2.43/5
355 reviews
Photo by Muhammad Rizki via Unsplash

Cost of Living in Jakarta

To increase honesty, reviews are anonymous. You can only add one review per city or it replaces/edits your old one. Reviews with URLs or emails are removed. If you're writing about data being wrong, please don't do it here as it'll be removed here.

good

traffic

absolutely

beautiful

food

bali

quality

air

drive

kind

great

malls

big

speak

walk

rest

smug

Jakarta receives very mixed feedback. Many reviewers highlight the heavy pollution and traffic congestion as major issues. Pedestrian infrastructure is lacking, and walking anywhere can feel unsafe. The city is often described as overcrowded and loud, making it hard to find a good place to work or relax. English is not widely spoken, which may make navigation and communication difficult for some. Long-term stays are also reported to be expensive due to high visa fees and costly daily expenses like dining and alcohol. The local food scene was criticized by some for its low quality, aside from a few popular dishes like nasi goreng and satay. Additionally, social interactions were cited as uncomfortable at times, with some perceiving the local behavior as smug or unfriendly.

On the positive side, the skyline at night is highlighted as beautiful, and transportation is quite cheap and convenient with options like Gojek bike taxis. There are plenty of shopping malls and restaurants that cater to a wide range of tastes. For some visitors, the friendliness of locals and nearby getaways like Bogor provide balance to the city's negatives. However, it’s clear that Jakarta might not be ideal for everyone, especially those looking for ease of communication or clean air.

AI-generated summary of reviews

I'm so surprised to see all these comments. I absolutely love Jakarta !
You can take a gojek bike taxi for 1$ and they bring you anywhere. The skyline is beautiful at night. The food is good. The people are kind and always smiling...
I prefer Jakarta to Bali ! And I've been multiple times in both. For sure it's a city with many skyscrapers, so the quality of the air is not great. But you can drive out of the city and have absolutely beautiful mountains and rice fields (such as Bogor).
In the city center there are many malls with all the big brands you know of. So many delicious restaurants too.
It is true that sometimes people dont speak English but... what's the point of travelling to Asia if you want absolutely everyone to speak the same language as you ?

1 year ago

The ugliest city I've ever set foot in. It is very polluted. Developers are obsessed with "European" style building because it looks "rich". There are an endless amount of shopping malls with new ones coming, which get old quickly. "Parks" here are more of an afterthought, not a legitimate park. Gated communities are the fabric of the city so you must drive or walk through the main roads that are jam-packed with traffic. In other words, the city is made up of exclusive pockets of housing areas that are unintegrated with the rest of the city, meanwhile, the rest are slums. People are (as a previous review mentioned) smug, pretentious, and deeply insecure about themselves but manifested outwardly as being rude. Traffic is a problem in itself but to drive here is entirely another subgenre. To give you an idea about the mentality of the people here; nobody will do anything if there's someone dying in an ambulance. Not a single car would give way for an ambulance or pedestrians crossing the road. Speaking of pedestrians, the city is extremely unsafe to walk.

2 years ago

Skip this place and go to Bali right away. This city only looks beautiful in tourism videos but ugly in person. It is dusty and smelly.

3 years ago

Some things I don't like about Jakarta-
1. Not much English spoken
2. Everything is overpriced especially food and alcohol.
3. People are weird, smug, rude and kind of r-cist actually.
4. The food isnt good except for nasi goreng and satay and most of it is low quality.
5. Everywhere is crowded and locals are loud so good luck finding a place to work.
6. Visas are costly and difficult if you want to stay long term.

4 years ago

"Don't go to Jakarta" is what people from Jakarta tell you.

But you do. It can't be that bad, right? Then you arrive. Although "arriving" is a big word for getting stuck in traffic first for hours. When you do finally arrive in your apartment, you open the windows and wonder why you can't see further than 10 meters. It must be a foggy day? No, it's not fog, it's smog, and it's an every day occurrence in Jakarta, a city that is now competing with Beijing for worst air quality in the world.

What's good about Jakarta? It's one of the few places in Indonesia (except maybe Bali) that's open-minded. Jakartans are friendly, helpful and warm acting as if Jakarta is still just a small Indonesian village and that's great. It's also one of the fastest growing cities in Asia. It's cosmopolitan. But all that doesn't weigh up to the negatives that is Jakarta right now.

Clean up the air, fix the traffic, and Jakarta might be liveable in a decade.

"Don't go to Jakarta" is what people from Jakarta tell you. They're right.

7 years ago

✅ Affordable transportation

✅ Beautiful skyline

✅ Affordable to live

✅ Very safe

✅ Lots of fun stuff to do

✅ Warm now

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Easy to make friends

✅ Easy to do business

✅ Good hospitals

✅ Democratic

✅ Safe for women

✅ Not a lot of alcohol abuse

❌ Very polluted

❌ Rude locals

❌ Poor pedestrian safety

❌ Expensive for long-term stay

❌ Overcrowded and noisy

❌ Limited English proficiency

❌ Low food quality

❌ Heavy traffic

❌ Freedom of speech is weak

❌ Pretty slow internet

❌ Bad air quality today

❌ Nomads.com members really didn't like going here

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Feels crowded

❌ Quality of education is low

❌ Roads can be dangerous

❌ People don't speak English well

❌ Not family friendly

❌ Hostile towards LGBTQ+

❌ Many people smoke tobacco

❌ Marijuana is illegal

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

31°C / 88°F hot

33°C / 91°F hot

36°C / 97°F hot

37°C / 99°F hot

35°C / 95°F hot

36°C / 97°F hot

37°C / 99°F hot

35°C / 95°F hot

33°C / 91°F hot

Real (median)

28°C / 82°F
very warm

29°C / 84°F
very warm

30°C / 86°F
very warm

31°C / 87°F
hot

30°C / 85°F
very warm

31°C / 87°F
hot

30°C / 86°F
very warm

29°C / 84°F
very warm

Humidity

sweaty
77%

sweaty
71%

sweaty
75%

sweaty
74%

sweaty
75%

nice
70%

sweaty
72%

sweaty
71%

nice
70%

sweaty
73%

sweaty
75%

Most common

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

Rain

rainy
275mm

rainy
318mm

rainy
236mm

rainy
208mm

rainy
127mm

rainy
94mm

dry
50mm

rainy
51mm

rainy
64mm

rainy
141mm

rainy
202mm

rainy
250mm

Cloud

cloudy
62%

cloudy
59%

cloudy
52%

pockets
47%

pockets
44%

pockets
35%

pockets
37%

pockets
44%

pockets
50%

cloudy
58%

cloudy
55%

Air quality

okay
69 US AQI

okay
87 US AQI

okay
86 US AQI

bad
106 US AQI

bad
135 US AQI

bad
129 US AQI

bad
147 US AQI

bad
137 US AQI

bad
129 US AQI

bad
134 US AQI

bad
120 US AQI

bad
109 US AQI

Sun

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

Remote workers

855 people

662 people

877 people

667 people

900 people

655 people

1,260 people

629 people

727 people

738 people

980 people

917 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Jakarta's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

	Member of Product Atlas Settlement @ Anchorage Digital
	Senior Software Engineer Full Stack @ Cyngn
	Sales Operations @ Anchorage Digital
	Product Engineer Frontend @ Quash
	Project Coordinator @ Lead Bank
	Associate Program Manager @ Lead Bank
	Manager Maintenance @ Commonwealth Fusion Systems
	Software Engineer Infrastructure @ Gauntlet
	Software Engineer Data @ Gauntlet
	Software Engineer III Frontend @ Shippo
	HQ Senior Frontend Engineer @ Job&Talent

Help pick the best photos for Jakarta and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

154pts

83pts

41pts

38pts

37pts

31pts

12pts

10pts

9pts

7pts

5pts

4pts

3pts

124pts

80pts

39pts

37pts

33pts

29pts

10pts

9pts

8pts

6pts

5pts

4pts

3pts

87pts

41pts

39pts

37pts

32pts

26pts

10pts

9pts

7pts

6pts

5pts

4pts

$897 / mo

8 Mbps

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🙂 Good

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 33° 91° 29° 83°

✈️1h

$4,243 / mo

🌇 Also went here212 people

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.43/5 (Rank #456) 355 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍3 liked it 👎6 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Okay
👶 Family score	Okay
🎒 Community score	Okay
💵 Cost	😙 Affordable: $1,176 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 9Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Good
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥵 Too hot: 32°C90°F (feels 40°C104°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	😊 Comfy: 67%
💨 Air quality (now)	😷 Unhealthy : 157 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	😷 Unhealthy for some: 129 US AQI
👌 Safety	Great
🤮 Food safety*	Okay
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Great
🤝 Lack of racism*	Great
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Good
💰 Income level*	Very low: $298 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Okay
😤 People density	🤨 Busy: 14k ppl/km² (1 per 8x8m)
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Bad
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Good
😄 Happiness*	Okay
🍸 Nightlife	Okay
📶 Free WiFi in city	Okay
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Okay
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Okay
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Okay
👩 Female friendly	Okay
🌈 LGBTQ+ friendly	Bad
🎅 Startup Score	Okay

🌍 Continent	Asia
🚩 Country	Indonesia
🗓️ Average trip length	6 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	9 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌦 32°C 90°F + 😊 Comfy (67%) = feels 40°C 104°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👎☠️ 157 US AQI = 🚬 🚬 / day
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎☠️ 129 US AQI = 🚬 🚬 / day
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	GoJEK
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 100,000 IDR in USD	USD 6.05
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	IDR 1,000,000 = USD 60
💸 Tipping	Yes, 7.50%
💳 Cashless	💵 No, cash only (esp. for foreigners)
💻 Best coworking space	Comma
☕️ Best coffee place	Anomali Coffee
☕️ Best alt. coffee place	Reading Room
🏪 Best 24/7 coffee place	Dapur Indonesia Restaurant & Cafe
🚰 Tap water	🚫 No, not drinkable
♻️ Return rate	👍12% of visitors return
📸 Visitors per year	3,587,500 visitors
📸 Tourists now	68,754 tourists
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	10,000,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$3,570 / year
😤 Population density	🤨 busy: 8x8m (64m²) per person
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 51% 👱‍♀️ 49%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 52% 👱‍♀️ 48%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 84% 👱‍♀️ 16%
⛪️ Religious government	Religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Tokopedia
🏠 Apartment listings	Agoda
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Lion
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Garuda
🏥 Best hospital	RS Pondok Indah

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$1,176 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$936 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$2,333 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$666 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$245 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,140 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$520 / month
🏠 Median home price	$90,291
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$11 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$37 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$172 / month
🍛 Dinner	$3
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$2
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$2
👩‍🏫 International school	$9,161 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$15 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$1 / trip