Indonesia Budget Calculator
- Housing + utilities $558 40%
- Food & drink $478 34%
- Getting around $97 7%
- Work + connectivity $140 10%
- Health, gym, fun $128 9%
These are mid-market figures. Paying with a typical bank card in Indonesia adds roughly 3% on top, about $42 a month on this budget. Find the best travel card for Indonesia →
A solo digital-nomad month, per person, side by side with places in the region.
A month here is about 50% of a mid-size US city.
See the cost breakdown
- Rent (1-bed) 1× 1-bed $463
- Utilities + internet flat estimate $95
- Eating out (local) 32 × $3.57 $114
- Eating out (mid-range) 16 × $10.00 $160
- Groceries (cooking in) 32 meals × $2.08 $66
- Coffees 45 × $2.39 $108
- Beers out 10 × $2.93 $29
- Getting around scooter + 12 taxis $97
- Coworking $118/mo $118
- SIM / data 7-day SIM × 4 $22
- Gym $23/mo $23
- Massages 2 × $11 $22
- Health (amortised) GP + dentist ÷ 12 $3.00
- Nightlife / buffer flat estimate $80
Figures assume a long-term stay (30+ days) and cover rent, food, transport, internet and everyday spending. Flights, visas and insurance aren't included. Rent, utilities and internet are shared across the household; everything else is per person. Rent, food and transport use the tracked prices below; utilities, the buffer and amortised health are modelled estimates.
Updated August 2026
Average prices in Indonesia
Indonesia remains incredibly affordable, especially outside the major tourist hubs. You can still find a delicious street food meal for under $2, making it easy to stretch your travel budget.
Supermarket prices
Rent in Indonesia by city
Rent is what moves the total most between cities. Below are the cities we track, from pricier to cheaper than the national average, using our own estimates from local listings.
- Jakarta Pricier Jakarta has the country's most expensive apartments and worst traffic. It makes more sense for someone on a local salary or who needs a big-city base than a nomad chasing cheap rent, since you also pay for a car or constant ride-hailing.
- Bali Pricier Bali sits well above the national average, and the areas are not interchangeable. Canggu is the priciest and most crowded, Uluwatu and the Bukit are getting more expensive fast, and Ubud inland is noticeably cheaper. Our full Bali page breaks it down by neighborhood.
- Lombok Mid Lombok tracks the national average. Kuta and the south-coast surf towns cost more than the inland villages, and the whole island undercuts Bali.
- Yogyakarta Cheaper Yogyakarta is one of the cheapest cities to base in: a student town where a warung meal is about $2 and a one-bed is near $300. Expect fewer Western cafes and coworking spaces than Bali, and the airport for most onward travel.
- Sumbawa Cheaper Sumbawa has the lowest rents here, around $250 for a one-bed, but it is a surf-and-fishing island with basic housing, a handful of cafes and no real coworking.
Is Indonesia expensive?
Rent, local food and a scooter are what make Indonesia cheap. Imported goods and anything aimed at tourists cost close to home. What adds up is the daily $3 to $4 Western coffee, and booking places by the night instead of signing a monthly lease.
On the Digital Nomad setting (a one-bed, coworking and eating out a few times a week) the national average is about $1,400 a month, roughly half what that month costs in a mid-size US or Australian city. Bali is about a fifth higher and has its own Bali cost of living page, while Yogyakarta is near the bottom of the range. On the same basis Indonesia is close to Thailand and a little above Vietnam.
Sending money to Indonesia
If you earn abroad, you are converting to rupiah for rent and everyday spending. A weak exchange rate plus a transfer fee can cost 3 to 5% each time, which adds up against what you save on rent and food.
Landlords here still want cash or a local bank transfer, so it is worth finding the cheapest way to move money first. Compare different providers below, then the full Indonesia money guide covers ATMs, cards and QRIS.
What you'll receive today
Compare Providers
Paying rent, using ATMs, tapping a card? See the full Indonesia money guide.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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How much do you need per month to live in Indonesia?
About $680 a month for a basic setup, $1,400 for a digital-nomad month with a one-bed and coworking, and $2,400 for a villa-and-car lifestyle, per person at the national average. Jakarta and Bali are higher; Yogyakarta and the smaller islands are lower. Use the calculator above for your own city and currency.
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Can you live in Indonesia on $1,000 a month?
Yes, comfortably in most of the country. In Yogyakarta, $1,000 covers a one-bed, local food and a scooter with room to spare. In Canggu or central Jakarta it is tight, and means cooking most meals and going easy on nightlife.
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Where is the cheapest place to live in Indonesia?
Away from the tourist and capital areas. Yogyakarta and other Java cities, plus smaller towns on Lombok and Sumbawa, have the lowest rents, often near $250 to $350 for a one-bed. Canggu in Bali and central Jakarta are the most expensive.
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Is Indonesia cheaper than Thailand or Vietnam?
On a digital-nomad budget it is close to Thailand and a bit above Vietnam. All three are cheap for local food and scooters. Indonesia's gap is its tourist hubs, mostly Bali but also Labuan Bajo, where rent and eating out cost more.
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What costs do people forget when budgeting for Indonesia?
The usual misses are health insurance and visa runs or extensions. After that it is lifestyle drift: a month of Western cafes instead of warungs, or nightly stays because you never signed a monthly lease. Rental deposits and domestic flights between islands add up too.