Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Shanghai and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Shanghai: $1,222 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ubud, Bali outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

59

Cost of Living Index in Shanghai
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Shanghai Living Index
65

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

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Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

$1,222

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,222 in Shanghai versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali.

Shanghai $1,222
Ubud, Bali $1,349

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,971 in Shanghai versus $2,305 in Ubud, Bali.

Shanghai $1,971
Ubud, Bali $2,305

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,720 in Shanghai versus $3,261 in Ubud, Bali.

Shanghai $2,720
Ubud, Bali $3,261

Living in Shanghai costs roughly 9% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.53 ¥30.11

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

36.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.16 ¥201

$35.64 Rp 647.8K

-15.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.11 ¥34.04

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

-7.59%

Cappuccino

$3.41 ¥22.70

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

25.37%

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

$0.58 ¥3.85

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

-65.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.35 ¥2.36

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

-53.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 ¥8.22

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

-53.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 ¥15.37

$4.38 Rp 79.6K

-47.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 ¥12.52

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

26.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.94 ¥12.88

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

-14.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.98 ¥6.52

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

-17.65%

Eggs

$1.70 ¥11.31

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

-16.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.02 ¥113

$17.70 Rp 321.7K

-3.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.22 ¥21.41

$3.96 Rp 72.0K

-18.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.93 ¥86.0

$12.19 Rp 221.6K

6.07%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 ¥14.31

$3.66 Rp 66.4K

-41.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 ¥11.48

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

13.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.03 ¥13.51

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

-8.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 ¥11.54

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

-12.18%

Potato (1kg)

$0.83 ¥5.51

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

-55.14%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 ¥6.13

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

-61.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 ¥4.48

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

-32.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 ¥3.92

$0.51 Rp 9,332

15.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.77 ¥25.10

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

69.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.03 ¥73.4

$22.24 Rp 404.2K

-50.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 ¥6.00

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

-60.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ¥10.67

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

-46.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 ¥3.81

$0.25 Rp 4,562

128.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.62 ¥197

$7.82 Rp 142.2K

278.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ¥14.25

$0.44 Rp 7,989

386.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 ¥3.10

$0.43 Rp 7,817

9.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.74 ¥58.2

$5.41 Rp 98.3K

61.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 ¥8.93

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

63.41%

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

$19.3K ¥128.1K

$23.8K Rp 433.3M

-19.25%

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

$18.3K ¥121.7K

$31.7K Rp 577.0M

-42.42%

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

$58.9 ¥392

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

-25.50%

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

$7.90 ¥52.5

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

22.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.60 ¥70.5

$18.58 Rp 337.7K

-42.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.8 ¥431

$49.48 Rp 899.4K

30.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.47 ¥116

$17.65 Rp 320.8K

-1.02%

Cinema Ticket

$9.06 ¥60.3

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

112.18%

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

$1,587 ¥10.6K

$491 Rp 8.9M

223.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.2K ¥187.9K

$5,674 Rp 103.1M

397.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 ¥363

$44.64 Rp 811.4K

22.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.21 ¥248

$34.95 Rp 635.3K

6.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.6 ¥496

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

-6.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 ¥707

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

33.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,026 ¥6,826

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

-8.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$559 ¥3,722

$671 Rp 12.2M

-16.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,618 ¥17.4K

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

-26.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,191 ¥7,926

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

-30.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.4K ¥89.0K

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

389.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,527 ¥43.4K

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

185.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,712 ¥11.4K

$164 Rp 3.0M

945.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.36

13.78

-75.62%

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

Last update for Shanghai: 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

Shanghai

$559 45.8%

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8% 20.1% $112

Groceries & Markets

Shanghai

$237 19.4%

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4% 22% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Shanghai

$123 10%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 12.4% $15

Eating Out

Shanghai

$107 8.8%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 0.6% $0.7

Sport & Entertainment

Shanghai

$83 6.8%

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3% 30% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Shanghai

$77 6.3%

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7% 34.5% $27

Getting Around

Shanghai

$36 3%

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9% 68.6% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,026 in Shanghai and $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shanghai pays about 10 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $30 in Shanghai vs $36 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $288 per month, with Shanghai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Shanghai

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

05:21 5:21 AM

Same time as Shanghai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,870,895

74,800

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18,175 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20,233 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Shanghai Ubud, Bali 4,470 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Shanghai
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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,222 in Shanghai and $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, so Shanghai is about 9% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Shanghai is about 10 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: $1,026 in Shanghai versus $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,587 in Shanghai versus $491 in Ubud, Bali. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Shanghai 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.