---
title: "Living in Surabaya as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/surabaya
description: "Indonesia's second city, business-first and cheap"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Surabaya, Indonesia

Surabaya scores 49.5/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 885 of 1000 cities. Expect about $922 per month, a nomad visa (Remote worker visa (E33G)), and a measured median download speed of 14.5 Mbps.

Surabaya is Indonesia's second city, a hot, busy port with modern malls, cheap food and almost no tourists. It is a practical base for East Java and Mount Bromo, but traffic is heavy and there is little of Bali's nomad infrastructure.

Known for: Cheap living, Few tourists, Gateway to Bromo, Heat and traffic.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 49.5 |
| Cost of living | 63 |
| Safety | 67 |
| Healthcare | 56 |
| Internet | 52 |
| Visa ease | 54 |
| Getting there & around | 47 |
| Climate | 25 |
| Air quality | 37 |
| Quality of life | 45 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $922 | city | 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 | [^5] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 52.7 | country | 2025 | [^6] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 67 | country | 2023 | [^7] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 68.3 | country | 2021 | [^8] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 14.5 | city | 2024 | [^9] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 5.7 | city | 2024 | [^9] |
| Starlink residential service | Available | country | 2026-10 | [^10] |
| Nomad visa | Remote worker visa (E33G) (min $5,000/mo) | country | 2026-10-04 | [^11] |
| Visa guide | [Indonesia long-stay visa guide](https://nostos.navoy.io/visas/indonesia) | country | 2026-10-04 | [^11] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | visa on arrival / visa on arrival / visa on arrival | country | 2026-02 | [^12] |
| Non-stop destinations (SUB) | 41 | city | 2026-10 | [^13] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 128 | city | 2026-10 | [^17] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 2 / 2 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^14] |
| Comfortable months | 3 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^15] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 33.3 | city | 2023 | [^16] |
| Human Development Index | 0.728 | country | 2023 | [^18] |
| English proficiency band | low | country | 2024 | [^19] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 27.1 | 337 | 85 | no |
| Feb | 27 | 316 | 86 | no |
| Mar | 27.3 | 272 | 84 | no |
| Apr | 27.8 | 193 | 82 | no |
| May | 28 | 123 | 80 | yes |
| Jun | 27.7 | 74 | 77 | yes |
| Jul | 27.6 | 35 | 72 | yes |
| Aug | 28.2 | 11 | 65 | no |
| Sep | 29.4 | 18 | 61 | no |
| Oct | 29.8 | 63 | 64 | no |
| Nov | 29 | 140 | 73 | no |
| Dec | 27.7 | 300 | 82 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Juanda International Airport | SUB | 41 | 11 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 41, of which 11 international (Wikipedia, 2026-10).

## Similar cities

- [Medan](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/medan) (47.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/medan-vs-surabaya)
- [Semarang](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/semarang) (50.8) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/semarang-vs-surabaya)
- [Jakarta](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/jakarta) (52.6) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/jakarta-vs-surabaya)
- [Khiva](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/khiva) (46.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/khiva-vs-surabaya)
- [Bukhara](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/bukhara) (45.6) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/bukhara-vs-surabaya)

## FAQ

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

A single person typically spends about $922 per month in Surabaya. That is a 63/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Surabaya safe for digital nomads?

Surabaya 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 Surabaya?

Measured median download speed in Surabaya was 14.5 Mbps (upload 5.7 Mbps) across 553,788 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 Surabaya?

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 Surabaya. Check the exact address on starlink.com before ordering, since capacity varies by area.

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

Surabaya is served by Juanda International Airport (SUB) with 41 nonstop destinations, of which 11 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-10.

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

The most comfortable months are May, Jun, Jul. Mean temperatures range from 81°F (27°C) in Feb to 86°F (30°C) in Oct (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Surabaya or Medan: which is better for digital nomads?

Medan is the city with the closest factor profile to Surabaya 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 Surabaya](https://navoy.io/hotels/indonesia/surabaya) 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]: WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/cities (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]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^5]: 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)
[^6]: 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)
[^7]: 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)
[^8]: 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)
[^9]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^10]: Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. https://www.starlink.com/map (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^11]: Nostos long-stay visa guides, Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/visas (retrieved 2026-10-04)
[^12]: 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)
[^13]: 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)
[^14]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^16]: 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)
[^17]: OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. https://overpass-api.de/ (retrieved 2026-10-02)
[^18]: 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)
[^19]: 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/surabaya