Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kandy and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Kandy: $513 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Kandy
Learn more

Kandy Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
Learn more

Ubud, Bali Living Index

Jump to prices

Kandy

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$513

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $513 in Kandy versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali.

Kandy $513
Ubud, Bali $1,349

Estimated couple costs with rent: $728 in Kandy versus $2,305 in Ubud, Bali.

Kandy $728
Ubud, Bali $2,305

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $943 in Kandy versus $3,261 in Ubud, Bali.

Kandy $943
Ubud, Bali $3,261

Living in Kandy costs roughly 62% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.66 LKR 885

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

-19.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.01 LKR 4,324

$35.64 Rp 647.8K

-63.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.00 LKR 1,996

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

8.50%

Cappuccino

$1.90 LKR 632

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

-30.15%

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

$0.52 LKR 174

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

-69.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 LKR 87.1

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

-65.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.86 LKR 620

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

-29.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 LKR 931

$4.38 Rp 79.6K

-36.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 LKR 382

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

-22.82%

White Bread (500g)

$0.52 LKR 174

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

-77.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 LKR 255

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

-35.29%

Eggs

$1.71 LKR 568

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

-16.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.14 LKR 1,708

$17.70 Rp 321.7K

-70.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.25 LKR 1,412

$3.96 Rp 72.0K

7.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.87 LKR 2,285

$12.19 Rp 221.6K

-43.64%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 LKR 1,043

$3.66 Rp 66.4K

-14.21%

Banana (1kg)

$0.84 LKR 280

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

-44.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 LKR 574

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

-22.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.29 LKR 429

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

-34.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 LKR 339

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

-44.86%

Onion (1kg)

$0.83 LKR 277

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

-65.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.43 LKR 144

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

-56.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.42 LKR 140

$0.51 Rp 9,332

-17.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.02 LKR 2,668

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

261.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.28 LKR 3,751

$22.24 Rp 404.2K

-49.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 LKR 643

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

-14.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 LKR 691

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

-29.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.16 LKR 53.3

$0.25 Rp 4,562

-36.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$4.38 LKR 1,457

$7.82 Rp 142.2K

-43.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.41 LKR 136

$0.44 Rp 7,989

-6.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 LKR 116

$0.43 Rp 7,817

-18.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 LKR 156

$5.41 Rp 98.3K

-91.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 LKR 383

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

40.24%

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

$14.0K LKR 4.6M

$23.8K Rp 433.3M

-41.38%

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

$36.7K LKR 12.2M

$31.7K Rp 577.0M

15.74%

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

$59.0 LKR 19.6K

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

-25.36%

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

$3.86 LKR 1,282

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

-40.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.72 LKR 4,227

$18.58 Rp 337.7K

-31.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$10.85 LKR 3,606

$49.48 Rp 899.4K

-78.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.80 LKR 2,262

$17.65 Rp 320.8K

-61.47%

Cinema Ticket

$2.74 LKR 909

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

-35.83%

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

$21.65 LKR 7,199

$491 Rp 8.9M

-95.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$304 LKR 101.0K

$5,674 Rp 103.1M

-94.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.28 LKR 6,078

$44.64 Rp 811.4K

-59.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$10.15 LKR 3,375

$34.95 Rp 635.3K

-70.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.7 LKR 22.5K

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

-15.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$26.56 LKR 8,831

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

-66.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$172 LKR 57.2K

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

-84.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$113 LKR 37.5K

$671 Rp 12.2M

-83.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$172 LKR 57.2K

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

-95.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$93.6 LKR 31.1K

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

-94.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$397 LKR 131.9K

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

-85.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$400 LKR 133.0K

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

-82.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$262 LKR 86.9K

$164 Rp 3.0M

59.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

-12.92%

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

Last update for Kandy: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kandy

$166 32.3%

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4% 73.9% $123

Accommodation & Living

Kandy

$113 22%

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8% 495% $559

Eating Out

Kandy

$80 15.6%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 34.3% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kandy

$76 14.7%

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7% 37.7% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Kandy

$55 10.8%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 94.7% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Kandy

$16 3.2%

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3% 256% $42

Getting Around

Kandy

$7.2 1.4%

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9% 59.3% $4.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $172 in Kandy and $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kandy pays 60% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $13 in Kandy vs $36 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $166 vs $288 per month, with Kandy cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Kandy

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

01:59 1:59 AM

04:29 4:29 AM

2 h 30 min ahead of Kandy

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

125,000

74,800

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18,175 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20,233 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kandy Ubud, Bali 4,220 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Kandy
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

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

Kandy is about 62% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 60% higher in Kandy, 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: $172 in Kandy versus $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $513 per month in Kandy versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali – Kandy is about 62% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Kandy runs roughly 44% less than in Ubud, Bali. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $513 in Kandy versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kandy but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Kandy the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Expats usually find Kandy gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.