Cost of Living in Medan, 🇮🇩 Indonesia - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

AI estimate Updated Mar 22, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing $501 $354 $707 $147 $38

Utilities $71 $88 $165 $35 —

Internet & Mobile $265 $38 $53 $9 $1

Groceries $71 $206 $442 $106 $4

Transportation $106 $130 $265 $27 $11

Dining Out $383 $189 $354 $53 $27

Leisure Activities $147 $118 $236 $24 $15

Health Insurance $65 $71 $224 $9 $2

Visa & Legal Fees $88 $71 $265 — $1

Total $1,697 $1,265 $2,711 $410 $99

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Services

Gym Membership $26.53 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) $7.96 per hour

Mobile Plan $7.07 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) $26.53 per month

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) $8.84 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket $3.24 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans $38.32 per pair

Summer Dress $23.58 per dress

Running Shoes $73.68 per pair

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) $226.95 per month

Coworking Space $97.26 per month

Airbnb (1 month) $501.05 per month

Coliving Space $265.26 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee $16.51 per cup

Beer $2.65 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) $1.47 per meal

Fast Food Combo $3.83 per meal

Apples $2.83 per kg

Bread $1.09 per loaf

Milk $1.36 per liter

Rice $0.94 per kg

Chicken Fillets $3.24 per kg

Beef $8.55 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) $26.53 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) $20.63 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) $0.44 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start $0.62 per trip

Taxi per km $0.38 per km

Monthly Transport Pass $14.74 per month

Gasoline $0.84 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) $1.30 per trip

Scooter Rental $5.60 per month

Personal Care

Haircut $5.01 per visit

Laundry $0.71 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) $14.74 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) $3.83 per purchase

About these costs

Method: AI estimate
Last updated: Mar 22, 2026
Generated by: Model not recorded
Last changed: None yet
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 16,964.3903 IDR

Generated by an AI model without cited sources and not yet checked by research. A research pass replaces these values with sourced ones, compared with similar cities.

Medan cost of living