Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sharjah and Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Bali: $1,224 a month against $1,841 in Sharjah, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Sharjah
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Sharjah Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Bali
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Bali Living Index

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Sharjah

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$1,841

/mo nomad

Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,224

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sharjah and in Bali

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Sharjah and in Bali actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,841 per month in Sharjah vs $1,224 in Bali, rent included.

Sharjah $1,841
Bali $1,224

A couple spends around $2,576 per month in Sharjah vs $2,064 in Bali, rent included.

Sharjah $2,576
Bali $2,064

A family of three spends $3,312 per month in Sharjah vs $2,904 in Bali, rent included.

Sharjah $3,312
Bali $2,904

Sharjah costs about 50% more than Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Sharjah sits 37% above the global median, while Bali is 9% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.97 AED 21.92

$2.74 Rp 49.0K

117.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.91 AED 121

$29.64 Rp 529.8K

11.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.29 AED 30.45

$4.74 Rp 84.7K

74.89%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.54 AED 35.05

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.35 AED 34.35

Cappuccino

$3.82 AED 14.02

$2.22 Rp 39.7K

72.07%

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

$0.80 AED 2.93

$1.37 Rp 24.5K

-41.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 AED 1.05

$0.66 Rp 11.8K

-56.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.21 Rp 39.4K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.62 Rp 64.7K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 AED 5.64

$1.44 Rp 25.8K

6.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 AED 4.38

$2.17 Rp 38.7K

-45.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 AED 6.71

$1.12 Rp 20.0K

63.39%

Eggs

$3.21 AED 11.80

$1.97 Rp 35.2K

62.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.64 AED 31.73

$16.41 Rp 293.2K

-47.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.63 AED 24.36

$3.63 Rp 65.0K

82.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.46 AED 42.09

$11.53 Rp 206.2K

-0.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 AED 8.33

$3.37 Rp 60.2K

-32.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 AED 6.12

$1.46 Rp 26.0K

14.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.30 AED 4.78

$2.15 Rp 38.4K

-39.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.28 AED 4.72

$1.90 Rp 34.0K

-32.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 AED 3.79

$1.80 Rp 32.2K

-42.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.12 AED 4.12

$2.24 Rp 40.0K

-50.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.43 AED 5.26

$0.94 Rp 16.8K

52.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 AED 2.23

$0.48 Rp 8,577

27.08%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$15.53 AED 57.0

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 AED 8.88

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 AED 9.50

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 AED 23.19

$2.14 Rp 38.2K

194.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.94 Rp 392.2K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 40.4K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 Rp 49.6K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.16 AED 7.92

$0.26 Rp 4,661

730.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.07 AED 99.4

$8.08 Rp 144.4K

235.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.65 AED 13.42

$0.44 Rp 7,853

729.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 AED 1.91

$0.42 Rp 7,491

23.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.07 AED 44.33

$5.66 Rp 101.1K

113.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 AED 3.46

$0.90 Rp 16.0K

4.44%

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

$45.2K AED 166.0K

$24.2K Rp 433.4M

86.41%

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

$22.0K AED 80.9K

$31.5K Rp 563.1M

-30.09%

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

$208 AED 766

$80.1 Rp 1.4M

160.45%

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

$49.40 AED 181

$6.63 Rp 118.5K

645.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$96.1 AED 353

$18.33 Rp 327.6K

424.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.5 AED 196

$45.56 Rp 814.4K

17.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.29 AED 81.9

$15.24 Rp 272.4K

46.26%

Cinema Ticket

$13.54 AED 49.72

$3.71 Rp 66.4K

264.96%

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

$325 AED 1,194

$442 Rp 7.9M

-26.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,433 AED 31.0K

$5,246 Rp 93.8M

60.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.6 AED 212

$44.18 Rp 789.6K

30.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$78.0 AED 286

$34.13 Rp 610.1K

128.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 AED 401

$77.2 Rp 1.4M

41.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.1 AED 353

$75.0 Rp 1.3M

28.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$823 AED 3,024

$994 Rp 17.8M

-17.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$906 AED 3,329

$588 Rp 10.5M

54.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,797 AED 6,598

$3,084 Rp 55.1M

-41.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,402 AED 5,148

$1,496 Rp 26.7M

-6.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,241 AED 30.3K

$2,383 Rp 42.6M

245.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,748 AED 10.1K

$2,015 Rp 36.0M

36.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,191 AED 8,045

$223 Rp 4.0M

882.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.5

13.78

-67.34%

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

Last update for Sharjah: October 5, 2026

Last update for Bali: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sharjah

$906 49%

Bali

$588 48% 35.1% $318

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sharjah

$354 19.1%

Bali

$105 8.6% 70.3% $249

Groceries & Markets

Sharjah

$192 10.4%

Bali

$274 22.4% 42.7% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Sharjah

$153 8.3%

Bali

$104 8.5% 32.4% $50

Eating Out

Sharjah

$123 6.6%

Bali

$89 7.3% 27.3% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Sharjah

$81 4.4%

Bali

$53 4.3% 34.2% $28

Getting Around

Sharjah

$42 2.3%

Bali

$12 1% 72.2% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $823 in Sharjah versus $994 in Bali. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 882% higher in Sharjah, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $33.00 in Sharjah versus $30.00 in Bali. Groceries tell a different story – $192 in Sharjah vs $274 in Bali – so Sharjah wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Sharjah

🇮🇩 Bali

🕒 Local time

16:59 4:59 PM

20:59 8:59 PM

4 h ahead of Sharjah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,400,000

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 17,875 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD). 1 EUR = 20,030 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.99 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sharjah Bali 7,480 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Sharjah
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

Sharjah vs Bali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sharjah costs about 50% more than Bali, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from utilities. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,761 per month in Sharjah and $1,836 in Bali. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Bali, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $33.00 in Sharjah and $30.00 in Bali. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,841 in Sharjah and $1,224 in Bali. That's a gap of about 50%.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Bali, where all-in costs run around $1,224, than in Sharjah at $1,841. In Bali it covers expenses comfortably, while in Sharjah it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Bali costs $1,224 versus $1,841 in Sharjah. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Bali. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sharjah makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.