Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubud, Bali: $1,349 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
65

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

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Ubud, Bali $1,349

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $2,305 in Ubud, Bali, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Ubud, Bali $2,305

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $3,261 in Ubud, Bali, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Ubud, Bali $3,261

Cape Town costs about 15% more than Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 202

$3.32 Rp 60.3K

264.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 739

$35.64 Rp 646.5K

24.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$5.53 Rp 100.4K

11.21%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.30

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

-13.24%

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

$1.26 R 21.06

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

-25.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.59

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

31.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.3

$2.65 Rp 48.1K

16.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.6

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

-15.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.41

$1.49 Rp 27.0K

-10.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.89

$2.28 Rp 41.3K

-47.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 35.01

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

76.47%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.8

$2.04 Rp 36.9K

49.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 146

$17.70 Rp 321.1K

-50.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$3.96 Rp 71.9K

76.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 157

$12.19 Rp 221.1K

-22.97%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.44

$3.66 Rp 66.3K

-48.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.32

$1.52 Rp 27.5K

23.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.08

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

-24.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.07

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

3.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.12

$1.85 Rp 33.5K

-15.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.65

$2.42 Rp 44.0K

-38.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.36

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

29.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.81

$0.51 Rp 9,313

133.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.5

$2.22 Rp 40.3K

63.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$22.24 Rp 403.4K

-72.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.14

$2.26 Rp 41.0K

-38.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.32

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

-26.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.83

$0.25 Rp 4,553

448.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,021

$7.82 Rp 141.9K

683.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.57

$0.44 Rp 7,972

29.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.62

$0.43 Rp 7,801

244.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.6

$5.41 Rp 98.1K

-9.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.29

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

92.68%

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

$34.7K R 578.4K

$23.8K Rp 432.4M

45.59%

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

$34.1K R 568.2K

$31.7K Rp 575.9M

7.41%

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

$117 R 1,948

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

47.89%

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

$28.35 R 472

$6.45 Rp 116.9K

339.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 676

$18.58 Rp 337.0K

118.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 809

$49.48 Rp 897.5K

-1.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

$17.65 Rp 320.1K

-38.81%

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$4.27 Rp 77.5K

113.35%

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

$302 R 5,031

$491 Rp 8.9M

-38.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 112.0K

$5,674 Rp 102.9M

18.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 920

$44.64 Rp 809.7K

23.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 545

$34.95 Rp 634.0K

-6.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,964

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

47.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,731

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

30.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

-7.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$671 Rp 12.2M

2.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.0K

$3,565 Rp 64.7M

-44.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.1K

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

-19.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.3K

$2,732 Rp 49.5M

-11.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.9K

$2,284 Rp 41.4M

-32.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.3K

$164 Rp 3.0M

861.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

13.78

-20.39%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8% 2.8% $19

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4% 29% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7% 44% $82

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 38.6% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 22.9% $32

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9% 84.7% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3% 13.1% $8.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,041 in Cape Town versus $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Cape Town are about 9.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Cape Town versus $36 in Ubud, Bali. Groceries tell a different story – $224 in Cape Town vs $288 in Ubud, Bali – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

06:56 6:56 AM

12:56 12:56 PM

6 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

74,800

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 31, 2026: 1 USD = 18,138 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,311 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Ubud, Bali 10,100 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
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

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

Cape Town costs about 15% more than Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,335 per month in Cape Town and $2,023 in Ubud, Bali. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $1,041 in Cape Town and $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,349 in Ubud, Bali. That makes Ubud, Bali about 13% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 87% less in Ubud, Bali. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,349 in Ubud, Bali. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Ubud, Bali costs $1,349 versus $1,556 in Cape Town. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Ubud, Bali. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.