Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Machakos and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Machakos: $520 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $9,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Machakos
Learn more

Machakos Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
Learn more

Ubud, Bali Living Index

Jump to prices

Machakos

🇰🇪 Kenya

$520

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $520 in Machakos versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali.

Machakos $520
Ubud, Bali $1,349

Estimated couple costs with rent: $802 in Machakos versus $2,305 in Ubud, Bali.

Machakos $802
Ubud, Bali $2,305

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,084 in Machakos versus $3,261 in Ubud, Bali.

Machakos $1,084
Ubud, Bali $3,261

Living in Machakos costs roughly 61% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.99 KES 389

$3.32 Rp 60.3K

-9.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.26 KES 2,500

$35.64 Rp 646.7K

-45.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.26 KES 812

$5.53 Rp 100.4K

13.20%

Cappuccino

$1.97 KES 255

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

-27.57%

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

$0.66 KES 85.4

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

-61.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 KES 69.6

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

-28.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 KES 281

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

-18.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 KES 346

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

-39.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.39 KES 50.9

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

-73.83%

White Bread (500g)

$0.48 KES 62.7

$2.28 Rp 41.3K

-78.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.80 KES 104

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

-32.77%

Eggs

$1.36 KES 177

$2.04 Rp 36.9K

-33.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.89 KES 1,413

$17.70 Rp 321.2K

-38.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.36 KES 826

$3.96 Rp 71.9K

60.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.71 KES 612

$12.19 Rp 221.2K

-61.36%

Apples (1kg)

$1.50 KES 195

$3.66 Rp 66.3K

-59.02%

Banana (1kg)

$0.81 KES 105

$1.52 Rp 27.5K

-46.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.37 KES 47.49

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

-83.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.40 KES 51.6

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

-79.70%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 KES 102

$1.85 Rp 33.5K

-57.30%

Onion (1kg)

$0.76 KES 98.6

$2.42 Rp 44.0K

-68.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 KES 97.6

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

-24.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.39 KES 51.1

$0.51 Rp 9,316

-23.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.51 KES 455

$2.22 Rp 40.3K

58.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.31 KES 1,468

$22.24 Rp 403.6K

-49.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 KES 248

$2.26 Rp 41.0K

-15.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 KES 351

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

-9.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,555

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 KES 96.4

$0.44 Rp 7,975

68.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.75 KES 97.8

$0.43 Rp 7,804

74.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 KES 371

$5.41 Rp 98.2K

-47.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 KES 195

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

82.93%

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

$19.1K KES 2.5M

$23.8K Rp 432.6M

-19.80%

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

$21.7K KES 2.8M

$31.7K Rp 576.1M

-31.57%

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

$57.0 KES 7,396

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

-27.93%

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

$7.83 KES 1,017

$6.45 Rp 117.0K

21.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.58 KES 1,503

$18.58 Rp 337.1K

-37.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.98 KES 5,060

$49.48 Rp 897.9K

-21.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.2K

Cinema Ticket

$7.66 KES 994

$4.27 Rp 77.6K

79.39%

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

$45.51 KES 5,907

$491 Rp 8.9M

-90.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K KES 1.6M

$5,674 Rp 103.0M

117.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$11.62 KES 1,509

$44.64 Rp 810.0K

-73.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.49 KES 3,698

$34.95 Rp 634.2K

-18.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.8 KES 8,923

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

-13.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$38.19 KES 4,956

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

-51.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$94.2 KES 12.2K

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

-91.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$70.4 KES 9,132

$671 Rp 12.2M

-89.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$155 KES 20.1K

$3,565 Rp 64.7M

-95.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$116 KES 15.1K

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

-93.25%

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)

$385 KES 50.0K

$164 Rp 3.0M

135.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.71

13.78

6.75%

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

Last update for Machakos: October 24, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Machakos

$161 31%

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4% 79.2% $127

Eating Out

Machakos

$87 16.8%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 23.4% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Machakos

$76 14.7%

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7% 36.2% $28

Accommodation & Living

Machakos

$70 13.5%

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8% 854% $601

Clothing & Footwear

Machakos

$66 12.7%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 62.5% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Machakos

$54 10.4%

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3% 6.9% $3.7

Getting Around

Machakos

$4.5 * 0.9%

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9% 153% $6.9

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 $94 in Machakos and $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Machakos pays about 2.3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $19 in Machakos vs $36 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $161 vs $288 per month, with Machakos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Machakos

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

21:22 9:22 PM

02:22 2:22 AM

5 h ahead of Machakos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

114,109

74,800

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.9 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.9 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 KES in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Machakos Ubud, Bali 8,660 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Machakos
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

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

Machakos wins on cost – living expenses run 61% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Machakos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Machakos is about 2.3 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: $94 in Machakos versus $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 79% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $520 per month in Machakos versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali – Machakos is about 61% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $520 in Machakos versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, a $800 budget is realistic in Machakos but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Machakos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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