Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sandakan, Sabah and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Sandakan, Sabah: $968 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Sandakan, Sabah
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Sandakan, Sabah Living Index
65

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

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Sandakan, Sabah

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$968

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $968 in Sandakan, Sabah versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali.

Sandakan, Sabah $968
Ubud, Bali $1,349

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,470 in Sandakan, Sabah versus $2,305 in Ubud, Bali.

Sandakan, Sabah $1,470
Ubud, Bali $2,305

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,971 in Sandakan, Sabah versus $3,261 in Ubud, Bali.

Sandakan, Sabah $1,971
Ubud, Bali $3,261

Living in Sandakan, Sabah costs roughly 28% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.65 MYR 14.91

$3.32 Rp 59.9K

9.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.26 MYR 78.7

$35.64 Rp 642.4K

-45.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.56 MYR 18.63

$5.53 Rp 99.7K

-17.54%

Cappuccino

$3.07 MYR 12.56

$2.72 Rp 49.0K

12.87%

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

$0.73 MYR 2.98

$1.70 Rp 30.7K

-57.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.43 MYR 1.75

$0.76 Rp 13.7K

-43.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.24 MYR 17.35

$2.65 Rp 47.8K

60.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.93 MYR 16.06

$4.38 Rp 79.0K

-10.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.99 MYR 8.13

$1.49 Rp 26.9K

33.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 MYR 4.81

$2.28 Rp 41.0K

-48.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.49 MYR 6.10

$1.19 Rp 21.5K

25.21%

Eggs

$2.24 MYR 9.16

$2.04 Rp 36.7K

9.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.79 MYR 48.20

$17.70 Rp 319.1K

-33.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.00 MYR 16.36

$3.96 Rp 71.4K

1.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.55 MYR 39.02

$12.19 Rp 219.7K

-21.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.84 MYR 11.59

$3.66 Rp 65.9K

-22.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 MYR 6.65

$1.52 Rp 27.4K

7.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.53 MYR 10.34

$2.23 Rp 40.2K

13.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 MYR 6.39

$1.97 Rp 35.6K

-20.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.39 MYR 5.68

$1.85 Rp 33.3K

-24.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 MYR 5.65

$2.42 Rp 43.7K

-42.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 MYR 5.17

$0.99 Rp 17.8K

28.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.48 MYR 1.94

$0.51 Rp 9,255

-5.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.04 MYR 16.52

$2.22 Rp 40.0K

81.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.89 MYR 89.5

$22.24 Rp 400.9K

-1.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.12 MYR 12.77

$2.26 Rp 40.7K

38.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.29 MYR 17.51

$2.97 Rp 53.5K

44.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 MYR 3.22

$0.25 Rp 4,525

216.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.67 MYR 43.60

$7.82 Rp 141.0K

36.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 MYR 5.41

$0.44 Rp 7,923

200.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.63 MYR 2.58

$0.43 Rp 7,753

46.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.09 MYR 33.08

$5.41 Rp 97.5K

49.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 MYR 3.33

$0.82 Rp 14.9K

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

$46.8K MYR 191.1K

$23.8K Rp 429.7M

96.09%

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

$39.7K MYR 162.1K

$31.7K Rp 572.3M

24.96%

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

$48.86 MYR 200

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

-38.20%

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

$10.09 MYR 41.24

$6.45 Rp 116.2K

56.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.65 MYR 117

$18.58 Rp 334.9K

54.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.98 MYR 151

$49.48 Rp 892.0K

-25.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.38 MYR 30.16

$17.65 Rp 318.1K

-58.19%

Cinema Ticket

$5.08 MYR 20.77

$4.27 Rp 77.0K

18.97%

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

$242 MYR 990

$491 Rp 8.8M

-50.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,062 MYR 28.9K

$5,674 Rp 102.3M

24.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.1 MYR 258

$44.64 Rp 804.7K

41.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.35 MYR 124

$34.95 Rp 630.1K

-13.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 MYR 374

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

14.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.2 MYR 316

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

-2.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$379 MYR 1,549

$1,125 Rp 20.3M

-66.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$326 MYR 1,331

$671 Rp 12.1M

-51.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$631 MYR 2,577

$3,565 Rp 64.3M

-82.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$589 MYR 2,406

$1,723 Rp 31.1M

-65.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,010 MYR 8,215

$2,732 Rp 49.2M

-26.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,149 MYR 4,696

$2,284 Rp 41.2M

-49.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,210 MYR 4,946

$164 Rp 3.0M

638.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

13.78

-70.54%

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

Last update for Sandakan, Sabah: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sandakan, Sabah

$326 33.6%

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8% 106% $346

Groceries & Markets

Sandakan, Sabah

$258 26.7%

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4% 11.7% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Sandakan, Sabah

$118 12.2%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 8.9% $10

Eating Out

Sandakan, Sabah

$113 11.7%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 5.1% $5.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sandakan, Sabah

$88 9.1%

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7% 18.8% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Sandakan, Sabah

$47 4.9%

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3% 23.1% $11

Getting Around

Sandakan, Sabah

$18 1.9%

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9% 37.6% $6.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $379 in Sandakan, Sabah and $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sandakan, Sabah pays about 7.4 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $19 in Sandakan, Sabah vs $36 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $288 per month, with Sandakan, Sabah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Sandakan, Sabah

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

20:02 8:02 PM

Same time as Sandakan, Sabah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

439,050

74,800

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.55 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.09 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.55 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18,025 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.55 USD). 1 EUR = 20,061 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.98 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sandakan, Sabah Ubud, Bali 1,630 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Sandakan, Sabah
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

Sandakan, Sabah vs Ubud, Bali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sandakan, Sabah and Ubud, Bali differ by about 39% in total monthly costs ($968 vs $1,349 including rent). Sandakan, Sabah is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Sandakan, Sabah is about 7.4 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: $379 in Sandakan, Sabah 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 27% less than in Sandakan, Sabah. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Childcare runs $242 in Sandakan, Sabah versus $491 in Ubud, Bali. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $968 in Sandakan, Sabah versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Sandakan, Sabah but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Sandakan, Sabah the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Sandakan, Sabah 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.