Living in Bali

Indonesia's main remote-work hub: the province of Bali (~4.4m residents), centred on Denpasar and the South Bali/Ubud expat strip. Hot and humid year-round with a wet season roughly Nov–Mar, very low recorded crime, cheap-to-mid living, and a deep pool of IB and Cambridge international schools — but modest fixed-broadband speeds nationally.

Verified Jul 4, 2026

At a glance

The headline numbers for Bali — each with its own source and freshness. A live official figure is not the same as a survey estimate or a 30-year climate normal.

What the tags meanofficial — live figure from a government or authorityopen data — open dataset (Eurostat, EEA, M-Lab, UdSC…)survey — survey or index estimatecurated — SettleMetric-assembled estimate — open the source for the method

Cost of living

BPS — Pengeluaran untuk Konsumsi Penduduk Indonesia, Maret 2024 (per-capita expenditure), scaled to a single urban resident basket

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Mar 31, 2024
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: BPS March-2024 average per-capita monthly expenditure is Rp 1,500,556 nationally (urban Rp 1,737,427), split food/non-food — but that is a rural-weighted per-capita floor far below a foreign remote worker's outlay. Curated single-person, non-rent urban (Jakarta-level) basket — groceries, eating out, transport/ride-hailing, utilities, mobile+home internet, modest leisure — sits around USD 650–750/month; recorded midpoint USD 700. NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW: this is a modelled basket anchored on BPS composition, not a single official basket figure; refine with itemised BPS urban non-food lines and current retail prices next cycle.

$700/mo

2024curated

Rent, 1–3 bed

Visa Indonesia — Bali Rental Cost 2026 (long-term ranges by unit size and area)

Research

Data as of: Jun 30, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Midpoints of the guide's long-term IDR ranges, converted at 17,954 IDR/USD (2026-07-03). 'center' = South Bali nomad/expat hotspot (Canggu/Berawa/Seminyak): studio 10–30m→mid 20m ($1,114), 1BR 13–35m→24m ($1,337), 2BR 17–55m→36m ($2,005), 3BR (Bali mid-range 29–70m→~40m, $2,228). 'outside' = Denpasar and quieter residential Bali: studio 3.5–8m→5.75m ($320), 1BR 7–15m→11m ($613), 2BR 12–25m→18.5m ($1,030), 3BR (Bali budget 14–28m→21m, $1,170).
Notes: 'center'/'outside' here mean South Bali expat hotspots vs. Denpasar/quieter areas — Bali has no single CBD, so this maps location to demand tier rather than distance from a centre. All cells are DERIVED from published area ranges (range midpoints), not directly observed averages; 3BR uses Bali-wide tier figures (no per-area 3BR breakdown published). Furnished holiday-let rates are much higher; these are yearly-lease. See the rent-1br-center NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW note on source quality.

$613–$2,228

/mo

2026survey

Freelancer tax

SettleMetric tax engine over official DJP rules (pajak.go.id: NPPN + PPh Pasal 17 + PTKP)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jan 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Best cleanly-eligible scheme id-nppn-freelancer at €60,000 = 1,232,521,200 IDR (ECB 20,542.02 IDR/EUR). NPPN professional-services norm 50% → net income 616,260,600; minus PTKP TK/0 54,000,000 → PKP 562,260,600; progressive PPh (5/15/25/30%) = 112,678,180 IDR → 9.14% ≈ 9.1%. The 0.5% MSME final tax would give ~0.3% but its 7-year window and professional-services exclusion make it unreliable for a newly-registered foreign IT freelancer, so NPPN is the recorded best. Single filer; NPPN KLU-62 norm pending manual confirmation (50% vs 62.5% — see scheme notes).

9.1%

2026curated

Safety

UNODC via World Bank (Intentional homicides per 100,000 people, Indonesia)

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2022
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: Latest available UNODC-sourced value is 0.30 per 100,000 for 2022 (World Bank series VC.IHR.PSRC.P5, sourced from the UNODC Data Portal). Indonesia's recorded intentional-homicide rate is very low by global standards; reporting has gaps between years.

0.3/100k

2022open data

Air quality

WHO Ambient Air Quality Database — Denpasar, Indonesia (annual mean PM2.5)

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2019
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: Latest citable annual-mean PM2.5 for Denpasar is ~19.4 µg/m³ (2019-vintage, WHO Ambient Air Quality Database) — reported as the cleanest air among Indonesian cities and within the national standard, but ~4× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³). NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW: no 2022–2024 city annual mean for Denpasar/Bali could be verified — Bali is absent from the IQAir 2023 World Air Quality Report city tables (insufficient qualifying monitoring that year) and no newer official BMKG/KLHK Bali annual PM2.5 series was located. Value kept for continuity but is stale; re-verify against the next WHO database update or a Bali provincial monitoring release. Bali has no heavy industry and readings run below Jakarta/Java, though dry-season crop and rubbish burning cause local spikes.

19.4 µg/m³

2019open data

Internet

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Indonesia (2023)

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2023
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Median download ≈ 9.3–9.8 Mbps across the 2023 daily country medians (~4.3M tests) from M-Lab's public NDT statistics API; recorded midpoint 9.5 Mbps. 2024/2026 aggregate files were not retrievable at the time of check.
Notes: M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads far below Ookla-style figures (Ookla put Indonesia fixed broadband ~28–41 Mbps in 2024–2025) — comparable only within this criterion, never mixed with Ookla.

10 Mbps

2023open data

English

EF EPI 2025 — Indonesia rank 80/123, score 471 (Low Proficiency band)

Research

Data as of: Nov 1, 2025
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): Indonesia scores 471 (Low band) nationally, though Jakarta scores 523 (Moderate). Bahasa Indonesia is the sole official language; English is workable in tourist/expat zones (Bali, South Jakarta) and among younger professionals, but limited in government offices and everyday services nationwide → 'low'.

Low

2025survey

Private health

International private medical insurers (Cigna Global, Allianz Care, AXA, William Russell) — comprehensive outpatient+inpatient plans; quote on request

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jul 4, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Comprehensive (outpatient + inpatient, ~USD 1m+ annual limit, small deductible) international/IPMI plans for a healthy 35-year-old resident foreigner in Indonesia are commonly quoted around USD 200–500/month; a mid-tier comprehensive plan midpoint ≈ USD 300/month ≈ USD 3,600/year. Premiums are quoted on request (age/coverage/evacuation dependent), so this is a curated market midpoint, not a public engine quote. Local BPJS Kesehatan (mandatory public scheme for KITAS holders) is far cheaper but not a comprehensive private-cover equivalent.

$3,600/yr

2026curated

Population 4,433,300 · Asia/Makassar · country-level facts (taxes, visas, crypto) inherited from Indonesia

What it costs you per month

A planning estimate: real asking rent plus a cost-of-living basket scaled to your household. Not a quote.

Household

Lifestyle

Location

Estimated total

$1,313/mo

≈ $15,756 / year

Where it goes

Rent (1-bed)$613
Food & groceries$220
Restaurants & eating out$120
Transport (ride-hailing + public)$90
Recreation & culture$90
Utilities (electricity, water, gas)$70
Household & personal goods$70
Mobile + home internet$40
Living costs$700

Rent from the asking-rent matrix below. Living costs scale a one-person basket ($700/mo) by household size and lifestyle; the equivalence factors are our assumption. Schooling and one-off setup are excluded.

Cost of living

What a single person spends each month — food, utilities, transport, eating out and the rest — excluding rent.

Typical monthly spending (national average)

BPS Household consumption composition (Maret 2024), curated into a single urban-resident basket

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Mar 31, 2024
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Category split follows the BPS food/non-food consumption structure, sized to the ~USD 700/mo single-person non-rent aggregate for an urban (Jakarta-level) resident. Illustrative allocation, not an official line-item table — see the NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW note on cost-of-living-single.

total 700 USD/mo

Food & groceries220 USD

Restaurants & eating out120 USD

Transport (ride-hailing + public)90 USD

Recreation & culture90 USD

Utilities (electricity, water, gas)70 USD

Household & personal goods70 USD

Mobile + home internet40 USD

Indonesia's household-budget basket for a single person, excluding rent. Non-rent costs vary little between cities — the city-specific part is rent, shown under Housing below.

Criterion	Value	Score
Cost of living (single, excl. rent)country-level	700USD/month, single person, excluding rent i BPS — Pengeluaran untuk Konsumsi Penduduk Indonesia, Maret 2024 (per-capita expenditure), scaled to a single urban resident basket Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Mar 31, 2024 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Method BPS March-2024 average per-capita monthly expenditure is Rp 1,500,556 nationally (urban Rp 1,737,427), split food/non-food — but that is a rural-weighted per-capita floor far below a foreign remote worker's outlay. Curated single-person, non-rent urban (Jakarta-level) basket — groceries, eating out, transport/ride-hailing, utilities, mobile+home internet, modest leisure — sits around USD 650–750/month; recorded midpoint USD 700. NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW: this is a modelled basket anchored on BPS composition, not a single official basket figure; refine with itemised BPS urban non-food lines and current retail prices next cycle.	9.0

Housing

What it costs to rent, by apartment type and location.

Asking rent by apartment type & location

Visa Indonesia — Bali Rental Cost 2026 (long-term ranges by unit size and area)

Research

Data as of: Jun 30, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Midpoints of the guide's long-term IDR ranges, converted at 17,954 IDR/USD (2026-07-03). 'center' = South Bali nomad/expat hotspot (Canggu/Berawa/Seminyak): studio 10–30m→mid 20m ($1,114), 1BR 13–35m→24m ($1,337), 2BR 17–55m→36m ($2,005), 3BR (Bali mid-range 29–70m→~40m, $2,228). 'outside' = Denpasar and quieter residential Bali: studio 3.5–8m→5.75m ($320), 1BR 7–15m→11m ($613), 2BR 12–25m→18.5m ($1,030), 3BR (Bali budget 14–28m→21m, $1,170).
Notes: 'center'/'outside' here mean South Bali expat hotspots vs. Denpasar/quieter areas — Bali has no single CBD, so this maps location to demand tier rather than distance from a centre. All cells are DERIVED from published area ranges (range midpoints), not directly observed averages; 3BR uses Bali-wide tier figures (no per-area 3BR breakdown published). Furnished holiday-let rates are much higher; these are yearly-lease. See the rent-1br-center NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW note on source quality.

Apartment	Central	Outside centre
Studio	1,114 USD/mo	320 USD/mo
1-bedroom	1,337 USD/mo	613 USD/mo
2-bedroom	2,005 USD/mo	1,030 USD/mo
3-bedroom	2,228 USD/mo	1,170 USD/mo

'center'/'outside' here mean South Bali expat hotspots vs. Denpasar/quieter areas — Bali has no single CBD, so this maps location to demand tier rather than distance from a centre. All cells are DERIVED from published area ranges (range midpoints), not directly observed averages; 3BR uses Bali-wide tier figures (no per-area 3BR breakdown published). Furnished holiday-let rates are much higher; these are yearly-lease. See the rent-1br-center NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW note on source quality.

Climate

Temperature and rainfall through the year, plus air quality.

Monthly normals — Bali

NOAA/NCEI WMO Climatological Standard Normals 1991–2020, station Ngurah Rai / Denpasar (WMO 97230), accession 0253808 — with mean-daily-max/min and precipitation from the same Ngurah Rai airport 1991–2020 series

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Dec 31, 2020
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Anchor: the public-domain NOAA/NCEI WMO 1991–2020 file for Ngurah Rai (station 97230) gives mean daily temperature (Jan 27.8 … Aug 26.1 … Nov 28.0 °C) but records precipitation and mean-daily-max/min as NA (BMKG did not submit them to WMO). tMax/tMin and monthly precipitation are the Ngurah Rai airport 1991–2020 station series (Denpasar/Ngurah Rai, the same WMO station), cross-validated: the (tMax+tMin)/2 midpoints reproduce the NOAA official 1991–2020 mean daily temperatures to within ~0.2–0.4 °C every month, confirming they represent the same station and period. Recorded as curated because tMax/tMin/precip are not in the public-domain WMO CSV itself.
Notes: Single station: Ngurah Rai International Airport (South Bali), the standard reference for Denpasar/South Bali climate. Hot and humid all year; pronounced wet season Nov–Mar (Jan ~350 mm) and dry season Jun–Sep (Aug ~15 mm). Upland Bali (Ubud, Bedugul) is cooler and wetter than this coastal-airport normal.

Daytime high °CNighttime low °CRainfall mm

Average day/night temperature (lines, left axis) and total rainfall (bars, right axis) for each month — 1991–2020 normals. Hover a month for exact figures.

Month by month
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Daytime high °C	30.8°	31.0°	31.1°	31.2°	30.7°	29.9°	29.2°	29.2°	30.1°	31.1°	31.7°	31.0°
Nighttime low °C	24.8°	24.8°	24.8°	24.8°	24.5°	24.1°	23.8°	23.5°	23.6°	24.4°	25.0°	25.1°
Rainfall mm	350	280	215	90	75	70	50	15	40	90	150	290

Criterion	Value	Score
Climate comfort	0pleasant months/year i SettleMetric computation over climate-normals (Ngurah Rai 1991–2020) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2020 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Method Criterion rule: months with mean daily maximum 15–28 °C AND precipitation < 150 mm. Bali's coldest month (Jul/Aug) still has a mean daily max of 29.2 °C, so NO month falls inside the 15–28 °C max window → 0 pleasant months by this temperate-comfort metric. This flags Bali as consistently hot/humid, not that it is unpleasant — the raw normals are shown so users judge by their own taste (many nomads prefer exactly this warmth).	0.0
Air quality (PM2.5)	19.4µg/m³, annual mean PM2.5 i WHO Ambient Air Quality Database — Denpasar, Indonesia (annual mean PM2.5) Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2019 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Notes Latest citable annual-mean PM2.5 for Denpasar is ~19.4 µg/m³ (2019-vintage, WHO Ambient Air Quality Database) — reported as the cleanest air among Indonesian cities and within the national standard, but ~4× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³). NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW: no 2022–2024 city annual mean for Denpasar/Bali could be verified — Bali is absent from the IQAir 2023 World Air Quality Report city tables (insufficient qualifying monitoring that year) and no newer official BMKG/KLHK Bali annual PM2.5 series was located. Value kept for continuity but is stale; re-verify against the next WHO database update or a Bali provincial monitoring release. Bali has no heavy industry and readings run below Jakarta/Java, though dry-season crop and rubbish burning cause local spikes.	4.2

Safety

How safe daily life is, from official crime statistics.

Criterion	Value	Score
Homicide ratecountry-level	0.3intentional homicides per 100,000/year i UNODC via World Bank (Intentional homicides per 100,000 people, Indonesia) Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2022 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Notes Latest available UNODC-sourced value is 0.30 per 100,000 for 2022 (World Bank series VC.IHR.PSRC.P5, sourced from the UNODC Data Portal). Indonesia's recorded intentional-homicide rate is very low by global standards; reporting has gaps between years.	10.0

Infrastructure

Internet speed and how parcels get to your door.

Criterion	Value	Score
Domestic delivery qualitycountry-level	Good i Pos Indonesia + major private carriers (JNE, J&T, SiCepat, Ninja Xpress, GoSend/GrabExpress) service coverage (composite) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 4, 2026 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Method Dense, competitive parcel market: Pos Indonesia (national operator) plus JNE, J&T Express, SiCepat, Ninja Xpress and on-demand couriers (GoSend, GrabExpress) give 1–3 day delivery in Java and major cities and same-day intra-city; tracking is standard. Reach to remote islands is slower and address quality is uneven, so 'good' rather than 'excellent'. Parcel-locker networks are limited vs Europe.	7.0
International delivery easecountry-level	Significant friction i Indonesian Customs (Bea Cukai) / Ministry of Finance — de-minimis lowered to USD 3 FOB (PMK 4/2025) Official source Data as of Jan 1, 2025 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Notes Major carriers (DHL, FedEx, UPS) serve Indonesia, but the duty-free de-minimis is only USD 3 FOB per shipment (lowered from USD 75; tiered import duty 0/15/25% plus 11% VAT above that), and customs clearance on personal imports is frequently slow with brokerage fees. Low de-minimis + routine customs handling → 'significant-friction'. NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW: re-confirm the exact current PMK reference and threshold on beacukai.go.id (fetch was blocked; USD 3 figure cross-read from customs-guidance sources citing PMK 4/2025).	4.0
Internet speedcountry-level	9.5Mbps, median fixed download i M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Indonesia (2023) Open data Data as of Dec 31, 2023 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Method Median download ≈ 9.3–9.8 Mbps across the 2023 daily country medians (~4.3M tests) from M-Lab's public NDT statistics API; recorded midpoint 9.5 Mbps. 2024/2026 aggregate files were not retrievable at the time of check. Notes M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads far below Ookla-style figures (Ookla put Indonesia fixed broadband ~28–41 Mbps in 2024–2025) — comparable only within this criterion, never mixed with Ookla.	0.0

Healthcare

What comprehensive private medical cover costs.

Criterion	Value	Score
Private healthcare costcountry-level	3,600USD/year, comprehensive private insurance premium, healthy 35-year-old i International private medical insurers (Cigna Global, Allianz Care, AXA, William Russell) — comprehensive outpatient+inpatient plans; quote on request Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 4, 2026 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Method Comprehensive (outpatient + inpatient, ~USD 1m+ annual limit, small deductible) international/IPMI plans for a healthy 35-year-old resident foreigner in Indonesia are commonly quoted around USD 200–500/month; a mid-tier comprehensive plan midpoint ≈ USD 300/month ≈ USD 3,600/year. Premiums are quoted on request (age/coverage/evacuation dependent), so this is a curated market midpoint, not a public engine quote. Local BPJS Kesehatan (mandatory public scheme for KITAS holders) is far cheaper but not a comprehensive private-cover equivalent.	3.9

Money & crypto

Crypto rules and how freely personal money moves.

Criterion	Value	Score
Crypto regulationcountry-level	Legal regulated i OJK — POJK 27/2024 (as amended by POJK 23/2025) on trading of digital financial assets incl. crypto assets Official source Data as of Aug 1, 2025 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Notes Crypto is legal to hold and trade as a regulated digital financial asset (supervision moved from Bappebti to OJK on 2025-01-10 under PP 49/2024; framework in POJK 27/2024 + POJK 23/2025), but is prohibited as a means of payment (only the rupiah is legal tender). Taxed: a final PPh of 0.21% on sales via domestic licensed platforms and 1% via foreign platforms (PMK 50/2025, effective 2025-08-01); VAT on the asset transfer itself was removed. Regulated, not exemption-friendly → 'legal-regulated'.	8.0
Financial control levelcountry-level	Moderate i Bank Indonesia foreign-exchange regulations + DJP crypto/reporting rules (composite) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 4, 2026 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Method Composite: the rupiah is largely convertible and there are no hard capital controls on inbound/outbound personal transfers, but Bank Indonesia requires reporting/underlying-document evidence for FX purchases above a threshold (historically USD 25,000/month per customer without underlying documents), restricts rupiah use offshore, and mandates rupiah for domestic settlement; residents are taxed on worldwide income once tax-resident; foreigners can open local bank accounts but generally need a KITAS/KITAP and NPWP. More friction than a low-control hub, well short of strict capital controls → 'moderate'. NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW: the current exact FX-without-documents threshold should be re-verified against a live Bank Indonesia regulation page (fetch was JS-walled).	7.0

Language

How far English gets you in daily life and services.

Criterion	Value	Score
English proficiencycountry-level	Low i EF EPI 2025 — Indonesia rank 80/123, score 471 (Low Proficiency band) Research Data as of Nov 1, 2025 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Notes Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): Indonesia scores 471 (Low band) nationally, though Jakarta scores 523 (Moderate). Bahasa Indonesia is the sole official language; English is workable in tourist/expat zones (Bali, South Jakarta) and among younger professionals, but limited in government offices and everyday services nationwide → 'low'.	2.0

Education

International schooling options for families.

Criterion	Value	Score
International schools	20accredited international schools, count i IB World Schools directory (find-an-ib-school, country=Indonesia) + Cambridge International 'Find a Cambridge school' (Indonesia / Bali) Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 4, 2026 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Method Union of two accreditor registries, verified directly (both are JS-rendered, read in a browser). IB World Schools in Bali (5): Alam Kidz School Bali, Australian Independent School Indonesia (Bali), Bali Island School, Canggu Community School, Gandhi Memorial Intercontinental School Bali. Cambridge-registered schools in Bali (19): ACS Bali, Asian Intercultural School Bali, Bukit Sunrise School, Canggu Community School, Cendekia Harapan, Dyatmika School, ProEd Global School, ProEd Global School Nuanu, Regents Primary School, Regents Secondary School Bali, Santosa Intercultural School, Sanur Independent School, Sekolah Lentera Kasih–Lollypop, Sekolah Stella Mundi, SPK SD CHIS Denpasar, Taman Rama Intercultural School, The Gandhi Memorial Intercontinental School, Tunjung Sari School, Widya Nusantara School (* = also IB, counted once). Union = 5 + 19 − 2 overlaps = 22 registry entries; collapsing obvious same-institution campus splits (Regents Primary + Regents Secondary → 1; ProEd Global + ProEd Global Nuanu → 1) gives ~20 distinct international schools. Recorded 20. Notes Count is IB + Cambridge only (verified against each accreditor's own finder, not aggregator sites). No AEFE (French), German Auslandsschulwesen, US/College Board, or CIS/COBIS-exclusive schools were separately enumerated, so the true total accredited pool may be marginally higher; ±2 uncertainty from campus-split judgement. Whichever counting choice (20 vs 22) lands in the same scoring band. Most schools cluster in Denpasar and South Bali (Kerobokan/Canggu/Sanur/Jimbaran).	9.2

How you can stay

All requirements & citizenship filter

How you can legally enter and stay. These apply across Indonesia.

What you'd pay in taxes

Full schemes & calculator

The tax schemes a freelancer can choose from. Rules are national, the same in Bali as anywhere in Indonesia.

See what you would keep

Your income against Indonesia's real tax schemes — the same engine as the full calculator.

Annual gross incomeCurrencyper monthBusiness expenses: 0%

1 PPh Final UMKM 0.5% — small-business final tax on gross turnover (PP 55/2022, made permanent for individuals by PP 20/2026)
59,822 EURnet/year
0.3% burden
2 NPPN — deemed-profit norm for freelancers (pekerjaan bebas) + progressive PPh
54,515 EURnet/year
9.1% burden
3 Standard progressive PPh on actual net profit (bookkeeping)
45,515 EURnet/year
24.1% burden

Who is Bali for?

The same place reads differently depending on why you move. Each lens pulls the facts that matter most for that plan — with sources, and the trade-offs stated plainly.

Contract or freelance in tech, billing clients abroad.

Works in your favour

Freelancer tax burden9.1%

SettleMetric tax engine over official DJP rules (pajak.go.id: NPPN + PPh Pasal 17 + PTKP)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jan 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Best cleanly-eligible scheme id-nppn-freelancer at €60,000 = 1,232,521,200 IDR (ECB 20,542.02 IDR/EUR). NPPN professional-services norm 50% → net income 616,260,600; minus PTKP TK/0 54,000,000 → PKP 562,260,600; progressive PPh (5/15/25/30%) = 112,678,180 IDR → 9.14% ≈ 9.1%. The 0.5% MSME final tax would give ~0.3% but its 7-year window and professional-services exclusion make it unreliable for a newly-registered foreign IT freelancer, so NPPN is the recorded best. Single filer; NPPN KLU-62 norm pending manual confirmation (50% vs 62.5% — see scheme notes).

Cost of living (single, excl. rent)$700/mo

BPS — Pengeluaran untuk Konsumsi Penduduk Indonesia, Maret 2024 (per-capita expenditure), scaled to a single urban resident basket

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Mar 31, 2024
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: BPS March-2024 average per-capita monthly expenditure is Rp 1,500,556 nationally (urban Rp 1,737,427), split food/non-food — but that is a rural-weighted per-capita floor far below a foreign remote worker's outlay. Curated single-person, non-rent urban (Jakarta-level) basket — groceries, eating out, transport/ride-hailing, utilities, mobile+home internet, modest leisure — sits around USD 650–750/month; recorded midpoint USD 700. NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW: this is a modelled basket anchored on BPS composition, not a single official basket figure; refine with itemised BPS urban non-food lines and current retail prices next cycle.

Domestic delivery qualityGood

Pos Indonesia + major private carriers (JNE, J&T, SiCepat, Ninja Xpress, GoSend/GrabExpress) service coverage (composite)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jul 4, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Dense, competitive parcel market: Pos Indonesia (national operator) plus JNE, J&T Express, SiCepat, Ninja Xpress and on-demand couriers (GoSend, GrabExpress) give 1–3 day delivery in Java and major cities and same-day intra-city; tracking is standard. Reach to remote islands is slower and address quality is uneven, so 'good' rather than 'excellent'. Parcel-locker networks are limited vs Europe.

Watch-outs

Internet speed10 Mbps

M-Lab NDT country aggregates for Indonesia (2023)

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2023
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Median download ≈ 9.3–9.8 Mbps across the 2023 daily country medians (~4.3M tests) from M-Lab's public NDT statistics API; recorded midpoint 9.5 Mbps. 2024/2026 aggregate files were not retrievable at the time of check.
Notes: M-Lab NDT is single-stream and reads far below Ookla-style figures (Ookla put Indonesia fixed broadband ~28–41 Mbps in 2024–2025) — comparable only within this criterion, never mixed with Ookla.

English proficiencyLow

EF EPI 2025 — Indonesia rank 80/123, score 471 (Low Proficiency band)

Research

Data as of: Nov 1, 2025
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: Own band informed by EF EPI 2025 (attribution: EF Education First): Indonesia scores 471 (Low band) nationally, though Jakarta scores 523 (Moderate). Bahasa Indonesia is the sole official language; English is workable in tourist/expat zones (Bali, South Jakarta) and among younger professionals, but limited in government offices and everyday services nationwide → 'low'.

Relocating with a partner and school-age children.

Works in your favour

International schools20

IB World Schools directory (find-an-ib-school, country=Indonesia) + Cambridge International 'Find a Cambridge school' (Indonesia / Bali)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jul 4, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Union of two accreditor registries, verified directly (both are JS-rendered, read in a browser). IB World Schools in Bali (5): Alam Kidz School Bali, Australian Independent School Indonesia (Bali), Bali Island School, Canggu Community School, Gandhi Memorial Intercontinental School Bali. Cambridge-registered schools in Bali (19): ACS Bali, Asian Intercultural School Bali, Bukit Sunrise School, Canggu Community School*, Cendekia Harapan, Dyatmika School, ProEd Global School, ProEd Global School Nuanu, Regents Primary School, Regents Secondary School Bali, Santosa Intercultural School, Sanur Independent School, Sekolah Lentera Kasih–Lollypop, Sekolah Stella Mundi, SPK SD CHIS Denpasar, Taman Rama Intercultural School, The Gandhi Memorial Intercontinental School*, Tunjung Sari School, Widya Nusantara School (* = also IB, counted once). Union = 5 + 19 − 2 overlaps = 22 registry entries; collapsing obvious same-institution campus splits (Regents Primary + Regents Secondary → 1; ProEd Global + ProEd Global Nuanu → 1) gives ~20 distinct international schools. Recorded 20.
Notes: Count is IB + Cambridge only (verified against each accreditor's own finder, not aggregator sites). No AEFE (French), German Auslandsschulwesen, US/College Board, or CIS/COBIS-exclusive schools were separately enumerated, so the true total accredited pool may be marginally higher; ±2 uncertainty from campus-split judgement. Whichever counting choice (20 vs 22) lands in the same scoring band. Most schools cluster in Denpasar and South Bali (Kerobokan/Canggu/Sanur/Jimbaran).

Homicide rate0.3/100k

UNODC via World Bank (Intentional homicides per 100,000 people, Indonesia)

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2022
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: Latest available UNODC-sourced value is 0.30 per 100,000 for 2022 (World Bank series VC.IHR.PSRC.P5, sourced from the UNODC Data Portal). Indonesia's recorded intentional-homicide rate is very low by global standards; reporting has gaps between years.

Watch-outs

Private healthcare cost$3,600/yr

International private medical insurers (Cigna Global, Allianz Care, AXA, William Russell) — comprehensive outpatient+inpatient plans; quote on request

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jul 4, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Comprehensive (outpatient + inpatient, ~USD 1m+ annual limit, small deductible) international/IPMI plans for a healthy 35-year-old resident foreigner in Indonesia are commonly quoted around USD 200–500/month; a mid-tier comprehensive plan midpoint ≈ USD 300/month ≈ USD 3,600/year. Premiums are quoted on request (age/coverage/evacuation dependent), so this is a curated market midpoint, not a public engine quote. Local BPJS Kesehatan (mandatory public scheme for KITAS holders) is far cheaper but not a comprehensive private-cover equivalent.

Air quality (PM2.5)19.4 µg/m³

WHO Ambient Air Quality Database — Denpasar, Indonesia (annual mean PM2.5)

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2019
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: Latest citable annual-mean PM2.5 for Denpasar is ~19.4 µg/m³ (2019-vintage, WHO Ambient Air Quality Database) — reported as the cleanest air among Indonesian cities and within the national standard, but ~4× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³). NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW: no 2022–2024 city annual mean for Denpasar/Bali could be verified — Bali is absent from the IQAir 2023 World Air Quality Report city tables (insufficient qualifying monitoring that year) and no newer official BMKG/KLHK Bali annual PM2.5 series was located. Value kept for continuity but is stale; re-verify against the next WHO database update or a Bali provincial monitoring release. Bali has no heavy industry and readings run below Jakarta/Java, though dry-season crop and rubbish burning cause local spikes.

Optimising tax, banking and crypto rules.

Works in your favour

Crypto regulationLegal regulated

OJK — POJK 27/2024 (as amended by POJK 23/2025) on trading of digital financial assets incl. crypto assets

Official source

Data as of: Aug 1, 2025
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: Crypto is legal to hold and trade as a regulated digital financial asset (supervision moved from Bappebti to OJK on 2025-01-10 under PP 49/2024; framework in POJK 27/2024 + POJK 23/2025), but is prohibited as a means of payment (only the rupiah is legal tender). Taxed: a final PPh of 0.21% on sales via domestic licensed platforms and 1% via foreign platforms (PMK 50/2025, effective 2025-08-01); VAT on the asset transfer itself was removed. Regulated, not exemption-friendly → 'legal-regulated'.

Financial control levelModerate

Bank Indonesia foreign-exchange regulations + DJP crypto/reporting rules (composite)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jul 4, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Composite: the rupiah is largely convertible and there are no hard capital controls on inbound/outbound personal transfers, but Bank Indonesia requires reporting/underlying-document evidence for FX purchases above a threshold (historically USD 25,000/month per customer without underlying documents), restricts rupiah use offshore, and mandates rupiah for domestic settlement; residents are taxed on worldwide income once tax-resident; foreigners can open local bank accounts but generally need a KITAS/KITAP and NPWP. More friction than a low-control hub, well short of strict capital controls → 'moderate'. NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW: the current exact FX-without-documents threshold should be re-verified against a live Bank Indonesia regulation page (fetch was JS-walled).

Freelancer tax burden9.1%

SettleMetric tax engine over official DJP rules (pajak.go.id: NPPN + PPh Pasal 17 + PTKP)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Jan 1, 2026
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Best cleanly-eligible scheme id-nppn-freelancer at €60,000 = 1,232,521,200 IDR (ECB 20,542.02 IDR/EUR). NPPN professional-services norm 50% → net income 616,260,600; minus PTKP TK/0 54,000,000 → PKP 562,260,600; progressive PPh (5/15/25/30%) = 112,678,180 IDR → 9.14% ≈ 9.1%. The 0.5% MSME final tax would give ~0.3% but its 7-year window and professional-services exclusion make it unreliable for a newly-registered foreign IT freelancer, so NPPN is the recorded best. Single filer; NPPN KLU-62 norm pending manual confirmation (50% vs 62.5% — see scheme notes).

Prioritising safety, air, and an easy daily life.

Works in your favour

Homicide rate0.3/100k

UNODC via World Bank (Intentional homicides per 100,000 people, Indonesia)

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2022
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: Latest available UNODC-sourced value is 0.30 per 100,000 for 2022 (World Bank series VC.IHR.PSRC.P5, sourced from the UNODC Data Portal). Indonesia's recorded intentional-homicide rate is very low by global standards; reporting has gaps between years.

Cost of living (single, excl. rent)$700/mo

BPS — Pengeluaran untuk Konsumsi Penduduk Indonesia, Maret 2024 (per-capita expenditure), scaled to a single urban resident basket

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Mar 31, 2024
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: BPS March-2024 average per-capita monthly expenditure is Rp 1,500,556 nationally (urban Rp 1,737,427), split food/non-food — but that is a rural-weighted per-capita floor far below a foreign remote worker's outlay. Curated single-person, non-rent urban (Jakarta-level) basket — groceries, eating out, transport/ride-hailing, utilities, mobile+home internet, modest leisure — sits around USD 650–750/month; recorded midpoint USD 700. NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW: this is a modelled basket anchored on BPS composition, not a single official basket figure; refine with itemised BPS urban non-food lines and current retail prices next cycle.

Watch-outs

Air quality (PM2.5)19.4 µg/m³

WHO Ambient Air Quality Database — Denpasar, Indonesia (annual mean PM2.5)

Open data

Data as of: Dec 31, 2019
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Notes: Latest citable annual-mean PM2.5 for Denpasar is ~19.4 µg/m³ (2019-vintage, WHO Ambient Air Quality Database) — reported as the cleanest air among Indonesian cities and within the national standard, but ~4× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³). NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW: no 2022–2024 city annual mean for Denpasar/Bali could be verified — Bali is absent from the IQAir 2023 World Air Quality Report city tables (insufficient qualifying monitoring that year) and no newer official BMKG/KLHK Bali annual PM2.5 series was located. Value kept for continuity but is stale; re-verify against the next WHO database update or a Bali provincial monitoring release. Bali has no heavy industry and readings run below Jakarta/Java, though dry-season crop and rubbish burning cause local spikes.

Climate comfort0/12 mo

SettleMetric computation over climate-normals (Ngurah Rai 1991–2020)

Curated by SettleMetric

Data as of: Dec 31, 2020
Verified: Jul 4, 2026
Method: Criterion rule: months with mean daily maximum 15–28 °C AND precipitation < 150 mm. Bali's coldest month (Jul/Aug) still has a mean daily max of 29.2 °C, so NO month falls inside the 15–28 °C max window → 0 pleasant months by this temperate-comfort metric. This flags Bali as consistently hot/humid, not that it is unpleasant — the raw normals are shown so users judge by their own taste (many nomads prefer exactly this warmth).

Compare Bali

Full country picture: Indonesia overview