Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Richards Bay and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Richards Bay: $1,027 a month against $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ubud, Bali outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

50

Cost of Living Index in Richards Bay
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Richards Bay Living Index
66

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

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Richards Bay

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,027

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,353

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,027 in Richards Bay versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali.

Richards Bay $1,027
Ubud, Bali $1,353

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,610 in Richards Bay versus $2,297 in Ubud, Bali.

Richards Bay $1,610
Ubud, Bali $2,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,193 in Richards Bay versus $3,241 in Ubud, Bali.

Richards Bay $2,193
Ubud, Bali $3,241

Living in Richards Bay costs roughly 24% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Richards Bay is 24% below, Ubud, Bali is 0% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.76 R 128

$3.23 Rp 58.1K

140.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.61 R 653

$34.88 Rp 627.8K

13.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.38 R 88.6

$5.70 Rp 102.5K

-5.61%

Cappuccino

$2.11 R 34.82

$2.62 Rp 47.1K

-19.47%

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

$1.13 R 18.67

$1.72 Rp 31.0K

-34.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.90 R 14.86

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

11.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.48 R 24.31

$2.65 Rp 47.7K

-44.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 R 30.79

$4.37 Rp 78.6K

-57.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 R 18.59

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

-28.03%

White Bread (500g)

$0.95 R 15.73

$2.19 Rp 39.5K

-56.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 R 24.84

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

27.97%

Eggs

$2.35 R 38.70

$2.16 Rp 38.8K

8.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.64 R 109

$17.65 Rp 317.7K

-62.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.51 R 74.3

$3.78 Rp 68.0K

19.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$11.95 Rp 215.1K

-42.09%

Apples (1kg)

$1.98 R 32.59

$3.60 Rp 64.8K

-45.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 R 26.48

$1.59 Rp 28.6K

1.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 R 32.49

$2.31 Rp 41.6K

-14.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 R 28.73

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

-8.90%

Potato (1kg)

$0.87 R 14.27

$1.78 Rp 32.1K

-51.12%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 R 19.67

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

-48.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 R 19.44

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

18.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 18.93

$0.53 Rp 9,509

116.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.38 R 39.14

$2.29 Rp 41.1K

3.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.97 R 81.9

$22.07 Rp 397.3K

-77.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 R 23.29

$2.35 Rp 42.2K

-40.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 R 30.44

$2.98 Rp 53.6K

-37.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 Rp 4,112

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$104 R 1,711

$8.90 Rp 160.2K

1067.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.41 R 6.83

$0.47 Rp 8,466

-12.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 R 11.65

$0.43 Rp 7,737

65.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.51 R 124

$5.47 Rp 98.4K

37.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 R 22.64

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

65.06%

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

$21.5K R 354.1K

$23.9K Rp 429.8M

-9.98%

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

$29.9K R 492.0K

$32.8K Rp 590.1M

-8.91%

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

$130 R 2,149

$80.0 Rp 1.4M

63.03%

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

$30.05 R 495

$6.56 Rp 118.1K

358.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.32 R 664

$18.60 Rp 334.8K

116.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.79 R 590

$54.1 Rp 974.1K

-33.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.28 Rp 329.0K

Cinema Ticket

$7.15 R 118

$4.25 Rp 76.5K

68.24%

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

$107 R 1,755

$493 Rp 8.9M

-78.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,674 R 44.1K

$5,597 Rp 100.7M

-52.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.6 R 851

$45.58 Rp 820.4K

13.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.59 R 306

$34.96 Rp 629.4K

-46.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.7 R 1,263

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

-1.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.3 R 1,422

$78.5 Rp 1.4M

9.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$371 R 6,107

$1,131 Rp 20.4M

-67.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$261 R 4,293

$673 Rp 12.1M

-61.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$695 R 11.4K

$3,613 Rp 65.0M

-80.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$552 R 9,093

$1,702 Rp 30.6M

-67.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$352 R 5,792

$2,717 Rp 48.9M

-87.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$516 R 8,500

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

-76.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,239 R 20.4K

$166 Rp 3.0M

644.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.5

13.78

-45.57%

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

Last update for Richards Bay: October 20, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Richards Bay

$261 25.4%

Ubud, Bali

$673 49.7% 158% $412

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Richards Bay

$201 19.6%

Ubud, Bali

$105 7.8% 47.6% $96

Groceries & Markets

Richards Bay

$180 17.5%

Ubud, Bali

$287 21.2% 59.7% $107

Eating Out

Richards Bay

$123 12%

Ubud, Bali

$106 7.9% 13.3% $16

Getting Around

Richards Bay

$108 * 10.5%

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9% 88.5% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Richards Bay

$105 10.2%

Ubud, Bali

$107 7.9% 1.5% $1.6

Sport & Entertainment

Richards Bay

$50 4.9%

Ubud, Bali

$63 4.6% 25% $13

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 $371 in Richards Bay and $1,131 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Richards Bay pays 645% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $40.00 in Richards Bay vs $35.00 in Ubud, Bali. Groceries flip the comparison at $180 vs $287, with Richards Bay cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Richards Bay

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

13:38 1:38 PM

19:38 7:38 PM

6 h ahead of Richards Bay

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

57,387

74,800

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

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

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Richards Bay Ubud, Bali 8,890 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Richards Bay
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

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

Richards Bay is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 32% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 645% higher in Richards Bay, 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: $371 in Richards Bay versus $1,131 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 60% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Richards Bay – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $35.00 in Ubud, Bali. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,027 in Richards Bay versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Richards Bay but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Richards Bay the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Richards Bay 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, Richards Bay 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.

Expats usually find Richards Bay gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.