Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Francisco and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubud, Bali: $1,331 a month against $1,683 in San Francisco, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. The total is higher in San Francisco despite lower rent and utilities.

80

Cost of Living Index in San Francisco
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San Francisco Living Index
64

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

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San Francisco

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,683

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,331

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,683 in San Francisco versus $1,331 in Ubud, Bali.

San Francisco $1,683
Ubud, Bali $1,331

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,673 in San Francisco versus $2,255 in Ubud, Bali.

San Francisco $2,673
Ubud, Bali $2,255

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,662 in San Francisco versus $3,180 in Ubud, Bali.

San Francisco $3,662
Ubud, Bali $3,180

Living in San Francisco is roughly 26% more expensive than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Francisco is 24% above, Ubud, Bali is 2% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.66 ₡4,345

$3.38 Rp 61.3K

185.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.6 ₡27.7K

$34.65 Rp 629.3K

77.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.85 ₡4,878

$5.57 Rp 101.2K

94.79%

Cappuccino

$4.48 ₡2,015

$2.62 Rp 47.6K

70.99%

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

$1.36 ₡611

$1.54 Rp 28.0K

-11.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 ₡798

$0.64 Rp 11.6K

176.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 ₡1,441

$2.67 Rp 48.4K

20.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 ₡1,958

$4.26 Rp 77.4K

2.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.39 ₡1,077

$1.46 Rp 26.6K

63.70%

White Bread (500g)

$3.08 ₡1,386

$2.29 Rp 41.6K

34.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.54 ₡1,142

$1.11 Rp 20.1K

128.83%

Eggs

$3.53 ₡1,586

$2.10 Rp 38.1K

68.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.89 ₡4,898

$15.94 Rp 289.5K

-31.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.32 ₡4,641

$3.88 Rp 70.5K

165.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.81 ₡6,211

$11.40 Rp 207.1K

21.14%

Apples (1kg)

$5.21 ₡2,344

$3.55 Rp 64.5K

46.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 ₡735

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

5.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,159

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

115.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.95 ₡1,775

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

100.51%

Potato (1kg)

$3.88 ₡1,745

$1.86 Rp 33.7K

108.60%

Onion (1kg)

$3.60 ₡1,621

$2.42 Rp 43.9K

48.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 ₡500

$1.02 Rp 18.6K

8.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.21 ₡1,444

$0.52 Rp 9,486

517.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.78 ₡2,601

$2.20 Rp 39.9K

162.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.70 ₡8,857

$21.79 Rp 395.7K

-9.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 ₡1,251

$2.33 Rp 42.2K

19.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.71 ₡1,668

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

24.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.34 ₡603

$0.25 Rp 4,547

436.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.3 ₡29.4K

$8.17 Rp 148.5K

699.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.71 ₡769

$0.44 Rp 7,950

288.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 ₡800

$0.47 Rp 8,499

278.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.21 ₡3,693

$5.60 Rp 101.7K

46.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡704

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

87.95%

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

$34.6K ₡15.5M

$24.4K Rp 444.0M

41.34%

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

$41.3K ₡18.6M

$31.7K Rp 575.6M

30.30%

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

$77.3 ₡34.8K

$77.5 Rp 1.4M

-0.19%

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

$33.59 ₡15.1K

$6.14 Rp 111.6K

447.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.2 ₡26.2K

$18.92 Rp 343.5K

207.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.9 ₡30.6K

$51.0 Rp 926.1K

33.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.25 Rp 331.4K

Cinema Ticket

$7.91 ₡3,556

$4.38 Rp 79.6K

80.59%

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

$970 ₡436.2K

$492 Rp 8.9M

96.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.8K ₡8.5M

$12.2K Rp 222.0M

54.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.1 ₡32.4K

$45.16 Rp 820.2K

59.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.6 ₡25.4K

$34.89 Rp 633.6K

62.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$65.3 ₡29.4K

$78.3 Rp 1.4M

-16.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.3 ₡24.9K

$77.9 Rp 1.4M

-28.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$809 ₡364.0K

$1,078 Rp 19.6M

-24.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$634 ₡285.0K

$665 Rp 12.1M

-4.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,934 ₡869.5K

$3,510 Rp 63.7M

-44.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,263 ₡568.0K

$1,671 Rp 30.3M

-24.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,340 Rp 42.5M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,236 Rp 40.6M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$890 ₡400.0K

$166 Rp 3.0M

434.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

13.78

-37.45%

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

Last update for San Francisco: November 1, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Francisco

$634 37.6%

Ubud, Bali

$665 50% 4.9% $31

Groceries & Markets

San Francisco

$402 23.9%

Ubud, Bali

$279 21% 30.5% $123

Eating Out

San Francisco

$201 11.9%

Ubud, Bali

$106 8% 47.4% $95

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Francisco

$169 10.1%

Ubud, Bali

$103 7.7% 39.4% $67

Clothing & Footwear

San Francisco

$112 6.7%

Ubud, Bali

$106 8% 5.3% $5.9

Sport & Entertainment

San Francisco

$84 5%

Ubud, Bali

$60 4.5% 28.7% $24

Getting Around

San Francisco

$81 4.8%

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9% 85.3% $69

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $809 in San Francisco and $1,078 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Francisco pays about 5.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in San Francisco vs $35 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $402 vs $279 per month, with Ubud, Bali cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Francisco

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

12:09 12:09 PM

02:09 2:09 AM

14 h ahead of San Francisco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

55,923

74,800

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18,161 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,333 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

San Francisco Ubud, Bali 17,890 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

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

Ubud, Bali wins on cost – living expenses run 21% lower than in San Francisco. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Ubud, Bali the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in San Francisco is about 5.3 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: $809 in San Francisco versus $1,078 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 87% less than in San Francisco. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $970 in San Francisco versus $492 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 $1,000. Ubud, Bali is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

Safety-wise, San Francisco and Ubud, Bali are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Ubud, Bali wins on affordability, San Francisco on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.