Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Luis and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Luis: $832 a month against $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Sao Luis
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Sao Luis Living Index
66

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

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Sao Luis

🇧🇷 Brazil

$832

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,353

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $832 in Sao Luis versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali.

Sao Luis $832
Ubud, Bali $1,353

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,317 in Sao Luis versus $2,297 in Ubud, Bali.

Sao Luis $1,317
Ubud, Bali $2,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,802 in Sao Luis versus $3,241 in Ubud, Bali.

Sao Luis $1,802
Ubud, Bali $3,241

Living in Sao Luis costs roughly 39% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sao Luis is 39% below, Ubud, Bali is 0% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.64 R$33.64

$3.23 Rp 58.1K

105.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.14 R$203

$34.88 Rp 627.8K

15.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.89 R$34.93

$5.70 Rp 102.5K

20.88%

Cappuccino

$2.13 R$10.80

$2.62 Rp 47.1K

-18.70%

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

$1.22 R$6.20

$1.72 Rp 31.0K

-29.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.71 R$3.60

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

-12.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.95 R$9.87

$2.65 Rp 47.7K

-26.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.43 R$12.31

$4.37 Rp 78.6K

-44.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.05 R$5.33

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

-33.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.98 R$10.06

$2.19 Rp 39.5K

-9.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.14 R$5.80

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

-3.39%

Eggs

$2.21 R$11.21

$2.16 Rp 38.8K

2.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.82 R$49.77

$17.65 Rp 317.7K

-44.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.31 R$21.87

$3.78 Rp 68.0K

14.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.89 R$39.99

$11.95 Rp 215.1K

-33.97%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 R$11.02

$3.60 Rp 64.8K

-39.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 R$7.02

$1.59 Rp 28.6K

-13.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.20 R$6.08

$2.31 Rp 41.6K

-48.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.69 R$8.58

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

-11.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.39 R$7.03

$1.78 Rp 32.1K

-21.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 R$6.45

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

-45.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.88 R$4.46

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

-12.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 R$3.88

$0.53 Rp 9,509

45.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 R$11.97

$2.29 Rp 41.1K

3.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.07 R$40.90

$22.07 Rp 397.3K

-63.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 R$6.44

$2.35 Rp 42.2K

-45.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 R$11.42

$2.98 Rp 53.6K

-24.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.85 R$4.30

$0.23 Rp 4,112

269.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.93 R$192

$8.90 Rp 160.2K

326.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.95 R$4.83

$0.47 Rp 8,466

102.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 R$4.66

$0.43 Rp 7,737

113.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.47 Rp 98.4K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 R$6.29

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

49.40%

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

$23.8K R$120.7K

$23.9K Rp 429.8M

-0.27%

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

$30.7K R$155.9K

$32.8K Rp 590.1M

-6.22%

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

$95.3 R$483

$80.0 Rp 1.4M

19.08%

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

$17.60 R$89.2

$6.56 Rp 118.1K

168.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.13 R$107

$18.60 Rp 334.8K

13.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$20.40 R$103

$54.1 Rp 974.1K

-62.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.06 R$76.4

$18.28 Rp 329.0K

-17.61%

Cinema Ticket

$6.76 R$34.25

$4.25 Rp 76.5K

59.06%

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

$184 R$935

$493 Rp 8.9M

-62.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,903 R$14.7K

$5,597 Rp 100.7M

-48.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.5 R$327

$45.58 Rp 820.4K

41.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.2 R$275

$34.96 Rp 629.4K

55.09%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.1 R$386

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

-2.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.2 R$300

$78.5 Rp 1.4M

-24.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$360 R$1,824

$1,131 Rp 20.4M

-68.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$184 R$930

$673 Rp 12.1M

-72.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$577 R$2,923

$3,613 Rp 65.0M

-84.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$322 R$1,635

$1,702 Rp 30.6M

-81.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,529 R$7,749

$2,717 Rp 48.9M

-43.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$717 R$3,633

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

-68.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$394 R$1,998

$166 Rp 3.0M

136.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

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

Last update for Sao Luis: October 18, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sao Luis

$197 23.7%

Ubud, Bali

$287 21.2% 45.5% $90

Accommodation & Living

Sao Luis

$184 22.1%

Ubud, Bali

$673 49.7% 267% $489

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Luis

$134 16.1%

Ubud, Bali

$105 7.8% 21.5% $29

Eating Out

Sao Luis

$122 14.6%

Ubud, Bali

$106 7.9% 12.5% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Luis

$114 13.8%

Ubud, Bali

$107 7.9% 6.8% $7.8

Getting Around

Sao Luis

$47 5.6%

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9% 73.5% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Luis

$34 4.1%

Ubud, Bali

$63 4.6% 84.7% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $360 in Sao Luis and $1,131 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sao Luis pays 137% 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 Sao Luis vs $35.00 in Ubud, Bali. Groceries flip the comparison at $197 vs $287, with Sao Luis cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Sao Luis

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

07:51 7:51 AM

18:51 6:51 PM

11 h ahead of Sao Luis

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,037,775

74,800

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 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 October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 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 BRL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sao Luis Ubud, Bali 17,440 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Luis
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

Sao Luis vs Ubud, Bali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sao Luis and Ubud, Bali differ by about 63% in total monthly costs ($832 vs $1,353 including rent). Sao Luis is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 137% higher in Sao Luis, 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: $360 in Sao Luis 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 46% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Sao Luis – 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 $832 in Sao Luis versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sao Luis but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Sao Luis 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, Sao Luis 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 Sao Luis gentler on the wallet – expenses run 63% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.