Rp 4,534

12.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.17 Rp 39.0K

$1.66 Rp 29.9K

30.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.12 Rp 74.2K

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

14.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 Rp 22.8K

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

13.51%

White Bread (500g)

$1.28 Rp 23.1K

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

8.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.88 Rp 15.9K

$0.81 Rp 14.7K

8.64%

Eggs

$1.20 Rp 21.7K

$1.32 Rp 23.8K

-9.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.53 Rp 135.5K

$8.12 Rp 146.2K

-7.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.05 Rp 54.8K

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

-15.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.42 Rp 133.6K

$6.36 Rp 114.5K

16.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.08 Rp 37.4K

$2.40 Rp 43.1K

-13.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 Rp 22.4K

$1.05 Rp 18.9K

18.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.88 Rp 33.8K

$1.42 Rp 25.5K

32.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 Rp 28.1K

$0.93 Rp 16.7K

67.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.37 Rp 24.6K

$0.84 Rp 15.1K

63.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.98 Rp 35.7K

$1.80 Rp 32.3K

10.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 Rp 16.0K

$0.38 Rp 6,905

134.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.40 Rp 7,119

$0.44 Rp 7,872

-9.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.91 Rp 34.4K

$2.87 Rp 51.7K

-33.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$24.93 Rp 448.7K

$15.72 Rp 282.9K

58.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 Rp 30.3K

$1.83 Rp 32.9K

-8.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.96 Rp 53.3K

$3.01 Rp 54.1K

-1.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.32 Rp 5,704

$0.27 Rp 4,816

18.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.93 Rp 106.7K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 Rp 8,459

$0.51 Rp 9,186

-7.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.44 Rp 7,837

$0.19 Rp 3,465

131.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.71 Rp 48.8K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 Rp 15.7K

$0.80 Rp 14.4K

8.75%

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

$24.4K Rp 439.3M

$24.7K Rp 444.1M

-1.07%

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

$32.0K Rp 575.4M

$32.2K Rp 579.9M

-0.78%

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

$86.9 Rp 1.6M

$84.8 Rp 1.5M

2.46%

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

$4.50 Rp 81.0K

$3.17 Rp 57.0K

41.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.07 Rp 343.3K

$23.57 Rp 424.3K

-19.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.84 Rp 321.2K

$16.95 Rp 305.0K

5.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.64 Rp 119.5K

$8.41 Rp 151.5K

-21.05%

Cinema Ticket

$2.67 Rp 48.1K

$3.29 Rp 59.3K

-18.84%

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

$281 Rp 5.1M

$112 Rp 2.0M

151.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,385 Rp 168.9M

$1,692 Rp 30.5M

454.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$71.6 Rp 1.3M

$54.2 Rp 975.9K

32.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.15 Rp 704.7K

$38.53 Rp 693.6K

1.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.4 Rp 1.5M

$108 Rp 1.9M

-23.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.0 Rp 1.4M

$111 Rp 2.0M

-32.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$281 Rp 5.1M

$233 Rp 4.2M

20.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$148 Rp 2.7M

$89.8 Rp 1.6M

64.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,218 Rp 21.9M

$494 Rp 8.9M

146.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$608 Rp 10.9M

$212 Rp 3.8M

187.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,195 Rp 39.5M

$1,158 Rp 20.8M

89.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,063 Rp 19.1M

$560 Rp 10.1M

90.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$272 Rp 4.9M

$215 Rp 3.9M

26.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.5

9.25

-18.92%

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

Last update for Surabaya: October 13, 2026

Last update for Medan: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Surabaya

$208 30.7%

Medan

$181 29.5% 12.9% $27

Accommodation & Living

Surabaya

$148 21.8%

Medan

$90 14.6% 39.2% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Surabaya

$121 17.8%

Medan

$140 22.9% 16.2% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surabaya

$111 16.3%

Medan

$112 18.2% 1% $1.1

Eating Out

Surabaya

$64 9.5%

Medan

$59 9.6% 8.4% $5.4

Sport & Entertainment

Surabaya

$23 3.4%

Medan

$24 3.8% 1.5% $0.4

Getting Around

Surabaya

$3.9 * 0.6%

Medan

$8.5 1.4% 117% $4.6

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 $281 in Surabaya and $233 in Medan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Surabaya pays 27% 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: $11.00 in Surabaya vs $8.00 in Medan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $208 vs $181 per month, with Medan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Surabaya

🇮🇩 Medan

🕒 Local time

17:05 5:05 PM

Same time as Surabaya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,765,487

2,097,610

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Surabaya Medan 1,970 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Surabaya
Medan

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 Medan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries and eating out. The 10% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 27% higher in Surabaya, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $281 in Surabaya versus $233 in Medan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Surabaya. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $677 per month in Surabaya versus $613 in Medan – a 10% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

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 10% less than in Surabaya. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.