Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Cristobal de las Casas and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in San Cristobal de las Casas: $897 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in San Cristobal de las Casas
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San Cristobal de las Casas Living Index
65

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

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San Cristobal de las Casas

🇲🇽 Mexico

$897

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in San Cristobal de las Casas 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 San Cristobal de las Casas and in Ubud, Bali actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $897 in San Cristobal de las Casas versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali.

San Cristobal de las Casas $897
Ubud, Bali $1,349

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,399 in San Cristobal de las Casas versus $2,305 in Ubud, Bali.

San Cristobal de las Casas $1,399
Ubud, Bali $2,305

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,900 in San Cristobal de las Casas versus $3,261 in Ubud, Bali.

San Cristobal de las Casas $1,900
Ubud, Bali $3,261

Living in San Cristobal de las Casas costs roughly 33% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.30 MX$99.3

$3.32 Rp 60.3K

59.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.46 MX$515

$35.64 Rp 646.7K

-22.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.84 MX$109

$5.53 Rp 100.4K

5.61%

Cappuccino

$2.56 MX$47.95

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

-5.88%

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

$1.59 MX$29.86

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

-6.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 MX$18.42

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

28.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.72 MX$51.0

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

2.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 MX$60.3

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

-26.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 MX$27.14

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

-2.68%

White Bread (500g)

$3.45 MX$64.7

$2.28 Rp 41.3K

51.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.50 MX$28.19

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

26.05%

Eggs

$2.23 MX$41.73

$2.04 Rp 36.9K

9.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.39 MX$120

$17.70 Rp 321.2K

-63.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.19 MX$78.6

$3.96 Rp 71.9K

5.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.14 MX$115

$12.19 Rp 221.2K

-49.63%

Apples (1kg)

$3.28 MX$61.5

$3.66 Rp 66.3K

-10.38%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 MX$38.23

$1.52 Rp 27.5K

34.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 MX$40.05

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

-4.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.41 MX$26.44

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

-28.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.64 MX$30.79

$1.85 Rp 33.5K

-11.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 MX$33.36

$2.42 Rp 44.0K

-26.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.80 MX$33.66

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

81.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 MX$28.64

$0.51 Rp 9,316

200.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.83 MX$34.37

$2.22 Rp 40.3K

-17.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.26 MX$192

$22.24 Rp 403.6K

-53.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.39 MX$44.79

$2.26 Rp 41.0K

5.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 MX$34.69

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

-37.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.56 MX$10.48

$0.25 Rp 4,555

124.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.64 MX$499

$7.82 Rp 142.0K

240.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.71 MX$50.7

$0.44 Rp 7,975

515.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.72 MX$51.0

$0.43 Rp 7,804

532.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.2K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 MX$25.33

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

64.63%

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

$18.7K MX$351.2K

$23.8K Rp 432.6M

-21.40%

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

$31.7K Rp 576.1M

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

$31.80 MX$596

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

-59.78%

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

$14.22 MX$267

$6.45 Rp 117.0K

120.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.82 MX$372

$18.58 Rp 337.1K

6.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.13 MX$415

$49.48 Rp 897.9K

-55.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.94 MX$430

$17.65 Rp 320.2K

29.97%

Cinema Ticket

$6.92 MX$130

$4.27 Rp 77.6K

62.06%

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

$198 MX$3,718

$491 Rp 8.9M

-59.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,631 MX$49.3K

$5,674 Rp 103.0M

-53.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.93 MX$355

$44.64 Rp 810.0K

-57.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.46 MX$515

$34.95 Rp 634.2K

-21.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.0 MX$1,799

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

20.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$54.0 MX$1,012

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

-31.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$424 MX$7,941

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

-62.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$304 MX$5,700

$671 Rp 12.2M

-54.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$847 MX$15.9K

$3,565 Rp 64.7M

-76.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$534 MX$9,998

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

-69.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$799 MX$15.0K

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

-70.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$658 MX$12.3K

$2,284 Rp 41.4M

-71.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$403 MX$7,556

$164 Rp 3.0M

146.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.8

13.78

-28.88%

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

Last update for San Cristobal de las Casas: October 27, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Cristobal de las Casas

$304 33.9%

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8% 121% $367

Groceries & Markets

San Cristobal de las Casas

$237 26.4%

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4% 21.7% $52

Eating Out

San Cristobal de las Casas

$121 13.5%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 11% $13

Clothing & Footwear

San Cristobal de las Casas

$88 9.9%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 21.7% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Cristobal de las Casas

$66 7.3%

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7% 58.1% $38

Getting Around

San Cristobal de las Casas

$45 5%

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9% 74.7% $34

Sport & Entertainment

San Cristobal de las Casas

$36 4%

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3% 61.3% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $424 in San Cristobal de las Casas and $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Cristobal de las Casas pays about 2.5 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $27 in San Cristobal de las Casas vs $36 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $288 per month, with San Cristobal de las Casas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇽 San Cristobal de las Casas

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

09:40 9:40 AM

23:40 11:40 PM

14 h ahead of San Cristobal de las Casas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

183,509

74,800

💱 Currency

Mexican Peso MXN $

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to MXN – Mexican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇽 Mexican Peso ($)

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 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 MXN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Cristobal de las Casas Ubud, Bali 16,860 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

San Cristobal de las Casas
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

San Cristobal de las Casas vs Ubud, Bali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Cristobal de las Casas wins on cost – living expenses run 33% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making San Cristobal de las Casas the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in San Cristobal de las Casas is about 2.5 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: $424 in San Cristobal de las Casas 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 71% less than in San Cristobal de las Casas. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $198 in San Cristobal de las Casas versus $491 in Ubud, Bali. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. San Cristobal de las Casas is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, San Cristobal de las Casas 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, San Cristobal de las Casas and Ubud, Bali are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.