Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between East London and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in East London: $992 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ubud, Bali outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

48

Cost of Living Index in East London
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East London Living Index
65

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

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East London

🇿🇦 South Africa

$992

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $992 per month in East London vs $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent included.

East London $992
Ubud, Bali $1,349

A couple spends around $1,611 per month in East London vs $2,305 in Ubud, Bali, rent included.

East London $1,611
Ubud, Bali $2,305

A family of three spends $2,230 per month in East London vs $3,261 in Ubud, Bali, rent included.

East London $2,230
Ubud, Bali $3,261

East London is about 26% cheaper than Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.10 R 151

$3.32 Rp 60.3K

174.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.23 R 635

$35.64 Rp 647.3K

7.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.57 R 92.5

$5.53 Rp 100.5K

0.72%

Cappuccino

$2.05 R 34.01

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

-24.63%

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

$1.04 R 17.30

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

-38.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 R 12.68

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.69 R 44.62

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

1.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 R 53.3

$4.38 Rp 79.6K

-26.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 R 19.67

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

-20.81%

White Bread (500g)

$0.87 R 14.51

$2.28 Rp 41.3K

-61.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 R 23.94

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

21.01%

Eggs

$2.27 R 37.75

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

11.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.37 R 139

$17.70 Rp 321.5K

-52.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.49 R 91.2

$3.96 Rp 72.0K

38.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.71 R 111

$12.19 Rp 221.4K

-44.95%

Apples (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.26

$3.66 Rp 66.4K

-60.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.39

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

0.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 R 27.12

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

-26.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.43 R 23.81

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

-27.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.68 R 27.84

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

-9.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.43 R 23.69

$2.42 Rp 44.0K

-40.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 R 19.45

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

18.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 R 15.79

$0.51 Rp 9,324

86.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.89 R 47.99

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

30.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.70 R 78.0

$22.24 Rp 403.9K

-78.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.76

$2.26 Rp 41.0K

-47.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.35

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

-67.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.47 R 24.48

$0.25 Rp 4,559

488.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$46.85 R 778

$7.82 Rp 142.1K

499.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R 20.27

$0.44 Rp 7,982

177.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.46 R 7.58

$0.43 Rp 7,811

6.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.38 R 139

$5.41 Rp 98.2K

54.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 R 22.41

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

64.63%

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

$34.7K R 575.7K

$23.8K Rp 433.0M

45.42%

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

$29.3K R 486.3K

$31.7K Rp 576.6M

-7.77%

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

$122 R 2,030

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

54.67%

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

$32.64 R 542

$6.45 Rp 117.1K

406.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.35 R 736

$18.58 Rp 337.4K

138.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.51 R 656

$49.48 Rp 898.7K

-20.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.5K

Cinema Ticket

$4.54 R 75.4

$4.27 Rp 77.6K

6.32%

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

$177 R 2,941

$491 Rp 8.9M

-63.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,438 R 90.3K

$5,674 Rp 103.0M

-4.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.8 R 944

$44.64 Rp 810.7K

27.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.80 R 545

$34.95 Rp 634.8K

-6.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.1 R 1,213

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

-8.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.2 R 1,580

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

19.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$290 R 4,822

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

-74.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$251 R 4,161

$671 Rp 12.2M

-62.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$543 R 9,011

$3,565 Rp 64.7M

-84.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$633 R 10.5K

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

-63.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,664 R 27.6K

$164 Rp 3.0M

915.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

-20.17%

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

Last update for East London: 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

East London

$251 25.3%

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8% 168% $421

Monthly Utilities & Internet

East London

$199 20.1%

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7% 47.8% $95

Groceries & Markets

East London

$180 18.1%

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4% 60.6% $109

Eating Out

East London

$141 14.2%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 23.7% $33

Clothing & Footwear

East London

$116 11.7%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 7.4% $8.5

Getting Around

East London

$56 5.7%

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9% 79.7% $45

Sport & Entertainment

East London

$49 4.9%

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3% 19.4% $9.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $290 in East London 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 East London are about 10 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38 in East London versus $36 in Ubud, Bali. Groceries tell a different story – $180 in East London vs $288 in Ubud, Bali – so East London wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 East London

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

02:03 2:03 AM

08:03 8:03 AM

6 h ahead of East London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

267,007

74,800

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.91 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 November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18,161 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,355 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.91 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

East London Ubud, Bali 9,250 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

East London
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

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

Monthly costs with rent: $992 in East London, $1,349 in Ubud, Bali – East London comes out roughly 26% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,487 per month in East London and $2,023 in Ubud, Bali. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in East London, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $290 there versus $1,125 in Ubud, Bali.

Kindergarten costs $177 per month in East London and $491 in Ubud, Bali. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 61% more in Ubud, Bali, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in East London, where all-in costs run around $992, than in Ubud, Bali at $1,349. In East London it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ubud, Bali it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward East London – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.