Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nara, Japan and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Nara: $1,233 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ubud, Bali outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

59

Cost of Living Index in Nara
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Nara Living Index
65

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

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Nara

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,233

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,233 in Nara versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali.

Nara $1,233
Ubud, Bali $1,349

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,851 in Nara versus $2,305 in Ubud, Bali.

Nara $1,851
Ubud, Bali $2,305

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,468 in Nara versus $3,261 in Ubud, Bali.

Nara $2,468
Ubud, Bali $3,261

Living in Nara costs roughly 9% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.33 ¥996

$3.32 Rp 60.2K

90.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.27 ¥5,083

$35.64 Rp 645.8K

-9.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.99 ¥785

$5.53 Rp 100.3K

-9.76%

Cappuccino

$2.50 ¥394

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

-8.09%

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

$1.26 ¥198

$1.70 Rp 30.8K

-25.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.71 ¥112

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

-6.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 ¥506

$2.65 Rp 48.1K

21.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 ¥488

$4.38 Rp 79.4K

-29.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ¥247

$1.49 Rp 27.0K

5.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 ¥205

$2.28 Rp 41.2K

-42.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.12 ¥649

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

246.22%

Eggs

$2.23 ¥352

$2.04 Rp 36.9K

9.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.75 ¥1,537

$17.70 Rp 320.8K

-44.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.07 ¥1,114

$3.96 Rp 71.8K

78.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.13 ¥2,855

$12.19 Rp 220.9K

48.73%

Apples (1kg)

$3.30 ¥520

$3.66 Rp 66.2K

-9.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 ¥304

$1.52 Rp 27.5K

26.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 ¥334

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

-4.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.08 ¥642

$1.97 Rp 35.7K

107.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.50 ¥236

$1.85 Rp 33.5K

-18.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 ¥179

$2.42 Rp 43.9K

-52.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ¥179

$0.99 Rp 17.9K

14.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 ¥138

$0.51 Rp 9,303

72.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.88 ¥612

$2.22 Rp 40.3K

74.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.54 ¥1,502

$22.24 Rp 403.0K

-57.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 ¥295

$2.26 Rp 41.0K

-17.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 ¥339

$2.97 Rp 53.8K

-27.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.48 ¥233

$0.25 Rp 4,548

492.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$74.3 ¥11.7K

$7.82 Rp 141.8K

850.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.15 ¥497

$0.44 Rp 7,964

615.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.92 ¥461

$0.43 Rp 7,793

579.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.66 ¥2,467

$5.41 Rp 98.0K

189.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 ¥169

$0.82 Rp 14.9K

31.71%

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

$21.8K ¥3.4M

$23.8K Rp 432.0M

-8.72%

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

$15.3K ¥2.4M

$31.7K Rp 575.3M

-51.76%

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

$118 ¥18.6K

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

49.13%

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

$24.81 ¥3,909

$6.45 Rp 116.8K

284.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 ¥4,843

$18.58 Rp 336.7K

65.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$83.2 ¥13.1K

$49.48 Rp 896.7K

68.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.58 ¥1,195

$17.65 Rp 319.8K

-57.05%

Cinema Ticket

$12.57 ¥1,980

$4.27 Rp 77.4K

194.38%

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

$693 ¥109.1K

$491 Rp 8.9M

41.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.3K ¥2.1M

$5,674 Rp 102.8M

134.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.11 ¥7,420

$44.64 Rp 808.9K

5.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.96 ¥4,877

$34.95 Rp 633.4K

-11.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.8 ¥9,728

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

-22.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.9 ¥14.2K

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

13.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$411 ¥64.8K

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

-63.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 ¥53.5K

$671 Rp 12.2M

-49.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$832 ¥131.1K

$3,565 Rp 64.6M

-76.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$547 ¥86.1K

$1,723 Rp 31.2M

-68.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,671 ¥420.7K

$2,732 Rp 49.5M

-2.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,040 ¥321.3K

$2,284 Rp 41.4M

-10.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,123 ¥176.8K

$164 Rp 3.0M

585.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.02

13.78

-85.34%

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

Last update for Nara: October 24, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nara

$340 27.6%

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8% 97.5% $332

Groceries & Markets

Nara

$285 23.1%

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4% 1.4% $3.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nara

$173 14.1%

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7% 40% $69

Eating Out

Nara

$126 10.2%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 14.3% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Nara

$108 8.8%

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3% 46.4% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Nara

$103 8.4%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 4% $4.1

Getting Around

Nara

$98 8%

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9% 88.4% $87

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $411 in Nara and $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nara pays about 6.9 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32 in Nara vs $36 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $285 vs $288 per month, with Nara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Nara

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

10:02 10:02 AM

09:02 9:02 AM

1 h behind Nara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

355,280

74,800

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.52 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.35 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.69 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18,120 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.52 USD). 1 EUR = 20,232 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

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Between locations

Nara Ubud, Bali 5,270 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Nara
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

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

Nara is about 9% cheaper overall, especially in clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Nara is about 6.9 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: $411 in Nara 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 89% less than in Nara. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,233 per month in Nara versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali – Nara is about 9% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Nara 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.