Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Blantyre and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Blantyre: $602 a month against $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Blantyre
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Blantyre Living Index
66

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

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Blantyre

🇲🇼 Malawi

$602

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,353

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Blantyre 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 Blantyre and in Ubud, Bali actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $602 in Blantyre versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali.

Blantyre $602
Ubud, Bali $1,353

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,046 in Blantyre versus $2,297 in Ubud, Bali.

Blantyre $1,046
Ubud, Bali $2,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,489 in Blantyre versus $3,241 in Ubud, Bali.

Blantyre $1,489
Ubud, Bali $3,241

Living in Blantyre costs roughly 55% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Blantyre is 56% below, Ubud, Bali is 0% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.90 MWK 6,698

$3.23 Rp 58.1K

20.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.39 MWK 23.0K

$34.88 Rp 627.8K

-61.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.08 MWK 12.2K

$5.70 Rp 102.5K

24.21%

Cappuccino

$2.79 MWK 4,791

$2.62 Rp 47.1K

6.49%

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

$0.85 MWK 1,465

$1.72 Rp 31.0K

-50.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.45 MWK 772

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

-44.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.05 MWK 1,802

$2.65 Rp 47.7K

-60.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 MWK 2,987

$4.37 Rp 78.6K

-60.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.06 MWK 1,817

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

-32.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.35 MWK 2,318

$2.19 Rp 39.5K

-38.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.03 MWK 3,480

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

72.03%

Eggs

$1.74 MWK 2,993

$2.16 Rp 38.8K

-19.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.65 MWK 6,268

$17.65 Rp 317.7K

-79.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.51 MWK 9,455

$3.78 Rp 68.0K

45.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.62 MWK 11.4K

$11.95 Rp 215.1K

-44.60%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 MWK 3,893

$3.60 Rp 64.8K

-36.94%

Banana (1kg)

$2.36 MWK 4,059

$1.59 Rp 28.6K

48.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.39 MWK 4,108

$2.31 Rp 41.6K

3.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.11 MWK 1,903

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

-41.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 MWK 2,263

$1.78 Rp 32.1K

-25.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.35 MWK 2,326

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

-42.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.31 MWK 530

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

-69.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 MWK 1,349

$0.53 Rp 9,509

49.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.40 MWK 4,121

$2.29 Rp 41.1K

4.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.63 MWK 23.4K

$22.07 Rp 397.3K

-38.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 MWK 1,578

$2.35 Rp 42.2K

-60.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 MWK 2,819

$2.98 Rp 53.6K

-44.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.52 MWK 891

$0.23 Rp 4,112

126.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.90 Rp 160.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.61 MWK 1,051

$0.47 Rp 8,466

29.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 MWK 2,544

$0.43 Rp 7,737

244.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.92 MWK 6,727

$5.47 Rp 98.4K

-28.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 MWK 2,588

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

81.93%

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

$34.7K MWK 59.6M

$23.9K Rp 429.8M

45.46%

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

$39.2K MWK 67.4M

$32.8K Rp 590.1M

19.70%

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

$26.58 MWK 45.6K

$80.0 Rp 1.4M

-66.77%

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

$7.89 MWK 13.6K

$6.56 Rp 118.1K

20.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.60 Rp 334.8K

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$59.8 MWK 102.6K

$54.1 Rp 974.1K

10.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.14 MWK 26.0K

$18.28 Rp 329.0K

-17.18%

Cinema Ticket

$4.25 Rp 76.5K

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

$385 MWK 660.7K

$493 Rp 8.9M

-21.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$603 MWK 1.0M

$5,597 Rp 100.7M

-89.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.33 MWK 74.4K

$45.58 Rp 820.4K

-4.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.24 MWK 69.1K

$34.96 Rp 629.4K

15.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$48.11 MWK 82.6K

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

-38.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.1 MWK 122.0K

$78.5 Rp 1.4M

-9.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$225 MWK 386.5K

$1,131 Rp 20.4M

-80.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$116 MWK 199.7K

$673 Rp 12.1M

-82.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$595 MWK 1.0M

$3,613 Rp 65.0M

-83.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$394 MWK 676.6K

$1,702 Rp 30.6M

-76.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,717 Rp 48.9M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$400 MWK 686.0K

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

-82.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$336 MWK 576.4K

$166 Rp 3.0M

101.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

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

Last update for Blantyre: October 18, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Blantyre

$191 31.6%

Ubud, Bali

$287 21.2% 50.6% $97

Accommodation & Living

Blantyre

$116 19.3%

Ubud, Bali

$673 49.7% 478% $557

Eating Out

Blantyre

$100 16.6%

Ubud, Bali

$106 7.9% 6.6% $6.6

Clothing & Footwear

Blantyre

$91 15.2%

Ubud, Bali

$107 7.9% 16.8% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Blantyre

$60 * 9.9%

Ubud, Bali

$63 4.6% 4.8% $2.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Blantyre

$34 * 5.7%

Ubud, Bali

$105 7.8% 205% $71

Getting Around

Blantyre

$10 * 1.7%

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9% 23.2% $2.3

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $225 in Blantyre and $1,131 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Blantyre pays 102% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $13.00 in Blantyre vs $35.00 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $191 vs $287 per month, with Blantyre cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇼 Blantyre

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

13:05 1:05 PM

19:05 7:05 PM

6 h ahead of Blantyre

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

994,500

74,800

💱 Currency

Malawian Kwacha MWK MK

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 MWK = 5.82 USD

10,000 MWK = 5.18 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to MWK – Malawian Kwacha Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇼 Malawian Kwacha (MK)

Malawian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1,717 MWK (10,000 MWK = 5.82 USD). 1 EUR = 1,930 MWK (10,000 MWK = 5.18 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to MWK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Blantyre Ubud, Bali 8,720 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Blantyre
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

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

Blantyre and Ubud, Bali differ by about 125% in total monthly costs ($602 vs $1,353 including rent). Blantyre is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 102% higher in Blantyre, 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: $225 in Blantyre versus $1,131 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 51% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $602 per month in Blantyre versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali – a 125% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $602 in Blantyre versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Blantyre but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Blantyre the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Blantyre and Ubud, Bali are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Blantyre gentler on the wallet – expenses run 125% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.