Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surabaya and Palembang

For one person, living is cheaper in Palembang: $612 a month against $682 in Surabaya, rent and utilities included – about $840 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Surabaya
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Surabaya Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in Palembang
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Palembang Living Index

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Surabaya

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$682

/mo nomad

Palembang

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$612

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Surabaya and in Palembang

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $682 in Surabaya versus $612 in Palembang.

Surabaya $682
Palembang $612

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,188 in Surabaya versus $961 in Palembang.

Surabaya $1,188
Palembang $961

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,694 in Surabaya versus $1,310 in Palembang.

Surabaya $1,694
Palembang $1,310

Living in Surabaya is roughly 11% more expensive than in Palembang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.62 Rp 29.4K

$1.07 Rp 19.5K

51.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.34 Rp 206.0K

$15.64 Rp 284.1K

-27.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.74 Rp 49.7K

$2.80 Rp 50.9K

-2.14%

Cappuccino

$1.51 Rp 27.4K

$1.24 Rp 22.6K

21.77%

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

$0.66 Rp 12.0K

$0.80 Rp 14.6K

-17.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 Rp 5,147

$0.24 Rp 4,364

16.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.19 Rp 39.8K

$1.68 Rp 30.5K

30.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 Rp 74.0K

$3.27 Rp 59.4K

24.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.20 Rp 21.9K

$1.06 Rp 19.3K

13.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 Rp 23.6K

$1.08 Rp 19.6K

20.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.87 Rp 15.7K

$0.81 Rp 14.8K

7.41%

Eggs

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$1.21 Rp 22.0K

-1.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.45 Rp 135.4K

$7.22 Rp 131.0K

3.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.91 Rp 52.8K

$2.88 Rp 52.3K

1.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.47 Rp 135.6K

$7.33 Rp 133.1K

1.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.00 Rp 36.3K

$2.15 Rp 39.1K

-6.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 Rp 23.3K

$1.30 Rp 23.6K

-1.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 Rp 33.0K

$1.58 Rp 28.7K

15.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.55 Rp 28.1K

$1.19 Rp 21.5K

30.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.29 Rp 23.5K

$1.26 Rp 22.9K

2.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.96 Rp 35.6K

$1.91 Rp 34.6K

2.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.95 Rp 17.2K

$0.79 Rp 14.4K

20.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 Rp 7,737

$0.40 Rp 7,227

7.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.89 Rp 34.3K

$2.18 Rp 39.6K

-13.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$24.59 Rp 446.5K

$20.64 Rp 374.9K

19.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 Rp 30.5K

$1.81 Rp 32.8K

-7.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 Rp 51.1K

$2.99 Rp 54.3K

-5.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 Rp 5,331

$0.40 Rp 7,248

-27.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.73 Rp 303.8K

$11.46 Rp 208.2K

45.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.50 Rp 9,052

$0.53 Rp 9,692

-5.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.42 Rp 7,622

$0.32 Rp 5,762

31.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.58 Rp 46.8K

$2.81 Rp 51.1K

-8.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 Rp 15.8K

$0.86 Rp 15.6K

1.16%

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

$25.0K Rp 453.9M

$22.8K Rp 413.3M

9.81%

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

$32.1K Rp 582.8M

$32.4K Rp 587.9M

-0.86%

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

$86.4 Rp 1.6M

$63.4 Rp 1.2M

36.17%

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

$4.56 Rp 82.7K

$4.33 Rp 78.6K

5.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.27 Rp 350.0K

$18.77 Rp 340.9K

2.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.43 Rp 280.3K

$18.37 Rp 333.6K

-16.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.74 Rp 122.4K

$8.15 Rp 148.0K

-17.30%

Cinema Ticket

$2.61 Rp 47.4K

$2.83 Rp 51.4K

-7.77%

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

$280 Rp 5.1M

$94.4 Rp 1.7M

196.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,211 Rp 76.5M

$8,086 Rp 146.9M

-47.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.0 Rp 1.3M

$43.62 Rp 792.1K

58.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.98 Rp 689.7K

$28.51 Rp 517.7K

33.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.3 Rp 1.5M

$75.3 Rp 1.4M

8.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.3 Rp 1.3M

$69.2 Rp 1.3M

4.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$273 Rp 5.0M

$223 Rp 4.1M

22.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$146 Rp 2.6M

$148 Rp 2.7M

-1.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,230 Rp 22.3M

$560 Rp 10.2M

119.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$611 Rp 11.1M

$364 Rp 6.6M

67.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,179 Rp 39.6M

$1,145 Rp 20.8M

90.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,072 Rp 19.5M

$778 Rp 14.1M

37.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$253 Rp 4.6M

$307 Rp 5.6M

-17.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.5

9.46

-20.72%

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

Last update for Surabaya: November 3, 2026

Last update for Palembang: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Surabaya

$205 30.1%

Palembang

$190 31.1% 7.3% $15

Accommodation & Living

Surabaya

$146 21.4%

Palembang

$148 24.2% 1.6% $2.4

Clothing & Footwear

Surabaya

$117 17.2%

Palembang

$97 15.9% 16.9% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surabaya

$110 16.2%

Palembang

$87 14.1% 21.5% $24

Eating Out

Surabaya

$62 9.1%

Palembang

$51 8.3% 17.9% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Surabaya

$21 3%

Palembang

$24 3.9% 16.3% $3.4

Getting Around

Surabaya

$21 3%

Palembang

$15 2.5% 26% $5.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $273 in Surabaya and $225 in Palembang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Palembang pays 18% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $11 in Surabaya vs $16 in Palembang. Groceries flip the comparison at $205 vs $190, with Palembang cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Surabaya

🇮🇩 Palembang

🕒 Local time

18:37 6:37 PM

Same time as Surabaya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,765,487

1,708,413

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Surabaya Palembang 1,000 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Surabaya
Palembang

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 Palembang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Palembang is about 10% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, groceries, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 15% lower in Surabaya. 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: $273 in Surabaya versus $225 in Palembang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $682 per month in Surabaya versus $612 in Palembang – Palembang is about 10% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Palembang runs roughly 33% less than in Surabaya. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Palembang 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.