Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rio de Janeiro and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Rio de Janeiro: $1,185 a month against $1,331 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Rio de Janeiro
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Rio de Janeiro Living Index
64

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

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Rio de Janeiro

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,185

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,331

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,185 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,331 in Ubud, Bali.

Rio de Janeiro $1,185
Ubud, Bali $1,331

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,737 in Rio de Janeiro versus $2,255 in Ubud, Bali.

Rio de Janeiro $1,737
Ubud, Bali $2,255

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,289 in Rio de Janeiro versus $3,180 in Ubud, Bali.

Rio de Janeiro $2,289
Ubud, Bali $3,180

Living in Rio de Janeiro costs roughly 11% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Rio de Janeiro 12% lower, Ubud, Bali 2% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.16 R$44.76

$3.38 Rp 61.3K

141.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.20 R$204

$34.65 Rp 629.1K

7.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 R$41.28

$5.57 Rp 101.2K

35.01%

Cappuccino

$2.10 R$11.55

$2.62 Rp 47.6K

-19.85%

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

$1.36 R$7.47

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

-11.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.96 R$5.27

$0.64 Rp 11.6K

50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.98 R$10.84

$2.67 Rp 48.4K

-25.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.26 R$17.89

$4.26 Rp 77.4K

-23.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.09 R$5.96

$1.46 Rp 26.5K

-25.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 R$10.24

$2.29 Rp 41.6K

-18.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.12 R$6.17

$1.11 Rp 20.1K

0.90%

Eggs

$2.20 R$12.09

$2.10 Rp 38.1K

4.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.91 R$54.4

$15.94 Rp 289.4K

-37.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.11 R$22.56

$3.88 Rp 70.5K

5.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.25 R$50.7

$11.40 Rp 207.0K

-18.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.59 R$14.22

$3.55 Rp 64.5K

-27.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 R$9.26

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

9.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.47 R$8.06

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

-34.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.72 R$9.42

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

-12.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 R$6.34

$1.86 Rp 33.7K

-37.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 R$5.48

$2.42 Rp 43.9K

-58.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.66 R$3.60

$1.02 Rp 18.6K

-35.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 R$3.34

$0.52 Rp 9,483

17.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.69 R$14.77

$2.20 Rp 39.9K

22.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.20 R$39.53

$21.79 Rp 395.6K

-66.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 R$5.89

$2.33 Rp 42.2K

-54.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 R$12.29

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

-24.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 R$4.81

$0.25 Rp 4,546

252.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$52.3 R$287

$8.17 Rp 148.4K

540.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.18 R$6.47

$0.44 Rp 7,947

168.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.68 R$3.71

$0.47 Rp 8,496

44.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.71 R$47.80

$5.60 Rp 101.7K

55.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.20 R$6.58

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

44.58%

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

$21.9K R$120.0K

$24.4K Rp 443.8M

-10.54%

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

$31.0K R$170.2K

$31.7K Rp 575.5M

-2.17%

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

$126 R$689

$77.5 Rp 1.4M

62.13%

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

$10.14 R$55.6

$6.14 Rp 111.6K

65.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.95 R$115

$18.92 Rp 343.4K

10.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.51 R$156

$51.0 Rp 925.8K

-44.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.87 R$158

$18.25 Rp 331.3K

58.19%

Cinema Ticket

$7.40 R$40.63

$4.38 Rp 79.6K

68.95%

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

$537 R$2,947

$492 Rp 8.9M

9.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.9K R$87.2K

$12.2K Rp 221.9M

30.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$38.68 R$212

$45.16 Rp 819.9K

-14.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.06 R$247

$34.89 Rp 633.4K

29.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.6 R$376

$78.3 Rp 1.4M

-12.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$64.1 R$352

$77.9 Rp 1.4M

-17.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$768 R$4,213

$1,078 Rp 19.6M

-28.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 R$2,693

$665 Rp 12.1M

-26.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,458 R$8,004

$3,510 Rp 63.7M

-58.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$743 R$4,077

$1,671 Rp 30.3M

-55.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,325 R$18.3K

$2,340 Rp 42.5M

42.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R$8,518

$2,236 Rp 40.6M

-30.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$674 R$3,698

$166 Rp 3.0M

305.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.93

13.78

-13.43%

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

Last update for Rio de Janeiro: November 3, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rio de Janeiro

$491 41.4%

Ubud, Bali

$665 50% 35.5% $174

Groceries & Markets

Rio de Janeiro

$198 16.7%

Ubud, Bali

$279 21% 41.1% $81

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rio de Janeiro

$157 13.2%

Ubud, Bali

$103 7.7% 34.6% $54

Eating Out

Rio de Janeiro

$139 11.7%

Ubud, Bali

$106 8% 23.8% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Rio de Janeiro

$97 8.2%

Ubud, Bali

$106 8% 9.2% $8.9

Getting Around

Rio de Janeiro

$60 5.1%

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9% 80.2% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Rio de Janeiro

$43 3.7%

Ubud, Bali

$60 4.5% 38% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $768 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,078 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rio de Janeiro pays about 4.1 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37 in Rio de Janeiro vs $35 in Ubud, Bali. Groceries flip the comparison at $198 vs $279, with Rio de Janeiro cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

19:02 7:02 PM

06:02 6:02 AM

11 h ahead of Rio de Janeiro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

6,211,223

74,800

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.162 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 5.49 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.18 BRL (1 BRL = 0.162 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18,155 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,438 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.89 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rio de Janeiro Ubud, Bali 15,810 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Rio de Janeiro
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

Rio de Janeiro vs Ubud, Bali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,185 in Rio de Janeiro and $1,331 in Ubud, Bali, so Rio de Janeiro is about 11% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Rio de Janeiro is about 4.1 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: $768 in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,078 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Ubud, Bali – a meal for two runs $35 versus $37 in Rio de Janeiro. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,185 per month in Rio de Janeiro versus $1,331 in Ubud, Bali – Rio de Janeiro is about 11% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Rio de Janeiro 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.