---
title: "Living in Makassar as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/makassar
description: "Eastern Indonesia's big port city, gateway to Toraja and Sulawesi's reefs"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Makassar, Indonesia

Makassar scores 54.7/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 774 of 1000 cities. Expect about $1,000 per month (country-level estimate), a nomad visa (Remote worker visa (E33G)), and a measured median download speed of 10.5 Mbps.

Makassar is the largest city in eastern Indonesia and the hub for Tana Toraja, Wakatobi and the rest of Sulawesi, with cheap seafood, Fort Rotterdam and the sunset promenade at Losari Beach. Internet and malls are solid, but it is hot, congested and has almost no foreign remote workers, so it works best as a stepping stone rather than a long base.

Known for: Losari Beach sunsets, Seafood, Flights across eastern Indonesia, Hot and congested.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 54.7 |
| Cost of living | 60 |
| Safety | 67 |
| Healthcare | 56 |
| Internet | 46 |
| Visa ease | 54 |
| Getting there & around | 47 |
| Climate | 42 |
| Air quality | 76 |
| Quality of life | 45 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,000 | country | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 0.41 | country | 2024 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 52.7 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 67 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 68.3 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 10.5 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 4 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Available | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | Remote worker visa (E33G) (min $5,000/mo) | country | 2026-10-04 | [^10] |
| Visa guide | [Indonesia long-stay visa guide](https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/indonesia) | country | 2026-10-04 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | visa on arrival / visa on arrival / visa on arrival | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (UPG) | 41 | city | 2026-10 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 205 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 2 / 2 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 5 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 15.9 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.728 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 26.7 | 344 | 86 | no |
| Feb | 26.7 | 249 | 85 | no |
| Mar | 27.1 | 219 | 83 | no |
| Apr | 27.6 | 156 | 81 | no |
| May | 27.7 | 83 | 80 | yes |
| Jun | 27.2 | 65 | 79 | yes |
| Jul | 26.9 | 27 | 76 | yes |
| Aug | 27.2 | 12 | 72 | yes |
| Sep | 27.9 | 26 | 69 | yes |
| Oct | 28.6 | 64 | 69 | no |
| Nov | 28.4 | 151 | 75 | no |
| Dec | 27.2 | 370 | 83 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport | UPG | 41 | 4 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 41, of which 4 international (Wikipedia, 2026-10).

## Similar cities

- [Yogyakarta](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/yogyakarta) (55.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/makassar-vs-yogyakarta)
- [Malang](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/malang) (56.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/makassar-vs-malang)
- [Labuan Bajo](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/labuan-bajo) (55.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/labuan-bajo-vs-makassar)
- [Gili Trawangan](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/gili-trawangan) (56.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/gili-trawangan-vs-makassar)
- [Manado](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/manado) (52) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/makassar-vs-manado)

## FAQ

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

A single person typically spends about $1,000 per month in Makassar (a country-level estimate for Indonesia). That is a 60/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Makassar safe for digital nomads?

Makassar scores 67/100 on safety. Indonesia records 0.41 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2024) and a political-stability score of 52.7/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Indonesia have a digital nomad visa?

Yes. Indonesia offers the Remote worker visa (E33G) with a minimum income of about $5,000 per month. Verify current rules with the issuing authority before applying. Full guide: https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/indonesia

### How fast is the internet in Makassar?

Measured median download speed in Makassar was 10.5 Mbps (upload 4 Mbps) across 204,216 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Is Starlink available in Makassar?

Yes. Starlink's availability map lists residential service as available in Indonesia (checked 2026-10), so a dish can serve as a backup line in Makassar. Check the exact address on starlink.com before ordering, since capacity varies by area.

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

Makassar is served by Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport (UPG) with 41 nonstop destinations, of which 4 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-10.

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

The most comfortable months are May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep. Mean temperatures range from 80°F (27°C) in Jan to 83°F (29°C) in Oct (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Makassar or Yogyakarta: which is better for digital nomads?

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

## Plan a trip

[Where to stay in Makassar](https://navoy.io/hotels/indonesia/makassar) on Navoy, the AI travel planner behind Nostos.

## 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]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, dataUNODC. UNODC data, free to reuse with attribution. https://data.unodc.org/datareport/hom-victim (retrieved 2026-10-12)
[^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]: Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. https://www.starlink.com/map (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^10]: Nostos long-stay visa guides, Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/visas (retrieved 2026-10-04)
[^11]: 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)
[^12]: 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)
[^13]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04), Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. CC BY 4.0. https://sites.wustl.edu/acag/surface-pm2-5/ (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^16]: OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. https://overpass-api.de/ (retrieved 2026-10-02)
[^17]: 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)
[^18]: 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/makassar