Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surabaya and Pekanbaru

For one person, living is cheaper in Pekanbaru: $627 a month against $685 in Surabaya, rent and utilities included – about $700 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Pekanbaru
Learn more

Pekanbaru Living Index

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Surabaya

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$685

/mo nomad

Pekanbaru

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$627

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Surabaya and in Pekanbaru

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $685 in Surabaya versus $627 in Pekanbaru.

Surabaya $685
Pekanbaru $627

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,189 in Surabaya versus $986 in Pekanbaru.

Surabaya $1,189
Pekanbaru $986

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,693 in Surabaya versus $1,344 in Pekanbaru.

Surabaya $1,693
Pekanbaru $1,344

Living in Surabaya is roughly 9% more expensive than in Pekanbaru, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Surabaya 50% lower, Pekanbaru 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.68 Rp 30.5K

$1.42 Rp 25.8K

18.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.51 Rp 208.8K

$8.09 Rp 146.7K

42.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.11 Rp 56.4K

$2.37 Rp 43.0K

31.22%

Cappuccino

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

$1.27 Rp 23.1K

21.26%

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

$0.59 Rp 10.6K

$0.60 Rp 10.9K

-1.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 Rp 5,121

$0.33 Rp 6,013

-15.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

$2.02 Rp 36.7K

10.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.20 Rp 76.2K

$3.50 Rp 63.6K

20.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 Rp 22.6K

$1.27 Rp 23.1K

-1.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 Rp 22.8K

$1.08 Rp 19.5K

15.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 Rp 14.8K

$0.81 Rp 14.7K

Eggs

$1.18 Rp 21.4K

$1.61 Rp 29.1K

-26.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.35 Rp 133.2K

$7.06 Rp 128.0K

4.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.02 Rp 54.8K

$2.35 Rp 42.6K

28.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.40 Rp 134.3K

$6.38 Rp 115.7K

15.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.04 Rp 37.1K

$2.56 Rp 46.4K

-20.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 Rp 22.5K

$1.66 Rp 30.2K

-25.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 Rp 33.8K

$2.31 Rp 41.9K

-19.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 Rp 26.7K

$1.19 Rp 21.5K

23.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.34 Rp 24.3K

$1.26 Rp 22.9K

6.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.88 Rp 34.1K

$1.95 Rp 35.3K

-3.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.96 Rp 17.4K

$0.85 Rp 15.5K

12.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.39 Rp 7,107

$0.36 Rp 6,443

8.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.95 Rp 35.4K

$2.15 Rp 39.0K

-9.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$24.42 Rp 443.0K

$21.11 Rp 382.8K

15.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 Rp 31.2K

$1.79 Rp 32.5K

-3.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.8K

$2.99 Rp 54.2K

-0.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 Rp 4,844

$0.27 Rp 4,871

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.60 Rp 301.1K

$11.26 Rp 204.3K

47.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 Rp 8,493

$0.99 Rp 17.9K

-52.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.45 Rp 8,178

$0.36 Rp 6,441

25.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.56 Rp 46.4K

$2.90 Rp 52.7K

-11.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

$0.70 Rp 12.7K

15.71%

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

$24.3K Rp 441.6M

$23.2K Rp 420.0M

5.13%

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

$31.7K Rp 574.4M

$25.8K Rp 467.6M

22.84%

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

$86.6 Rp 1.6M

$62.5 Rp 1.1M

38.55%

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

$4.57 Rp 82.8K

$6.02 Rp 109.1K

-24.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.49 Rp 353.4K

$22.68 Rp 411.4K

-14.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.35 Rp 278.4K

$27.69 Rp 502.3K

-44.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.53 Rp 118.4K

$8.22 Rp 149.2K

-20.56%

Cinema Ticket

$2.62 Rp 47.6K

$3.07 Rp 55.6K

-14.66%

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

$270 Rp 4.9M

$94.5 Rp 1.7M

186.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,294 Rp 168.6M

$8,127 Rp 147.4M

14.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.1 Rp 1.3M

$32.20 Rp 584.0K

114.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.24 Rp 693.7K

$28.67 Rp 520.0K

33.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.8 Rp 1.4M

$55.6 Rp 1.0M

41.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.5 Rp 1.4M

$80.8 Rp 1.5M

-7.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$274 Rp 5.0M

$243 Rp 4.4M

13.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$148 Rp 2.7M

-0.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,204 Rp 21.8M

$541 Rp 9.8M

122.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$607 Rp 11.0M

$370 Rp 6.7M

63.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,146 Rp 38.9M

$1,302 Rp 23.6M

64.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,065 Rp 19.3M

$804 Rp 14.6M

32.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$266 Rp 4.8M

$175 Rp 3.2M

52.08%

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: October 27, 2026

Last update for Pekanbaru: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Surabaya

$205 29.8%

Pekanbaru

$196 31.2% 4.3% $8.8

Accommodation & Living

Surabaya

$148 21.5%

Pekanbaru

$148 23.6% 0.2% $0.3

Clothing & Footwear

Surabaya

$117 17.1%

Pekanbaru

$89 14.2% 24.3% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surabaya

$111 16.1%

Pekanbaru

$91 14.5% 17.6% $19

Eating Out

Surabaya

$64 9.4%

Pekanbaru

$55 8.7% 15% $9.6

Sport & Entertainment

Surabaya

$21 3%

Pekanbaru

$34 5.4% 64.2% $13

Getting Around

Surabaya

$20 3%

Pekanbaru

$15 2.4% 25.9% $5.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $274 in Surabaya and $243 in Pekanbaru. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Surabaya pays 52% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $12 in Surabaya vs $8 in Pekanbaru for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $205 vs $196 per month, with Pekanbaru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Surabaya

🇮🇩 Pekanbaru

🕒 Local time

11:12 11:12 AM

Same time as Surabaya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,765,487

1,020,308

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Surabaya Pekanbaru 1,520 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Surabaya
Pekanbaru

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 Pekanbaru: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Pekanbaru is about 8% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, eating out, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 52% 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: $274 in Surabaya versus $243 in Pekanbaru. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Pekanbaru – a meal for two runs $8 versus $12 in Surabaya. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $685 per month in Surabaya versus $627 in Pekanbaru – Pekanbaru is about 8% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $1,000 a month, though Pekanbaru 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 Pekanbaru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Surabaya. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.