Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Potchefstroom and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Potchefstroom: $994 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Potchefstroom, South Africa
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Potchefstroom
🇿🇦 South Africa
$994
/mo nomad
Ubud, Bali
🇮🇩 Indonesia
$1,349
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $994 in Potchefstroom versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali.

  • Potchefstroom $994
  • Ubud, Bali $1,349

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,479 in Potchefstroom versus $2,305 in Ubud, Bali.

  • Potchefstroom $1,479
  • Ubud, Bali $2,305

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,963 in Potchefstroom versus $3,261 in Ubud, Bali.

  • Potchefstroom $1,963
  • Ubud, Bali $3,261

Living in Potchefstroom costs roughly 26% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Potchefstroom
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$6.79 R 113
$3.32 Rp 60.4K
104.52%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$30.75 R 512
$35.64 Rp 647.8K
-13.72%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.44 R 90.6
$5.53 Rp 100.6K
-1.63%
Cappuccino
$2.15 R 35.90
$2.72 Rp 49.4K
-20.96%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.09 R 18.08
$1.70 Rp 30.9K
-35.88%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.80 R 13.25
$0.76 Rp 13.8K
5.26%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.44 R 40.72
$2.65 Rp 48.2K
-7.92%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.81 R 46.76
$4.38 Rp 79.6K
-35.84%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Potchefstroom
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.22 R 20.39
$1.49 Rp 27.1K
-18.12%
White Bread (500g)
$1.10 R 18.28
$2.28 Rp 41.4K
-51.75%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.85 R 30.83
$1.19 Rp 21.6K
55.46%
Eggs
$2.45 R 40.88
$2.04 Rp 37.0K
20.10%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.78 R 130
$17.70 Rp 321.7K
-56.05%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$4.54 R 75.6
$3.96 Rp 72.0K
14.65%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.25 R 121
$12.19 Rp 221.6K
-40.53%
Apples (1kg)
$1.50 R 25.05
$3.66 Rp 66.4K
-59.02%
Banana (1kg)
$1.56 R 25.97
$1.52 Rp 27.6K
2.63%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.75 R 29.11
$2.23 Rp 40.5K
-21.52%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.19 R 19.75
$1.97 Rp 35.9K
-39.59%
Potato (1kg)
$1.13 R 18.88
$1.85 Rp 33.6K
-38.92%
Onion (1kg)
$1.12 R 18.63
$2.42 Rp 44.1K
-53.72%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.18 R 19.70
$0.99 Rp 18.0K
19.19%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.11 R 18.50
$0.51 Rp 9,332
117.65%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.25 R 54.2
$2.22 Rp 40.4K
46.40%
Wine (Bottle)
$4.22 R 70.3
$22.24 Rp 404.2K
-81.03%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.12 R 18.64
$2.26 Rp 41.1K
-50.44%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.98 R 32.95
$2.97 Rp 54.0K
-33.33%
🚌 Getting Around
Potchefstroom
Ubud, Bali
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.15 R 19.10
$0.25 Rp 4,562
360.00%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$7.82 Rp 142.2K
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.29 R 4.82
$0.44 Rp 7,989
-34.09%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.82 R 13.71
$0.43 Rp 7,817
90.70%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$14.71 R 245
$5.41 Rp 98.3K
171.90%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.51 R 25.23
$0.82 Rp 15.0K
84.15%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$36.5K R 608.3K
$23.8K Rp 433.3M
53.13%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$35.8K R 595.7K
$31.7K Rp 577.0M
12.60%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Potchefstroom
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$151 R 2,518
$79.1 Rp 1.4M
91.12%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$30.22 R 504
$6.45 Rp 117.2K
368.53%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$37.57 R 626
$18.58 Rp 337.7K
102.21%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Potchefstroom
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$30.54 R 509
$49.48 Rp 899.4K
-38.28%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$10.85 R 181
$17.65 Rp 320.8K
-38.53%
Cinema Ticket
$7.28 R 121
$4.27 Rp 77.7K
70.49%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Potchefstroom
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$123 R 2,047
$491 Rp 8.9M
-74.96%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,616 R 93.6K
$5,674 Rp 103.1M
-1.03%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Potchefstroom
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$27.77 R 463
$44.64 Rp 811.4K
-37.79%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$21.23 R 354
$34.95 Rp 635.3K
-39.26%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$87.6 R 1,459
$79.9 Rp 1.5M
9.59%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$69.9 R 1,165
$79.4 Rp 1.4M
-12.00%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Potchefstroom
Ubud, Bali
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$284 R 4,730
$1,125 Rp 20.4M
-74.76%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$326 R 5,438
$671 Rp 12.2M
-51.40%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$462 R 7,694
$3,565 Rp 64.8M
-87.05%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$574 R 9,561
$1,723 Rp 31.3M
-66.71%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$859 R 14.3K
$2,732 Rp 49.6M
-68.56%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$712 R 11.9K
$2,284 Rp 41.5M
-68.84%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Potchefstroom
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$926 R 15.4K
$164 Rp 3.0M
465.29%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.34
13.78
-17.71%

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

Last update for Potchefstroom: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Potchefstroom
$326
Ubud, Bali
$672 106% $345
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Potchefstroom
$219
Ubud, Bali
$104 52.5% $115
Groceries & Markets
Potchefstroom
$180
Ubud, Bali
$288 60.6% $109
Eating Out
Potchefstroom
$122
Ubud, Bali
$108 11.6% $14
Clothing & Footwear
Potchefstroom
$93
Ubud, Bali
$108 15.7% $15
Sport & Entertainment
Potchefstroom
$45
Ubud, Bali
$58 28.7% $13
Getting Around
Potchefstroom
$9 *
Ubud, Bali
$11 27% $2.4

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 $284 in Potchefstroom and $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Potchefstroom pays about 5.7 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $31 in Potchefstroom vs $36 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $180 vs $288 per month, with Potchefstroom cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇿🇦 Potchefstroom
🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali
🕒 Local time
22:37 10:37 PM
04:37 4:37 AM
6 h ahead of Potchefstroom
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
43,448
74,800
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 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).

On the map
Between locations
  • Potchefstroom Ubud, Bali 9,400 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Potchefstroom
  • 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
Potchefstroom vs Ubud, Bali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Potchefstroom cheaper than Ubud, Bali?
Potchefstroom is about 26% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Potchefstroom or Ubud, Bali?
Average pay in Potchefstroom is about 5.7 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
What is the rent difference between Potchefstroom and Ubud, Bali?
Rent for a central apartment: $284 in Potchefstroom versus $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
How do food prices compare in Potchefstroom and in Ubud, Bali?
Supermarket bills run roughly 61% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
What are total monthly expenses in Potchefstroom and in Ubud, Bali?
All in, you’ll spend $994 per month in Potchefstroom versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali – Potchefstroom is about 26% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.
Is it better to live in Potchefstroom or in Ubud, Bali?
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.

Potchefstroom vs other spots: cost of living compared

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