How Much Does It Cost to Live In Bandung?
Generally speaking, the cost of living in Bandung is considered to be lower.
It all depends on which part of Bandung you want to live in, but generally, it is a cheaper part of Indonesia.
The cheap life is often named as one of the best parts of living in Bandung!
Still, Bandung remains a tourist destination, so you can expect it to be pricier than some other parts of Indonesia, like Yogyakarta.
Since it is a tourist destination, it has lots of fancy restaurants and cafes, and you can inadvertently find yourself spending more money than you thought you would.
Indonesia : Cost of Living by City
RESTAURANTS
Bandung has a lot of fancy restaurants and cafes where you can have a great time and spend a bit more money than eating street food. If you wander to an inexpensive restaurant, you can have a dish with some chicken, rice and eggs and pay it less than a couple of bucks. However, if you go to a mid range restaurant, expect to pay a little more. Generally, though, Bandung offers plenty of delicious and cheap food.
MARKETS
Grocery shopping is a better choice if you’re the type of tourist that likes to cook, as it is way cheaper. You can cut half (or even more) the meal budget. Of course, eating street food is always a cheap option, but if you’re someone who prefers home-cooked meals, then this is a great combo for you, as it is also cheaper. Markets and supermarkets offer affordable prices for its products.
TRANSPORTATION
People spend and awful lot of money on transportation in Bandung and other Indonesian cities and islands. This is because their cities are large and require them to travel all the time. However, transportation costs aren’t too high. Gasoline costs less than 1$ per liter, and you can buy a one-way ticket for public transportation for less than a dollar.
UTILITIES (MONTHLY)
When it comes to monthly prices of utilities, the cheapest one is definitely the price of one minute of mobile phone services. It is closely followed by the monthly price of basic utilities, including electricity, heating, cooling and water, which for a normal-sized apartment, amounts to a bit more than 20 dollars. Internet remains pricey, costing more than 50$ a month.
SPORTS & LEISURE
It’s time to have some fun! You won’t need to cash out huge amounts of money to spend quality leisure time in Bandung. You can go to a movie for a fairly low price, and if you’re into sports – pay a monthly fee for a fitness club, which is just a bit more than 20$. Of course, an hour of renting a tennis court remains expensive, as in most countries of the world.
CLOTHING & SHOES
Like everything else, shopping in Bandung is very affordable. You can buy a pair of quality jeans for as low a price as 23$, while you can buy other types of light clothing like shirts and dresses in known chain stores like Zara or H&M for less than this. Of course, sneakers and shoes of known brands like Nike remain more expensive, costing twice as much.
RENT PER MONTH
When it comes to renting an apartment, it is noticeably cheaper than in Bali, for instance. Of course, it does depend on the neighborhood where you want to rent, but regardless of the area, it is cheaper everywhere in comparison to Bali, probably due to the fact that Bandung is not such a popular tourist destination.
Cost of Living Averages Table for Bandung
*Note: All prices are indicated in USD.| Average Restaurant Prices | |
|---|---|
| Meal (Inexpensive Restaurant) | $1.72 |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 Liter) | $2.75 |
| Water (0.33 Liter) | $0.34 | Average Market Prices |
| Milk (1 Liter) | $1.17 |
| Loaf Bread (500g) | $1.20 |
| Eggs (12) | $1.22 | Average Transport Prices |
| One Way Ticket | $0.34 |
| Monthly Pass | $20.63 |
| Gasoline | $0.61 | Average Utilities Prices |
| Basic (Water, Electricity, Garbage, Heating, Cooling) | $23.12 |
| 1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local | $0.05 |
| Internet (Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) | $55.87 | Average Leisure Prices |
| Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult | $21.36 |
| Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour) | $8.25 |
| Cinema, 1 Seat, International Release | $3.44 | Average Clothing Prices |
| 1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Comparable) | $23.72 |
| 1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, etc...) | $18.84 |
| 1 Pair of Adidas Walking Shoes (Mid-Range) | $54.61 | Average Rent Prices |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Center | $175.77 |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Center | $111.00 |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Center | $383.09 |
How Does the Average Person Spend Their Money in Bandung?
Naturally, the biggest bulk of money in Bandung is spent by its citizens in markets and supermarkets – where people spend on food for a living.
The interesting thing is that the second place in the pie chart of money spending in Bandung goes to expenses of transportation.
Though people of Indonesia use transportation virtually for everything, it is still surprising that transportation is such an important part of their everyday life.
Renting expenses are next on the list, followed by restaurants and basic utilities because – like it or not, bills have to be paid.
As in other Indonesian countries, more money is spent on sports and leisure than on shopping for clothes.
Average Costs Breakdown
Bandung: Average Salary, Minimum Wage & Mortgages
With an extremely low minimum wage of just above 100$, all the necessary costs for a normal life in Bandung cannot possibly be covered.
Even though the average salary is a bit higher, it is still hard to make ends meet for citizens of Bandung.
If you’re planning on visiting Bandung for a longer amount of time, count on cashing out at least 500$ a month so that you could live in normal conditions.
The average salary in Bandung is twice the minimum wage, but it is still not enough to cover the rent expenses, bills, utilities, food and clothing.
For tourists, Bandung will be a very pleasant surprise, however, due to its low prices in comparison to the western countries.
Bandung Safety Overview
READ THE FULL REPORT: Bandung Safety Review
Safety Index:
- OVERALL RISK: LOW
- TRANSPORT & TAXIS RISK: MEDIUM
- PICKPOCKETS RISK: MEDIUM
- NATURAL DISASTERS RISK: MEDIUM
- MUGGING RISK: LOW
- TERRORISM RISK: MEDIUM
- SCAMS RISK: MEDIUM
- WOMEN TRAVELERS RISK: LOW
Cost of Living by City in Bandung
| City | Cost of Living Index |
|---|---|
| Bali | 31.2 |
| Jakarta | 31.2 |
| Surabaya | 35.72 |
| Yogyakarta | 34.91 |
