Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zhoushan and Medan

For one person, living costs are similar in Zhoushan and in Medan: $620 and $613 a month, rent and utilities included.

30

Cost of Living Index in Zhoushan
Learn more

Zhoushan Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Medan
Learn more

Medan Living Index

Jump to prices

Zhoushan

🇨🇳 China

$620

/mo nomad

Medan

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$613

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $620 in Zhoushan versus $613 in Medan.

Zhoushan $620
Medan $613

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,005 in Zhoushan versus $940 in Medan.

Zhoushan $1,005
Medan $940

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,390 in Zhoushan versus $1,266 in Medan.

Zhoushan $1,390
Medan $1,266

Living in Zhoushan is roughly 1% more expensive than in Medan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Zhoushan 54% lower, Medan 55% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.39 ¥22.63

$1.71 Rp 30.8K

98.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.03 ¥127

$8.30 Rp 149.4K

129.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.07 ¥27.24

$2.95 Rp 53.0K

37.97%

Cappuccino

$2.95 ¥19.74

$1.53 Rp 27.5K

92.81%

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

$0.46 ¥3.10

$0.35 Rp 6,215

31.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 ¥1.66

$0.25 Rp 4,534

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.77 ¥5.15

$1.66 Rp 29.9K

-53.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 ¥12.32

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

-48.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.83 ¥12.26

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

64.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 ¥13.87

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

75.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.89 ¥5.95

$0.81 Rp 14.7K

9.88%

Eggs

$1.06 ¥7.07

$1.32 Rp 23.8K

-19.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.35 ¥89.2

$8.12 Rp 146.2K

64.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.51 ¥23.45

$3.59 Rp 64.6K

-2.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.96 ¥73.3

$6.36 Rp 114.5K

72.33%

Apples (1kg)

$1.53 ¥10.26

$2.40 Rp 43.1K

-36.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.22 ¥8.17

$1.05 Rp 18.9K

16.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ¥9.72

$1.42 Rp 25.5K

2.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.22 ¥8.13

$0.93 Rp 16.7K

31.18%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 ¥3.88

$0.84 Rp 15.1K

-30.95%

Onion (1kg)

$0.81 ¥5.42

$1.80 Rp 32.3K

-55.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.63 ¥4.23

$0.38 Rp 6,905

65.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ¥3.90

$0.44 Rp 7,872

31.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.30 ¥35.45

$2.87 Rp 51.7K

84.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.80 ¥78.9

$15.72 Rp 282.9K

-24.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 ¥5.89

$1.83 Rp 32.9K

-51.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 ¥14.34

$3.01 Rp 54.1K

-28.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.10

$0.27 Rp 4,816

14.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.13 ¥101

$5.93 Rp 106.7K

155.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.45 ¥9.71

$0.51 Rp 9,186

184.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.42 ¥2.81

$0.19 Rp 3,465

121.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.91 ¥59.6

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 ¥8.13

$0.80 Rp 14.4K

52.50%

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

$19.4K ¥129.8K

$24.7K Rp 444.1M

-21.33%

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

$16.4K ¥109.7K

$32.2K Rp 579.9M

-49.07%

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

$36.17 ¥242

$84.8 Rp 1.5M

-57.37%

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

$11.52 ¥77.0

$3.17 Rp 57.0K

263.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.25 ¥182

$23.57 Rp 424.3K

15.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.31 ¥169

$16.95 Rp 305.0K

49.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.45 ¥49.79

$8.41 Rp 151.5K

-11.41%

Cinema Ticket

$5.85 ¥39.10

$3.29 Rp 59.3K

77.81%

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

$440 ¥2,942

$112 Rp 2.0M

294.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.3K ¥108.7K

$1,692 Rp 30.5M

860.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$34.64 ¥232

$54.2 Rp 975.9K

-36.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$21.10 ¥141

$38.53 Rp 693.6K

-45.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$65.4 ¥437

$108 Rp 1.9M

-39.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$44.10 ¥295

$111 Rp 2.0M

-60.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$329 ¥2,197

$233 Rp 4.2M

41.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$119 ¥797

$89.8 Rp 1.6M

32.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$745 ¥4,979

$494 Rp 8.9M

50.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$273 ¥1,827

$212 Rp 3.8M

29.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,953 ¥19.7K

$1,158 Rp 20.8M

155.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,009 ¥13.4K

$560 Rp 10.1M

258.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$589 ¥3,935

$215 Rp 3.9M

173.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.13

9.25

-66.16%

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

Last update for Zhoushan: October 12, 2026

Last update for Medan: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Zhoushan

$209 33.8%

Medan

$181 29.5% 13.6% $29

Accommodation & Living

Zhoushan

$119 19.2%

Medan

$90 14.6% 24.7% $29

Eating Out

Zhoushan

$85 13.7%

Medan

$59 9.6% 31% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zhoushan

$75 12.1%

Medan

$112 18.2% 48.9% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Zhoushan

$74 12%

Medan

$140 22.9% 88.7% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Zhoushan

$37 6%

Medan

$24 3.8% 36.4% $13

Getting Around

Zhoushan

$20 3.2%

Medan

$8.5 1.4% 57.5% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $329 in Zhoushan and $233 in Medan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zhoushan pays 174% 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: $19.00 in Zhoushan vs $8.00 in Medan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $209 vs $181 per month, with Medan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Zhoushan

🇮🇩 Medan

🕒 Local time

18:05 6:05 PM

17:05 5:05 PM

1 h behind Zhoushan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,157,817

2,097,610

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

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).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Zhoushan Medan 3,840 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Zhoushan
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

Zhoushan vs Medan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 1% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 174% higher in Zhoushan, 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: $329 in Zhoushan versus $233 in Medan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Medan runs roughly 155% less than in Zhoushan. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $440 in Zhoushan versus $112 in Medan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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 1% less than in Zhoushan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.