Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bintulu and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Bintulu: $852 a month against $1,331 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ubud, Bali outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

41

Cost of Living Index in Bintulu
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Bintulu Living Index
64

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index

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Bintulu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$852

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,331

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bintulu and in Ubud, Bali

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Bintulu and in Ubud, Bali actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $852 in Bintulu versus $1,331 in Ubud, Bali.

Bintulu $852
Ubud, Bali $1,331

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,331 in Bintulu versus $2,255 in Ubud, Bali.

Bintulu $1,331
Ubud, Bali $2,255

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,810 in Bintulu versus $3,180 in Ubud, Bali.

Bintulu $1,810
Ubud, Bali $3,180

Living in Bintulu costs roughly 36% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bintulu 37% lower, Ubud, Bali 2% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.02 MYR 16.39

$3.38 Rp 61.3K

18.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.75 MYR 76.4

$34.65 Rp 628.8K

-45.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.74 MYR 23.38

$5.57 Rp 101.2K

3.05%

Cappuccino

$2.89 MYR 11.80

$2.62 Rp 47.5K

10.31%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 MYR 2.78

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

-55.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 MYR 1.53

$0.64 Rp 11.6K

-40.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 MYR 12.17

$2.67 Rp 48.4K

11.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.19 MYR 21.16

$4.26 Rp 77.4K

21.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.10 MYR 8.57

$1.46 Rp 26.5K

43.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 MYR 5.82

$2.29 Rp 41.6K

-37.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.32 MYR 5.39

$1.11 Rp 20.1K

18.92%

Eggs

$2.21 MYR 8.99

$2.10 Rp 38.1K

5.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.39 MYR 70.9

$15.94 Rp 289.3K

9.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.59 MYR 14.63

$3.88 Rp 70.5K

-7.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.95 MYR 24.24

$11.40 Rp 206.9K

-47.81%

Apples (1kg)

$1.76 MYR 7.17

$3.55 Rp 64.5K

-50.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.00 MYR 4.06

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

-35.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.71 MYR 6.96

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

-23.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.12 MYR 4.58

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

-43.15%

Potato (1kg)

$0.55 MYR 2.24

$1.86 Rp 33.7K

-70.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 MYR 4.87

$2.42 Rp 43.9K

-50.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 MYR 3.06

$1.02 Rp 18.6K

-26.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 MYR 1.82

$0.52 Rp 9,479

-13.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.11 MYR 16.75

$2.20 Rp 39.9K

86.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.47 MYR 79.4

$21.79 Rp 395.4K

-10.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.02 MYR 12.32

$2.33 Rp 42.2K

29.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 MYR 8.15

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

-32.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.26 MYR 5.14

$0.25 Rp 4,544

404.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.05 MYR 65.4

$8.17 Rp 148.4K

96.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.95 MYR 3.89

$0.44 Rp 7,944

115.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.82 MYR 3.33

$0.47 Rp 8,493

74.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.51 MYR 10.21

$5.60 Rp 101.6K

-55.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.66 MYR 2.71

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

-20.48%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$44.8K MYR 182.5K

$24.4K Rp 443.7M

83.23%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$39.9K MYR 162.4K

$31.7K Rp 575.2M

25.73%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$59.5 MYR 242

$77.5 Rp 1.4M

-23.22%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$31.54 MYR 129

$6.14 Rp 111.5K

413.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.82 MYR 126

$18.92 Rp 343.3K

62.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.5 MYR 279

$51.0 Rp 925.4K

34.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.11 MYR 49.34

$18.25 Rp 331.2K

-33.64%

Cinema Ticket

$4.51 MYR 18.38

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

2.97%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$125 MYR 509

$492 Rp 8.9M

-74.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,487 MYR 30.5K

$12.2K Rp 221.8M

-38.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.4 MYR 267

$45.16 Rp 819.6K

44.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.43 MYR 144

$34.89 Rp 633.2K

1.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 MYR 319

$78.3 Rp 1.4M

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.1 MYR 375

$77.9 Rp 1.4M

18.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$224 MYR 912

$1,078 Rp 19.6M

-79.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$156 MYR 636

$665 Rp 12.1M

-76.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$474 MYR 1,933

$3,510 Rp 63.7M

-86.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$335 MYR 1,366

$1,671 Rp 30.3M

-79.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,775 MYR 7,235

$2,340 Rp 42.5M

-24.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,172 MYR 4,776

$2,236 Rp 40.6M

-47.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$613 MYR 2,498

$166 Rp 3.0M

268.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.5

13.78

-67.34%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Bintulu: November 3, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Bintulu

$235 27.6%

Ubud, Bali

$279 21% 18.9% $44

Accommodation & Living

Bintulu

$156 18.3%

Ubud, Bali

$665 50% 326% $509

Clothing & Footwear

Bintulu

$122 14.3%

Ubud, Bali

$106 8% 12.9% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bintulu

$122 14.3%

Ubud, Bali

$103 7.7% 15.8% $19

Eating Out

Bintulu

$114 13.3%

Ubud, Bali

$106 8% 7% $7.9

Sport & Entertainment

Bintulu

$78 9.1%

Ubud, Bali

$60 4.5% 22.9% $18

Getting Around

Bintulu

$26 3.1%

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9% 54.3% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $224 in Bintulu and $1,078 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bintulu pays about 3.7 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $19 in Bintulu vs $35 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $279 per month, with Bintulu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Bintulu

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

12:56 12:56 PM

Same time as Bintulu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

240,172

74,800

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.93 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.56 MYR (1 MYR = 0.219 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18,148 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,295 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.93 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bintulu Ubud, Bali 1,320 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Bintulu
Ubud, Bali

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Bintulu vs Ubud, Bali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bintulu wins on cost – living expenses run 36% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Bintulu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Bintulu is about 3.7 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $224 in Bintulu versus $1,078 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $852 per month in Bintulu versus $1,331 in Ubud, Bali – Bintulu is about 36% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Ubud, Bali runs roughly 49% less than in Bintulu. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Bintulu is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Bintulu and Ubud, Bali are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.