Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Thomas, Canada and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubud, Bali: $1,349 a month against $2,436 in St. Thomas, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

St. Thomas, Canada
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
St. Thomas
🇨🇦 Canada
$2,436
/mo nomad
Ubud, Bali
🇮🇩 Indonesia
$1,349
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,436 in St. Thomas versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali.

  • St. Thomas $2,436
  • Ubud, Bali $1,349

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,399 in St. Thomas versus $2,305 in Ubud, Bali.

  • St. Thomas $3,399
  • Ubud, Bali $2,305

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,363 in St. Thomas versus $3,261 in Ubud, Bali.

  • St. Thomas $4,363
  • Ubud, Bali $3,261

Living in St. Thomas is roughly 81% more expensive than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
St. Thomas
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$21.56 CA$30.13
$3.32 Rp 60.2K
549.40%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$63.6 CA$88.9
$35.64 Rp 645.8K
78.56%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.22 CA$15.67
$5.53 Rp 100.3K
102.89%
Cappuccino
$3.45 CA$4.82
$2.72 Rp 49.3K
26.84%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.11 CA$2.95
$1.70 Rp 30.8K
24.12%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.63 CA$2.28
$0.76 Rp 13.8K
114.47%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.85 CA$6.77
$2.65 Rp 48.1K
83.02%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$6.15 CA$8.59
$4.38 Rp 79.4K
40.41%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
St. Thomas
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$2.22 CA$3.10
$1.49 Rp 27.0K
48.99%
White Bread (500g)
$2.76 CA$3.85
$2.28 Rp 41.2K
21.05%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$3.78 CA$5.28
$1.19 Rp 21.6K
217.65%
Eggs
$3.27 CA$4.57
$2.04 Rp 36.9K
60.29%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$10.05 CA$14.04
$17.70 Rp 320.8K
-43.22%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$15.80 CA$22.07
$3.96 Rp 71.8K
298.99%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$19.72 CA$27.56
$12.19 Rp 220.9K
61.77%
Apples (1kg)
$4.10 CA$5.73
$3.66 Rp 66.2K
12.02%
Banana (1kg)
$1.28 CA$1.78
$1.52 Rp 27.5K
-15.79%
Oranges (1kg)
$3.65 CA$5.10
$2.23 Rp 40.4K
63.68%
Tomato (1kg)
$4.06 CA$5.68
$1.97 Rp 35.7K
106.09%
Potato (1kg)
$3.30 CA$4.61
$1.85 Rp 33.5K
78.38%
Onion (1kg)
$3.06 CA$4.27
$2.42 Rp 43.9K
26.45%
Lettuce (1 head)
$2.87 CA$4.01
$0.99 Rp 17.9K
189.90%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.55 CA$2.17
$0.51 Rp 9,303
203.92%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$11.23 CA$15.70
$2.22 Rp 40.3K
405.86%
Wine (Bottle)
$12.51 CA$17.48
$22.24 Rp 403.0K
-43.75%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.52 CA$3.52
$2.26 Rp 41.0K
11.50%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.91 CA$4.06
$2.97 Rp 53.8K
-2.02%
🚌 Getting Around
St. Thomas
Ubud, Bali
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$2.19 CA$3.06
$0.25 Rp 4,548
776.00%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$68.2 CA$95.2
$7.82 Rp 141.8K
771.48%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.38 CA$3.32
$0.44 Rp 7,964
440.91%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.66 CA$2.32
$0.43 Rp 7,793
286.05%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$22.83 CA$31.91
$5.41 Rp 98.0K
322.00%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.17 CA$1.64
$0.82 Rp 14.9K
42.68%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$27.0K CA$37.8K
$23.8K Rp 432.0M
13.34%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$23.1K CA$32.2K
$31.7K Rp 575.3M
-27.40%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
St. Thomas
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$126 CA$176
$79.1 Rp 1.4M
59.23%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$42.99 CA$60.1
$6.45 Rp 116.8K
566.51%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$57.4 CA$80.2
$18.58 Rp 336.7K
208.72%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
St. Thomas
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$39.32 CA$55.0
$49.48 Rp 896.7K
-20.53%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$17.06 CA$23.84
$17.65 Rp 319.8K
-3.34%
Cinema Ticket
$10.65 CA$14.88
$4.27 Rp 77.4K
149.41%
🧸 Childcare & Education
St. Thomas
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$421 CA$588
$491 Rp 8.9M
-14.14%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$17.3K CA$24.2K
$5,674 Rp 102.8M
205.41%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
St. Thomas
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$53.9 CA$75.4
$44.64 Rp 808.9K
20.81%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$36.85 CA$51.5
$34.95 Rp 633.4K
5.44%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$82.4 CA$115
$79.9 Rp 1.4M
3.15%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$90.4 CA$126
$79.4 Rp 1.4M
13.84%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
St. Thomas
Ubud, Bali
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,163 CA$1,625
$1,125 Rp 20.4M
3.37%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,245 CA$1,740
$671 Rp 12.2M
85.45%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,276 CA$3,180
$3,565 Rp 64.6M
-36.15%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,659 CA$2,319
$1,723 Rp 31.2M
-3.71%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,403 CA$6,152
$2,732 Rp 49.5M
61.19%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,575 CA$4,996
$2,284 Rp 41.4M
56.54%
💵 Salaries & Financials
St. Thomas
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$3,004 CA$4,197
$164 Rp 3.0M
1733.22%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
4.99
13.78
-63.79%

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

Last update for St. Thomas: 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
St. Thomas
$1.2K
Ubud, Bali
$672 46.1% $574
Groceries & Markets
St. Thomas
$399
Ubud, Bali
$288 27.7% $110
Eating Out
St. Thomas
$299
Ubud, Bali
$108 64% $191
Monthly Utilities & Internet
St. Thomas
$226
Ubud, Bali
$104 54% $122
Clothing & Footwear
St. Thomas
$119
Ubud, Bali
$108 9.4% $11
Getting Around
St. Thomas
$88
Ubud, Bali
$11 87% $76
Sport & Entertainment
St. Thomas
$61
Ubud, Bali
$58 4.3% $2.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,163 in St. Thomas and $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

St. Thomas pays about 18 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $64 in St. Thomas vs $36 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $399 vs $288 per month, with Ubud, Bali cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇨🇦 St. Thomas
🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali
🕒 Local time
18:14 6:14 PM
07:14 7:14 AM
13 h ahead of St. Thomas
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
38,909
74,800
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 1.4 CAD (1 CAD = 0.716 USD). 1 EUR = 1.56 CAD (1 CAD = 0.641 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18,120 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.52 USD). 1 EUR = 20,232 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • St. Thomas Ubud, Bali 15,880 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight
From you
  • St. Thomas
  • 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
St. Thomas vs Ubud, Bali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in St. Thomas and in Ubud, Bali?
Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,436 in St. Thomas and $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, so Ubud, Bali is about 45% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: St. Thomas or Ubud, Bali?
Average pay in St. Thomas is about 18 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How do apartment prices compare in St. Thomas and in Ubud, Bali?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,163 in St. Thomas versus $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What is the difference in childcare costs between St. Thomas and Ubud, Bali?
Childcare runs $421 in St. Thomas versus $491 in Ubud, Bali. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 38% higher in St. Thomas. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city is feasible on a $1,000 budget?
Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Ubud, Bali is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.
How does quality of life compare between St. Thomas and Ubud, Bali?
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.
Where should expats move: St. Thomas or Ubud, Bali?
Expats usually find Ubud, Bali gentler on the wallet – expenses run 45% less than in St. Thomas. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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