---
title: "Living in Jakarta as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/jakarta
description: "Indonesia's megacity, cheap and chaotic"
dataset: 2026.09.4 (2026-09-26)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Jakarta, Indonesia

Jakarta scores 43/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 285 of 309 cities. Expect about $1,146 per month, a nomad visa (Visa Rumah Kedua Pekerja Jarak Jauh), and a measured median download speed of 15.8 Mbps.

Jakarta is one of the cheapest megacities anywhere with a startup scene and expanding rail. Traffic, flooding and air quality are serious daily trade-offs.

Known for: Very low cost, Malls and food, Growing MRT, Traffic and floods.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 43 |
| Cost of living | 61 |
| Safety | 50 |
| Healthcare | 53 |
| Internet | 46 |
| Visa ease | 22 |
| Getting there & around | 24 |
| Climate | 50 |
| Air quality | 36 |
| Quality of life | 45 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,146 | city | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | $550 | city | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | $455 | city | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 4.1 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 55.5 | country | 2024 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 67 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 68.3 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 15.8 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 8.3 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Nomad visa | Visa Rumah Kedua Pekerja Jarak Jauh (min $4,998/mo) | country | 2026-07 | [^9] |
| Visa-free days US / EU / UK | visa or e-visa required / visa or e-visa required / visa or e-visa required | editorial | 2026-02 | [^10] |
| Non-stop destinations (CGK) | 98 | city | 2026-09 | [^11] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 1 / 3 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Comfortable months | 6 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^13] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 33.8 | city | 2021 | [^14] |
| Human Development Index | 0.728 | country | 2023 | [^15] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^16] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 26.9 | 353 | 84 | no |
| Feb | 26.8 | 386 | 86 | no |
| Mar | 27.2 | 248 | 84 | no |
| Apr | 27.6 | 197 | 83 | no |
| May | 27.8 | 141 | 83 | yes |
| Jun | 27.3 | 95 | 82 | yes |
| Jul | 26.8 | 89 | 80 | yes |
| Aug | 26.8 | 49 | 78 | yes |
| Sep | 27.5 | 66 | 76 | yes |
| Oct | 28 | 134 | 76 | yes |
| Nov | 27.9 | 198 | 79 | no |
| Dec | 27.3 | 244 | 83 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Soekarno–Hatta International Airport | CGK | 98 | 50 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 98, of which 50 international (Wikipedia, 2026-09).

## Similar cities

- [Hyderabad](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/hyderabad) (41.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/hyderabad-vs-jakarta)
- [Accra](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/accra) (39.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/accra-vs-jakarta)
- [Pokhara](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/pokhara) (38.9) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/jakarta-vs-pokhara)
- [Aqaba](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/aqaba) (43.6) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/aqaba-vs-jakarta)
- [Amman](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/amman) (46) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/amman-vs-jakarta)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Jakarta as a digital nomad?

A single person typically spends about $1,146 per month in Jakarta, renting a one-bedroom outside the centre (about $455). A central one-bedroom costs about $550, which brings the total to roughly $1,241. That is a 61/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Jakarta safe for digital nomads?

Jakarta scores 50/100 on safety. Indonesia records 4.1 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 55.5/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Indonesia have a digital nomad visa?

Yes. Indonesia offers the Visa Rumah Kedua Pekerja Jarak Jauh with a minimum income of about $4,998 per month. Verify current rules with the issuing authority before applying.

### How fast is the internet in Jakarta?

Measured median download speed in Jakarta was 15.8 Mbps (upload 8.3 Mbps) across 1,263,488 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Which airports serve Jakarta and how many nonstop flights are there?

Jakarta is served by Soekarno–Hatta International Airport (CGK) with 98 nonstop destinations, of which 50 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-09.

### When is the best time of year to be in Jakarta?

The most comfortable months are May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct. Mean temperatures range from 80°F (27°C) in Feb to 82°F (28°C) in Oct (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Jakarta or Hyderabad: which is better for digital nomads?

Hyderabad is the city with the closest factor profile to Jakarta in this dataset. Which one wins depends on your weights; the comparison page puts every factor side by side with the numbers behind them.

## Sources

[^1]: City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^2]: WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/cities (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/estimates-of-rates-of-homicides-per-100-000-population (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^5]: Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^6]: UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/uhc-index-of-service-coverage (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^7]: Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-expectancy-at-birth-(years) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^10]: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^11]: Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-24)
[^12]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^13]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8), World Health Organization. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/who-ambient-air-quality-database-(update-jun-2026) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^16]: EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. https://www.ef.com/epi/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/jakarta