Cost of living comparison

compared to

Medan vs. Indonesia Cost of Living Summary

Medan is 8.7% more expensive than Indonesia overall.

Restaurants: pay 13.2% less in Medan
Groceries: pay 15.6% less in Medan
Transportation: pay 11.7% less in Medan
Housing: pay 0.8% more in Medan
Childcare: pay 45.6% more in Medan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.2% less in Medan
Clothing: pay 60.0% more in Medan

The cost of clothing, childcare, and housing in Medan are more expensive than in Indonesia. Expenses including groceries, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Medan.

Medan vs. Indonesia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Medan instead of Indonesia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 13.2% less for restaurants

	Indonesia	Medan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.75 IDR29,172.01	$1.79 IDR29,811.16	+2.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.16 IDR52,561.93	$3.13 IDR52,169.52	-0.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 IDR10,058.79	$0.40 IDR6,707.51	-33.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.32 IDR5,338.30	$0.25 IDR4,223.25	-20.9%
Average			-13.2%

Indonesia vs. Medan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.6% less for groceries

	Indonesia	Medan
Bread 1 loaf	$1.20 IDR19,939.01	$1.12 IDR18,631.97	-6.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.49 IDR74,765.91	$4.66 IDR77,509.01	+3.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.86 IDR80,843.18	$4.43 IDR73,821.09	-8.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.56 IDR26,027.11	$1.49 IDR24,842.63	-4.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.37 IDR22,790.19	$1.68 IDR27,945.73	+22.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.18 IDR19,692.30	$1.00 IDR16,677.29	-15.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 IDR10,633.04	$0.45 IDR7,512.29	-29.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 IDR13,673.29	$0.66 IDR10,967.95	-19.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 IDR10,011.41	$0.40 IDR6,685.94	-33.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 IDR9,536.15	$0.32 IDR5,258.61	-44.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.88 IDR14,587.54	$0.56 IDR9,390.37	-35.6%
Average			-15.6%

Indonesia vs. Medan - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.7% less for transportation

	Indonesia	Medan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.89 IDR48,096.34	$3.10 IDR51,558.78	+7.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.28 IDR187,740.42	$9.55 IDR158,992.83	-15.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,317.01 IDR421,473,804.46	$26,860.37 IDR447,167,346.37	+6.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.00 IDR66,634.48	$2.21 IDR36,767.09	-44.8%
Average			-11.7%

Indonesia vs. Medan - Cost of transportation

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pay 0.8% more for housing

	Indonesia	Medan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.83 IDR363,423.85	$32.81 IDR546,289.44	+50.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$278.11 IDR4,629,867.18	$189.02 IDR3,146,733.51	-32.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$163.62 IDR2,723,842.74	$95.50 IDR1,589,928.34	-41.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$48.30 IDR804,165.01	$61.15 IDR1,018,014.34	+26.6%
Average			+0.8%

Indonesia vs. Medan - Cost of housing

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pay 45.6% more for childcare

	Indonesia	Medan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$103.11 IDR1,716,627.24	$121.37 IDR2,020,533.94	+17.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,023.79 IDR100,283,149.85	$10,445.70 IDR173,898,412.48	+73.4%
Average			+45.6%

Indonesia vs. Medan - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Indonesia	Medan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.64 IDR44,026.51	$1.49 IDR24,842.63	-43.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.59 IDR26,431.16	$1.72 IDR28,569.02	+8.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.30 IDR38,354.08	$2.39 IDR39,748.21	+3.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$24.24 IDR403,489.78	$22.88 IDR380,920.33	-5.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.08 IDR51,241.23	$3.43 IDR57,138.05	+11.5%
Average			-5.2%

Indonesia vs. Medan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 60.0% more for clothing

	Indonesia	Medan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$42.70 IDR710,856.45	$63.65 IDR1,059,620.99	+49.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.41 IDR473,014.50	$41.78 IDR695,593.65	+47.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.59 IDR1,158,583.69	$113.41 IDR1,888,039.91	+63.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$66.00 IDR1,098,704.76	$119.38 IDR1,987,410.43	+80.9%
Average			+60.0%

Indonesia vs. Medan - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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