Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between George Town, Malaysia and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in George Town: $952 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in George Town
Learn more

George Town Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
Learn more

Ubud, Bali Living Index

Jump to prices

George Town

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$952

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $952 in George Town versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali.

George Town $952
Ubud, Bali $1,349

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,558 in George Town versus $2,305 in Ubud, Bali.

George Town $1,558
Ubud, Bali $2,305

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,164 in George Town versus $3,261 in Ubud, Bali.

George Town $2,164
Ubud, Bali $3,261

Living in George Town costs roughly 29% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.46 MYR 14.06

$3.32 Rp 60.3K

4.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.45 MYR 62.9

$35.64 Rp 646.7K

-56.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.68 MYR 19.05

$5.53 Rp 100.4K

-15.37%

Cappuccino

$2.75 MYR 11.20

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

1.10%

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

$0.70 MYR 2.86

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

-58.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.35 MYR 1.43

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

-53.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 MYR 10.07

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

-6.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 MYR 18.01

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

0.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.87 MYR 7.61

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

25.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 MYR 4.27

$2.28 Rp 41.3K

-53.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.73 MYR 7.04

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

45.38%

Eggs

$2.22 MYR 9.03

$2.04 Rp 36.9K

8.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.65 MYR 55.6

$17.70 Rp 321.2K

-22.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.48 MYR 18.22

$3.96 Rp 71.9K

13.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.70 MYR 35.40

$12.19 Rp 221.2K

-28.63%

Apples (1kg)

$2.34 MYR 9.51

$3.66 Rp 66.3K

-36.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 MYR 5.93

$1.52 Rp 27.5K

-3.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 MYR 9.04

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

-0.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.20 MYR 4.89

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

-39.09%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 MYR 3.73

$1.85 Rp 33.5K

-50.27%

Onion (1kg)

$0.85 MYR 3.47

$2.42 Rp 44.0K

-64.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 MYR 3.03

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

-25.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 MYR 2.39

$0.51 Rp 9,316

15.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.58 MYR 18.62

$2.22 Rp 40.3K

106.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.84 MYR 76.7

$22.24 Rp 403.6K

-15.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.41 MYR 9.81

$2.26 Rp 41.0K

6.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.56 MYR 14.51

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

19.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.47 MYR 1.93

$0.25 Rp 4,555

88.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.01 MYR 48.90

$7.82 Rp 142.0K

53.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.23 MYR 5.01

$0.44 Rp 7,975

179.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.51 MYR 2.06

$0.43 Rp 7,804

18.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.53 MYR 26.60

$5.41 Rp 98.2K

20.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 MYR 3.35

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

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

$45.5K MYR 185.4K

$23.8K Rp 432.6M

91.04%

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

$34.6K MYR 141.0K

$31.7K Rp 576.1M

9.07%

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

$36.85 MYR 150

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

-53.39%

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

$8.05 MYR 32.76

$6.45 Rp 117.0K

24.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.38 MYR 116

$18.58 Rp 337.1K

52.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.35 MYR 164

$49.48 Rp 897.9K

-18.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.03 MYR 20.47

$17.65 Rp 320.2K

-71.50%

Cinema Ticket

$4.52 MYR 18.38

$4.27 Rp 77.6K

5.85%

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

$168 MYR 686

$491 Rp 8.9M

-65.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,958 MYR 20.2K

$5,674 Rp 103.0M

-12.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.2 MYR 216

$44.64 Rp 810.0K

19.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.86 MYR 142

$34.95 Rp 634.2K

-0.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.5 MYR 299

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

-8.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.8 MYR 288

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

-10.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$709 MYR 2,885

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

-36.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$366 MYR 1,491

$671 Rp 12.2M

-45.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 MYR 4,493

$3,565 Rp 64.7M

-69.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$904 MYR 3,681

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

-47.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.4M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,057 MYR 4,302

$164 Rp 3.0M

545.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.04

13.78

-70.68%

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

Last update for George Town: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

George Town

$366 38.5%

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8% 83.3% $305

Groceries & Markets

George Town

$241 25.3%

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4% 19.7% $47

Clothing & Footwear

George Town

$105 11%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 2.8% $3

Eating Out

George Town

$100 10.5%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 7.6% $7.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

George Town

$73 7.7%

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7% 42% $31

Sport & Entertainment

George Town

$49 5.2%

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3% 17.5% $8.6

Getting Around

George Town

$18 1.9%

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9% 35.4% $6.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $709 in George Town and $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

George Town pays about 6.5 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $15 in George Town vs $36 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $241 vs $288 per month, with George Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 George Town

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

21:21 9:21 PM

Same time as George Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

794,313

74,800

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.246 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.246 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18,145 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,249 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

George Town Ubud, Bali 2,270 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

George 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

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

George Town is about 29% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in George Town is about 6.5 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: $709 in George Town versus $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Ubud, Bali runs roughly 35% less than in George Town. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $168 in George Town versus $491 in Ubud, Bali. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

For families, George Town is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Ubud, Bali, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

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