Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sibu and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Sibu: $905 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Sibu
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Sibu Living Index
65

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

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Sibu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$905

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $905 in Sibu versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali.

Sibu $905
Ubud, Bali $1,349

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,406 in Sibu versus $2,305 in Ubud, Bali.

Sibu $1,406
Ubud, Bali $2,305

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,906 in Sibu versus $3,261 in Ubud, Bali.

Sibu $1,906
Ubud, Bali $3,261

Living in Sibu costs roughly 33% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.26 MYR 9.14

$3.32 Rp 60.3K

-31.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.22 MYR 77.9

$35.64 Rp 646.5K

-46.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.23 MYR 17.14

$5.53 Rp 100.4K

-23.51%

Cappuccino

$2.30 MYR 9.31

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

-15.44%

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

$0.61 MYR 2.48

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

-64.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 MYR 0.93

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

-69.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.86 MYR 11.60

$2.65 Rp 48.1K

7.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.46 MYR 18.08

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

1.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.76 MYR 7.14

$1.49 Rp 27.0K

18.12%

White Bread (500g)

$0.87 MYR 3.54

$2.28 Rp 41.3K

-61.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.33 MYR 5.37

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

11.76%

Eggs

$2.18 MYR 8.82

$2.04 Rp 36.9K

6.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.35 MYR 54.1

$17.70 Rp 321.1K

-24.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.90 MYR 19.88

$3.96 Rp 71.9K

23.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.92 MYR 40.23

$12.19 Rp 221.1K

-18.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 MYR 11.60

$3.66 Rp 66.3K

-21.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 MYR 7.35

$1.52 Rp 27.5K

19.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.36 MYR 9.58

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

5.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.69 MYR 6.86

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

-14.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.38 MYR 5.59

$1.85 Rp 33.5K

-25.41%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 MYR 5.40

$2.42 Rp 44.0K

-45.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 MYR 4.28

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

7.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.56 MYR 2.28

$0.51 Rp 9,313

9.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.48 MYR 18.18

$2.22 Rp 40.3K

101.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.27 MYR 78.1

$22.24 Rp 403.4K

-13.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.02 MYR 12.23

$2.26 Rp 41.0K

33.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 MYR 18.71

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

55.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.79 MYR 3.21

$0.25 Rp 4,553

216.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.49 MYR 46.59

$7.82 Rp 141.9K

46.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.04 MYR 4.24

$0.44 Rp 7,972

136.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 MYR 2.48

$0.43 Rp 7,801

41.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.27 MYR 29.47

$5.41 Rp 98.1K

34.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 MYR 3.51

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

6.10%

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

$45.5K MYR 184.6K

$23.8K Rp 432.4M

90.95%

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

$36.2K MYR 146.6K

$31.7K Rp 575.9M

13.86%

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

$48.91 MYR 198

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

-38.14%

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

$7.37 MYR 29.86

$6.45 Rp 116.9K

14.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.21 MYR 106

$18.58 Rp 337.0K

41.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.13 MYR 110

$49.48 Rp 897.5K

-45.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.38 MYR 25.88

$17.65 Rp 320.1K

-63.85%

Cinema Ticket

$3.72 MYR 15.10

$4.27 Rp 77.5K

-12.88%

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

$243 MYR 984

$491 Rp 8.9M

-50.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,876 MYR 27.9K

$5,674 Rp 102.9M

21.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 MYR 228

$44.64 Rp 809.7K

25.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.43 MYR 148

$34.95 Rp 634.0K

4.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.2 MYR 281

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

-13.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.2 MYR 317

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

-1.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$390 MYR 1,579

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

-65.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$318 MYR 1,288

$671 Rp 12.2M

-52.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$698 MYR 2,828

$3,565 Rp 64.7M

-80.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$630 MYR 2,552

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

-63.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,136 MYR 8,660

$2,732 Rp 49.5M

-21.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,165 MYR 4,723

$2,284 Rp 41.4M

-48.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$487 MYR 1,974

$164 Rp 3.0M

197.18%

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 Sibu: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sibu

$318 35.1%

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8% 111% $354

Groceries & Markets

Sibu

$258 28.6%

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4% 11.6% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Sibu

$108 11.9%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 0.4% $0.5

Eating Out

Sibu

$85 9.4%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 26.9% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sibu

$82 9.1%

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7% 26.2% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Sibu

$35 3.8%

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3% 67.8% $23

Getting Around

Sibu

$19 2.1%

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9% 39.2% $7.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $390 in Sibu and $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sibu pays about 3 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 Sibu vs $36 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $258 vs $288 per month, with Sibu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Sibu

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

14:01 2:01 PM

Same time as Sibu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

198,239

74,800

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.247 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.05 MYR (1 MYR = 0.247 USD). 1 EUR = 4.53 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18,138 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,252 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sibu Ubud, Bali 1,260 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Sibu
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

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

Sibu wins on cost – living expenses run 33% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Sibu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Sibu is about 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: $390 in Sibu versus $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $905 per month in Sibu versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali – Sibu is about 33% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Ubud, Bali runs roughly 32% less than in Sibu. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Sibu 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, Sibu and Ubud, Bali are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.