Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Howick and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Howick: $1,081 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Howick
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Howick Living Index
65

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

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Howick

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,081

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,081 in Howick versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali.

Howick $1,081
Ubud, Bali $1,349

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,676 in Howick versus $2,305 in Ubud, Bali.

Howick $1,676
Ubud, Bali $2,305

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,271 in Howick versus $3,261 in Ubud, Bali.

Howick $2,271
Ubud, Bali $3,261

Living in Howick costs roughly 20% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.03 R 133

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

141.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.85 R 645

$35.64 Rp 648.1K

9.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.50 R 91.3

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

-0.54%

Cappuccino

$2.66 R 44.23

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

-2.21%

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

$1.09 R 18.19

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

-35.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 R 15.32

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

21.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.39 R 39.69

$2.65 Rp 48.3K

-9.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 R 41.80

$4.38 Rp 79.7K

-42.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 R 20.08

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

-18.79%

White Bread (500g)

$0.98 R 16.30

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

-57.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.92

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

31.09%

Eggs

$2.34 R 38.88

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

14.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.23 R 137

$17.70 Rp 321.9K

-53.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.28 R 87.7

$3.96 Rp 72.1K

33.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.20 R 120

$12.19 Rp 221.7K

-40.94%

Apples (1kg)

$1.99 R 33.03

$3.66 Rp 66.5K

-45.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.24

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

23.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 R 31.86

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

-13.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.70 R 28.22

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

-13.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.76

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

-19.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.33

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

-39.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 R 20.17

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

22.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.78

$0.51 Rp 9,336

133.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.68 R 61.1

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

65.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.84 R 80.4

$22.24 Rp 404.4K

-78.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 R 24.15

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

-35.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 R 31.23

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

-36.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.54 R 25.52

$0.25 Rp 4,564

516.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.45 R 7.49

$0.44 Rp 7,992

2.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 R 12.41

$0.43 Rp 7,821

74.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.56 R 126

$5.41 Rp 98.4K

39.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 R 22.68

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

67.07%

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

$36.1K R 600.3K

$23.8K Rp 433.5M

51.59%

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

$33.1K R 550.2K

$31.7K Rp 577.3M

4.33%

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

$150 R 2,491

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

89.68%

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

$15.25 R 253

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

136.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.18 R 667

$18.58 Rp 337.8K

116.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.93 R 530

$49.48 Rp 899.8K

-35.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 183

$17.65 Rp 320.9K

-37.73%

Cinema Ticket

$7.09 R 118

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

66.04%

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

$309 R 5,141

$491 Rp 8.9M

-36.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,814 R 129.8K

$5,674 Rp 103.2M

37.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.1 R 899

$44.64 Rp 811.7K

21.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.61 R 508

$34.95 Rp 635.6K

-12.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 R 1,636

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

23.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.3 R 1,400

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

6.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$395 R 6,567

$1,125 Rp 20.5M

-64.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$366 R 6,078

$671 Rp 12.2M

-45.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$735 R 12.2K

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

-79.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$734 R 12.2K

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

-57.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$868 R 14.4K

$2,732 Rp 49.7M

-68.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$675 R 11.2K

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

-70.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.78

13.78

-14.51%

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

Last update for Howick: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Howick

$366 33.9%

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8% 83.5% $306

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Howick

$205 19%

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7% 49.3% $101

Groceries & Markets

Howick

$195 18%

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4% 48% $94

Eating Out

Howick

$138 12.8%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 21.8% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Howick

$120 11.1%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 10.7% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Howick

$46 4.3%

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3% 25.9% $12

Getting Around

Howick

$10 * 1%

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9% 10.6% $1.1

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 $395 in Howick and $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $39 in Howick vs $36 in Ubud, Bali. Groceries flip the comparison at $195 vs $288, with Howick cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Howick

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

10:17 10:17 AM

16:17 4:17 PM

6 h ahead of Howick

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

32,453

74,800

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.93 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.54 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18,183 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20,291 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.93 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Howick Ubud, Bali 9,070 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Howick
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

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

Howick is about 20% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,621 in Howick and $2,023 in Ubud, Bali to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $395 in Howick versus $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $309 in Howick versus $491 in Ubud, Bali. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ubud, Bali – a meal for two runs $36 versus $39 in Howick. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Howick gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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