Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hua-lien and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Hua-lien: $1,076 a month against $1,368 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ubud, Bali outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Hua-lien
🇹🇼 Taiwan
$1,076
/mo nomad
Ubud, Bali
🇮🇩 Indonesia
$1,368
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,076 in Hua-lien versus $1,368 in Ubud, Bali.

  • Hua-lien $1,076
  • Ubud, Bali $1,368

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,820 in Hua-lien versus $2,314 in Ubud, Bali.

  • Hua-lien $1,820
  • Ubud, Bali $2,314

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,563 in Hua-lien versus $3,260 in Ubud, Bali.

  • Hua-lien $2,563
  • Ubud, Bali $3,260

Living in Hua-lien costs roughly 21% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Hua-lien is 20% below, Ubud, Bali is 1% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Hua-lien
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$3.99 NT$129
$3.33 Rp 59.9K
19.82%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$28.74 NT$932
$35.18 Rp 633.2K
-18.31%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.28 NT$139
$5.80 Rp 104.5K
-26.21%
Cappuccino
$2.78 NT$90.3
$2.73 Rp 49.1K
1.83%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.93 NT$30.01
$1.64 Rp 29.5K
-43.29%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.56 NT$18.18
$0.83 Rp 15.0K
-32.53%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.33 NT$43.12
$2.70 Rp 48.6K
-50.74%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.09 NT$67.6
$4.30 Rp 77.4K
-51.40%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Hua-lien
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$2.93 NT$95.1
$1.50 Rp 27.1K
95.33%
White Bread (500g)
$1.76 NT$56.9
$2.30 Rp 41.4K
-23.48%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$4.50 NT$146
$1.18 Rp 21.2K
281.36%
Eggs
$1.98 NT$64.1
$2.14 Rp 38.6K
-7.48%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$19.63 NT$636
$17.48 Rp 314.6K
12.30%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.20 NT$201
$4.03 Rp 72.5K
53.85%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$25.54 NT$828
$12.23 Rp 220.1K
108.83%
Apples (1kg)
$2.66 NT$86.3
$3.55 Rp 63.9K
-25.07%
Banana (1kg)
$2.50 NT$80.9
$1.57 Rp 28.3K
59.24%
Oranges (1kg)
$3.21 NT$104
$2.24 Rp 40.2K
43.30%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.18 NT$103
$1.93 Rp 34.7K
64.77%
Potato (1kg)
$2.43 NT$78.7
$1.88 Rp 33.9K
29.26%
Onion (1kg)
$2.30 NT$74.6
$2.29 Rp 41.3K
0.44%
Lettuce (1 head)
$2.02 NT$65.5
$0.99 Rp 17.9K
104.04%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.98 NT$31.72
$0.53 Rp 9,475
84.91%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.88 NT$126
$2.28 Rp 41.1K
70.18%
Wine (Bottle)
$12.63 NT$410
$23.01 Rp 414.2K
-45.11%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.91 NT$62.1
$2.34 Rp 42.2K
-18.38%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.35 NT$76.1
$2.91 Rp 52.4K
-19.24%
🚌 Getting Around
Hua-lien
Ubud, Bali
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.61 NT$19.64
$0.24 Rp 4,315
154.17%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$36.66 NT$1,189
$8.82 Rp 158.7K
315.65%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.08 NT$99.8
$0.48 Rp 8,684
541.67%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.31 NT$9.91
$0.46 Rp 8,233
-32.61%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$10.36 NT$336
$5.45 Rp 98.2K
90.09%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$0.89 NT$28.98
$0.88 Rp 15.9K
1.14%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$33.7K NT$1.1M
$24.6K Rp 442.2M
37.31%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$26.6K NT$862.6K
$31.2K Rp 561.4M
-14.71%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Hua-lien
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$103 NT$3,332
$83.0 Rp 1.5M
23.79%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$19.48 NT$632
$6.45 Rp 116.0K
202.02%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$12.54 NT$407
$18.57 Rp 334.2K
-32.47%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Hua-lien
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$36.61 NT$1,187
$55.8 Rp 1.0M
-34.41%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$18.11 Rp 326.0K
-
Cinema Ticket
$10.12 NT$328
$4.38 Rp 78.9K
131.05%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Hua-lien
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$767 NT$24.9K
$493 Rp 8.9M
55.51%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$16.4K NT$533.1K
$5,754 Rp 103.6M
185.71%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Hua-lien
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$57.1 NT$1,850
$46.19 Rp 831.4K
23.53%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$36.07 NT$1,170
$35.33 Rp 636.0K
2.09%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$79.5 NT$2,576
$79.1 Rp 1.4M
0.46%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$107 NT$3,455
$78.4 Rp 1.4M
35.92%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Hua-lien
Ubud, Bali
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$404 NT$13.1K
$1,142 Rp 20.6M
-64.67%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$253 NT$8,204
$676 Rp 12.2M
-62.56%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$985 NT$31.9K
$3,503 Rp 63.1M
-71.89%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$740 NT$24.0K
$1,700 Rp 30.6M
-56.48%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$7,755 NT$251.5K
$2,784 Rp 50.1M
178.55%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$4,989 NT$161.8K
$2,241 Rp 40.3M
122.65%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Hua-lien
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$2,940 NT$95.3K
$165 Rp 3.0M
1686.44%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
2.13
13.78
-84.54%

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

Last update for Hua-lien: October 11, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Hua-lien
$368
Ubud, Bali
$290 21% $77
Accommodation & Living
Hua-lien
$253
Ubud, Bali
$676 167% $423
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Hua-lien
$135
Ubud, Bali
$108 19.8% $27
Clothing & Footwear
Hua-lien
$126
Ubud, Bali
$108 14.4% $18
Eating Out
Hua-lien
$95
Ubud, Bali
$109 14.6% $14
Sport & Entertainment
Hua-lien
$57
Ubud, Bali
$65 13.6% $7.7
Getting Around
Hua-lien
$44
Ubud, Bali
$13 71.3% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $404 in Hua-lien and $1,142 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hua-lien pays 1686% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $29.00 in Hua-lien vs $35.00 in Ubud, Bali. Groceries flip the comparison at $368 vs $290, with Ubud, Bali cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇹🇼 Hua-lien
🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali
🕒 Local time
08:15 8:15 AM
08:15 8:15 AM
Same time as Hua-lien
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
105,034
74,800
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Hua-lien Ubud, Bali 3,680 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Hua-lien
  • 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
Hua-lien vs Ubud, Bali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Hua-lien or Ubud, Bali?
Hua-lien wins on cost – living expenses run 27% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Hua-lien the obvious pick if budget is a priority.
Are salaries higher in Hua-lien or in Ubud, Bali?
Average pay runs 1686% higher in Hua-lien, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How much does a 1-bedroom apartment cost in Hua-lien compared to Ubud, Bali?
Rent for a central apartment: $404 in Hua-lien versus $1,142 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Are groceries more expensive in Hua-lien or in Ubud, Bali?
Shoppers in Ubud, Bali pay roughly 27% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.
How do dining costs compare in Hua-lien and in Ubud, Bali?
Dining out is cheaper in Hua-lien – a meal for two runs $29.00 versus $35.00 in Ubud, Bali. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Can you live on $1,000/month in Hua-lien or in Ubud, Bali?
At $1,076 in Hua-lien versus $1,368 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Hua-lien but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Hua-lien the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Which city is better for digital nomads, Hua-lien or Ubud, Bali?
Both work as nomad bases, but Hua-lien delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,076 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Hua-lien hard to pass up.
How safe is Hua-lien compared to Ubud, Bali?
Safety-wise, Hua-lien 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.
Which city is more affordable for expats?
Expats usually find Hua-lien gentler on the wallet – expenses run 27% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Hua-lien vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?