Bali vs Jakarta

Bali vs Jakarta: rent, cost of living, climate, safety and country-level context (taxes, visas) side by side — every figure with its source.

Verified Jul 4, 2026

Bali Jakarta

Scoreboard

The key numbers head-to-head — the stronger side is marked. The overall score stays decoration; what matters is which facts fit you.

Even — 1 of 8 each

	Bali	Jakarta
Cost of living (single, excl. rent)	$700/mo 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.	$700/mo 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.
Rent: 1-bedroom (city avg)	$725/mo i Visa Indonesia — Bali Rental Cost 2026 (listing-market guide, long-term 1-bedroom ranges by area) Research Data as of Jun 30, 2026 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Method Long-term (yearly-lease) 1-bedroom asking-rent ranges from a 2026 Bali listing-market guide: Denpasar IDR 7–15m (mid 11m ≈ $613), Ubud/Central IDR 7–25m, Canggu/Berawa IDR 13–35m (mid 24m ≈ $1,337), Seminyak IDR 10–35m. Representative Bali-wide long-term 1BR ≈ IDR 13m ≈ $725 at 17,954 IDR/USD (2026-07-03), leaning toward the residential stock (Denpasar/quieter areas) which dominates supply rather than the pricier nomad hotspots. Notes Bali's rental market is furnished-villa-led and highly location-skewed, so this differs materially from the country value (Jakarta-proxied ~$505) — recorded at city level rather than inherited. NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW: source is a listing-market guide, not a national statistics office or a single major portal's market report (BPS/BI publish no Bali long-term apartment-rent series; Numbeo/Expatistan excluded by policy). Furnished monthly holiday lets run several times higher; these are yearly-lease figures.	★$505/mo i Global Property Guide — average 1-bedroom apartment rent, Jakarta (market listings, updated biannually) Research Data as of Jan 31, 2026 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Notes Jakarta average 1-bedroom apartment asking rent ≈ IDR 8.1 million/month ≈ USD 505 (early 2026, Global Property Guide from local listing portals); prime/central units run IDR 8–15m (USD ~500–950) and non-prime from IDR 4–6m. This matches the country-level rent-1br-center, since Jakarta is Indonesia's proxy city for that value. Numbeo/Expatistan are excluded per policy; Global Property Guide is a listing-market aggregator recorded as 'research'. NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW: an official BPS/Bank Indonesia housing-rent series would be preferable if published; the exact USD depends on the IDR/USD rate (≈16,000–18,000 in H1 2026).
Freelancer tax burden	9.1% i 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% i 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).
Homicide rate	0.3/100k 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.	0.3/100k 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.
Internet speed	10 Mbps 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.	10 Mbps 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.
English proficiency	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'.	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'.
Private healthcare cost	$3,600/yr 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.	$3,600/yr 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.
Air quality (PM2.5)	★19.4 µg/m³ 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.	41.7 µg/m³ i IQAir 2024 World Air Quality Report — Jakarta annual mean PM2.5 Research Data as of Dec 31, 2024 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Notes Jakarta's 2024 annual mean PM2.5 was 41.7 µg/m³ (IQAir 2024 World Air Quality Report; attribution: IQAir) — about 8× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³) and above the top of this criterion's scale (35 µg/m³ → 0). Corroborated by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), which put every Jabodetabek city at 30–55 µg/m³ for 2024 from Indonesian government and reference-grade monitors. The WHO Ambient Air Quality Database (v8, June 2026, covering 2010–2024) is the criterion's preferred non-Europe source but is distributed only as a bulk Excel download not retrievable here; IQAir's city annual mean is used as the citable single-city figure. Pollution is worst in the dry season (Jun–Oct) from traffic and regional burning.

Verdict

Each lens weighs only the facts that matter to that plan, and names the side it favours.

Contract or freelance in tech, billing clients abroad.

A close call for this plan

	Bali	Jakarta
Freelancer tax burden	9.1% i 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% i 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).
Internet speed	10 Mbps 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.	10 Mbps 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.
English proficiency	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'.	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'.
Cost of living (single, excl. rent)	$700/mo 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.	$700/mo 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.
Domestic delivery quality	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.	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.

Relocating with a partner and school-age children.

A close call for this plan

	Bali	Jakarta
International schools	20 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).	★28 i International Schools Database — Jakarta, filtered to IB curriculum Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 4, 2026 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Method Count of IB-curriculum international schools listed for Greater Jakarta on International Schools Database (28: British School Jakarta, Global Jaya, SIS Kelapa Gading, ACG School Jakarta, Sampoerna Academy, Jakarta Intercultural School, SIS PIK, Stella Maris, Beacon Academy, ACS Jakarta, Sekolah Victory Plus, Mentari Bintaro, Hope Academy, North Jakarta Intercultural, AIS Jakarta, Cikal, BTB, Binus School Simprug, Al Jabr, Tunas Muda, IPEKA, Blossom, Mentari Jakarta, Tzu Chi, SIS South Jakarta, Gandhi Memorial International, Sinarmas World Academy, Sekolah Pelita Harapan). Consistent with multiple aggregators reporting ~28 IB schools in Jakarta and ~70–72 IB World Schools in Indonesia nationally. Notes IB-accredited schools only; CIS/COBIS/Cambridge/US-accredited schools not additionally counted, so the true accredited total (per the criterion's multi-accreditor definition) is likely HIGHER. Count is 'Greater Jakarta / Jabodetabek' and includes several schools in Tangerang/BSD/Bekasi (Global Jaya, Sinarmas World Academy, Sekolah Victory Plus), not DKI Jakarta proper. NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW: the IB World Schools finder (ibo.org/programmes/find-an-ib-school, country=ID) is the required accreditor registry but is JavaScript-rendered and returned 403 to automated fetches — verify each school against the IB finder and add Cambridge/CIS/COBIS members. Scoring is unaffected (anchor caps at 25 schools → 10).
Homicide rate	0.3/100k 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.	0.3/100k 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.
Private healthcare cost	$3,600/yr 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.	$3,600/yr 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.
Air quality (PM2.5)	★19.4 µg/m³ 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.	41.7 µg/m³ i IQAir 2024 World Air Quality Report — Jakarta annual mean PM2.5 Research Data as of Dec 31, 2024 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Notes Jakarta's 2024 annual mean PM2.5 was 41.7 µg/m³ (IQAir 2024 World Air Quality Report; attribution: IQAir) — about 8× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³) and above the top of this criterion's scale (35 µg/m³ → 0). Corroborated by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), which put every Jabodetabek city at 30–55 µg/m³ for 2024 from Indonesian government and reference-grade monitors. The WHO Ambient Air Quality Database (v8, June 2026, covering 2010–2024) is the criterion's preferred non-Europe source but is distributed only as a bulk Excel download not retrievable here; IQAir's city annual mean is used as the citable single-city figure. Pollution is worst in the dry season (Jun–Oct) from traffic and regional burning.
English proficiency	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'.	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'.

Optimising tax, banking and crypto rules.

A close call for this plan

	Bali	Jakarta
Crypto regulation	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'.	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'.
Financial control 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).	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).
Freelancer tax burden	9.1% i 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% i 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.

Bali fits better — 1 of 4

	Bali	Jakarta
Homicide rate	0.3/100k 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.	0.3/100k 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.
Air quality (PM2.5)	★19.4 µg/m³ 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.	41.7 µg/m³ i IQAir 2024 World Air Quality Report — Jakarta annual mean PM2.5 Research Data as of Dec 31, 2024 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Notes Jakarta's 2024 annual mean PM2.5 was 41.7 µg/m³ (IQAir 2024 World Air Quality Report; attribution: IQAir) — about 8× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³) and above the top of this criterion's scale (35 µg/m³ → 0). Corroborated by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), which put every Jabodetabek city at 30–55 µg/m³ for 2024 from Indonesian government and reference-grade monitors. The WHO Ambient Air Quality Database (v8, June 2026, covering 2010–2024) is the criterion's preferred non-Europe source but is distributed only as a bulk Excel download not retrievable here; IQAir's city annual mean is used as the citable single-city figure. Pollution is worst in the dry season (Jun–Oct) from traffic and regional burning.
Cost of living (single, excl. rent)	$700/mo 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.	$700/mo 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.
Climate comfort	0/12 mo 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).	0/12 mo i SettleMetric computation over climate-normals Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2020 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Method Months with mean daily max 15–28°C and precipitation < 150mm. Jakarta's mean daily maximum is 30.8–33.4°C in every month — always above the 28°C comfort ceiling — so no month qualifies: 0 pleasant months. (Even ignoring rain, the temperature ceiling is never met.) Notes Zero reflects the comfort band's upper temperature limit (28°C), not that Jakarta is unliveable: it is uniformly hot and humid year-round. Dry-season months (Jun–Sep) are the most comfortable in practice despite scoring 0 on this band.

Details

Taxes

Criterion	Bali	Jakarta
Freelancer tax burden% effective burden at €60k/year self-employed profile	9.1 i 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). 9.2	9.1 i 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). 9.2

Legalization

Criterion	Bali	Jakarta
Remote-work legalization ease	Dedicated nomad visa i Direktorat Jenderal Imigrasi — E33G Visa Rumah Kedua Pekerja Jarak Jauh (remote worker) Official source Data as of Apr 1, 2024 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Notes Indonesia has a dedicated remote-worker permit: the E33G Remote Worker KITAS (live since April 2024) grants a 1-year, renewable limited stay to foreigners employed by a company established outside Indonesia, requiring USD 60,000/year foreign income and a USD 2,000 bank balance. Self-employed/sole traders and anyone with Indonesian-source income are excluded — a genuine gap for pure freelancers, who instead use the Second Home (E33) or Investor (E28A) KITAS. 10.0	Dedicated nomad visa i Direktorat Jenderal Imigrasi — E33G Visa Rumah Kedua Pekerja Jarak Jauh (remote worker) Official source Data as of Apr 1, 2024 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Notes Indonesia has a dedicated remote-worker permit: the E33G Remote Worker KITAS (live since April 2024) grants a 1-year, renewable limited stay to foreigners employed by a company established outside Indonesia, requiring USD 60,000/year foreign income and a USD 2,000 bank balance. Self-employed/sole traders and anyone with Indonesian-source income are excluded — a genuine gap for pure freelancers, who instead use the Second Home (E33) or Investor (E28A) KITAS. 10.0

Cost of living

Criterion	Bali	Jakarta
Cost of living (single, excl. rent)USD/month, single person, excluding rent	700 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	700 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

Monthly spending by category (national, excl. rent)

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

Housing

Rent by apartment type

Asking rent, central price with outside-centre in parentheses ($/mo).

Apartment	Bali i 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.	Jakarta i Global Property Guide Jakarta rent ranges (by room, prime vs non-prime), SettleMetric derivation Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jan 31, 2026 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Method Anchored on the Global Property Guide Jakarta 1-bedroom city-average asking rent (≈USD 505). Location split from GPG's documented 1BR ranges — prime/central IDR 8–15m vs non-prime IDR 4–6m → center ≈ 1.40× and outside ≈ 0.65× the city average. Room scaling from typical Jakarta listing ratios: studio ≈ 0.65× 1BR, 2BR ≈ 1.55× 1BR, 3BR ≈ 2.30× 1BR. Center 1BR = 505×1.40 ≈ 705; outside 1BR = 505×0.65 ≈ 330; other cells scale from these. Notes ALL cells are DERIVED (city 1BR average × documented location multiplier × room multiplier) — no single source publishes Jakarta rent by room count AND by centre/outside at once, and Numbeo/Expatistan are forbidden. Treat as indicative brackets, not observed cell means. Central = prime CBD (SCBD/Sudirman/Kuningan/Senopati/Kemang); outside = outer/eastern & northern districts. Cross-reads (Colliers Q1 2026, JLL, listing portals) put central premium 2–3BR far higher (IDR 25–45m for expat-ready SCBD units), so central cells here are conservative. NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW: replace with a portal market report that publishes room × district cells directly.
Studio	$1,114 ($320)	$460 ($215)
1-bedroom	$1,337 ($613)	$705 ($330)
2-bedroom	$2,005 ($1,030)	$1,095 ($510)
3-bedroom	$2,228 ($1,170)	$1,625 ($755)

Safety

Criterion	Bali	Jakarta
Homicide rateintentional homicides per 100,000/year	0.3 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	0.3 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

Climate

Criterion	Bali	Jakarta
Climate comfortpleasant months/year	0 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	0 i SettleMetric computation over climate-normals Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Dec 31, 2020 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Method Months with mean daily max 15–28°C and precipitation < 150mm. Jakarta's mean daily maximum is 30.8–33.4°C in every month — always above the 28°C comfort ceiling — so no month qualifies: 0 pleasant months. (Even ignoring rain, the temperature ceiling is never met.) Notes Zero reflects the comfort band's upper temperature limit (28°C), not that Jakarta is unliveable: it is uniformly hot and humid year-round. Dry-season months (Jun–Sep) are the most comfortable in practice despite scoring 0 on this band. 0.0
Air quality (PM2.5)µg/m³, annual mean PM2.5	19.4 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	41.7 i IQAir 2024 World Air Quality Report — Jakarta annual mean PM2.5 Research Data as of Dec 31, 2024 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Notes Jakarta's 2024 annual mean PM2.5 was 41.7 µg/m³ (IQAir 2024 World Air Quality Report; attribution: IQAir) — about 8× the WHO 2021 guideline (5 µg/m³) and above the top of this criterion's scale (35 µg/m³ → 0). Corroborated by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), which put every Jabodetabek city at 30–55 µg/m³ for 2024 from Indonesian government and reference-grade monitors. The WHO Ambient Air Quality Database (v8, June 2026, covering 2010–2024) is the criterion's preferred non-Europe source but is distributed only as a bulk Excel download not retrievable here; IQAir's city annual mean is used as the citable single-city figure. Pollution is worst in the dry season (Jun–Oct) from traffic and regional burning. 0.0

Healthcare

Criterion	Bali	Jakarta
Private healthcare costUSD/year, comprehensive private insurance premium, healthy 35-year-old	3,600 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	3,600 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

Criterion	Bali	Jakarta
Crypto regulation	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	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 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	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

Infrastructure

Criterion	Bali	Jakarta
Domestic delivery quality	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	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 ease	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	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 speedMbps, median fixed download	9.5 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	9.5 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

Language

Criterion	Bali	Jakarta
English proficiency	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	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

Criterion	Bali	Jakarta
International schoolsaccredited international schools, count	20 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	28 i International Schools Database — Jakarta, filtered to IB curriculum Curated by SettleMetric Data as of Jul 4, 2026 Verified Jul 4, 2026 Method Count of IB-curriculum international schools listed for Greater Jakarta on International Schools Database (28: British School Jakarta, Global Jaya, SIS Kelapa Gading, ACG School Jakarta, Sampoerna Academy, Jakarta Intercultural School, SIS PIK, Stella Maris, Beacon Academy, ACS Jakarta, Sekolah Victory Plus, Mentari Bintaro, Hope Academy, North Jakarta Intercultural, AIS Jakarta, Cikal, BTB, Binus School Simprug, Al Jabr, Tunas Muda, IPEKA, Blossom, Mentari Jakarta, Tzu Chi, SIS South Jakarta, Gandhi Memorial International, Sinarmas World Academy, Sekolah Pelita Harapan). Consistent with multiple aggregators reporting ~28 IB schools in Jakarta and ~70–72 IB World Schools in Indonesia nationally. Notes IB-accredited schools only; CIS/COBIS/Cambridge/US-accredited schools not additionally counted, so the true accredited total (per the criterion's multi-accreditor definition) is likely HIGHER. Count is 'Greater Jakarta / Jabodetabek' and includes several schools in Tangerang/BSD/Bekasi (Global Jaya, Sinarmas World Academy, Sekolah Victory Plus), not DKI Jakarta proper. NEEDS MANUAL REVIEW: the IB World Schools finder (ibo.org/programmes/find-an-ib-school, country=ID) is the required accreditor registry but is JavaScript-rendered and returned 403 to automated fetches — verify each school against the IB finder and add Cambridge/CIS/COBIS members. Scoring is unaffected (anchor caps at 25 schools → 10). 10.0