Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sylhet and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Sylhet: $365 a month against $1,368 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $12,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Sylhet
🇧🇩 Bangladesh
$365
/mo nomad
Ubud, Bali
🇮🇩 Indonesia
$1,368
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $365 in Sylhet versus $1,368 in Ubud, Bali.

  • Sylhet $365
  • Ubud, Bali $1,368

Estimated couple costs with rent: $617 in Sylhet versus $2,314 in Ubud, Bali.

  • Sylhet $617
  • Ubud, Bali $2,314

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $869 in Sylhet versus $3,260 in Ubud, Bali.

  • Sylhet $869
  • Ubud, Bali $3,260

Living in Sylhet costs roughly 73% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Sylhet is 73% below, Ubud, Bali is 1% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Sylhet
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$2.46 ৳303
$3.33 Rp 59.7K
-26.13%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$11.56 ৳1,424
$35.18 Rp 630.5K
-67.14%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.01 ৳494
$5.80 Rp 104.0K
-30.86%
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$4.02 ৳495
-
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.09 ৳504
-
-
Cappuccino
$1.98 ৳243
$2.73 Rp 48.9K
-27.47%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.31 ৳37.55
$1.64 Rp 29.4K
-81.10%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.15 ৳18.45
$0.83 Rp 14.9K
-81.93%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$2.70 Rp 48.4K
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$4.30 Rp 77.0K
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Sylhet
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$0.79 ৳97.6
$1.50 Rp 27.0K
-47.33%
White Bread (500g)
$0.59 ৳72.9
$2.30 Rp 41.2K
-74.35%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.65 ৳79.5
$1.18 Rp 21.1K
-44.92%
Eggs
$1.18 ৳145
$2.14 Rp 38.4K
-44.86%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.83 ৳964
$17.48 Rp 313.3K
-55.21%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.35 ৳413
$4.03 Rp 72.2K
-16.87%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$6.55 ৳806
$12.23 Rp 219.2K
-46.44%
Apples (1kg)
$2.68 ৳330
$3.55 Rp 63.6K
-24.51%
Banana (1kg)
$0.90 ৳111
$1.57 Rp 28.2K
-42.68%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.42 ৳298
$2.24 Rp 40.1K
8.04%
Tomato (1kg)
$0.60 ৳74.2
$1.93 Rp 34.6K
-68.91%
Potato (1kg)
$0.26 ৳32.23
$1.88 Rp 33.8K
-86.17%
Onion (1kg)
$0.46 ৳57.2
$2.29 Rp 41.1K
-79.91%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.32 ৳39.33
$0.99 Rp 17.8K
-67.68%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.27 ৳33.02
$0.53 Rp 9,435
-49.06%
Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)
$2.81 ৳346
-
-
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.05 ৳252
-
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.05 ৳499
-
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.76 ৳340
$2.28 Rp 40.9K
21.05%
Wine (Bottle)
-
$23.01 Rp 412.5K
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
-
$2.34 Rp 42.0K
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$2.91 Rp 52.2K
-
🚌 Getting Around
Sylhet
Ubud, Bali
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.70 ৳86.1
$0.24 Rp 4,297
191.67%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$24.05 ৳2,961
$8.82 Rp 158.1K
172.68%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.24 ৳152
$0.48 Rp 8,648
158.33%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.15 ৳18.51
$0.46 Rp 8,198
-67.39%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$1.17 ৳144
$5.45 Rp 97.8K
-78.53%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.08 ৳133
$0.88 Rp 15.9K
22.73%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$29.9K ৳3.7M
$24.6K Rp 440.4M
21.54%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$33.0K ৳4.1M
$31.2K Rp 559.0M
5.78%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sylhet
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$25.97 ৳3,196
$83.0 Rp 1.5M
-68.71%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$4.23 ৳520
$6.45 Rp 115.5K
-34.42%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$10.48 ৳1,290
$18.57 Rp 332.8K
-43.56%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Sylhet
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$9.05 ৳1,114
$55.8 Rp 1.0M
-83.79%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$4.01 ৳493
$18.11 Rp 324.6K
-77.86%
Cinema Ticket
$4.02 ৳495
$4.38 Rp 78.6K
-8.22%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Sylhet
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$28.87 ৳3,554
$493 Rp 8.8M
-94.14%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$995 ৳122.5K
$5,754 Rp 103.1M
-82.71%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Sylhet
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$16.22 ৳1,997
$46.19 Rp 828.0K
-64.88%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$16.43 ৳2,023
$35.33 Rp 633.3K
-53.50%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$36.99 ৳4,554
$79.1 Rp 1.4M
-53.23%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$30.47 ৳3,751
$78.4 Rp 1.4M
-61.13%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Sylhet
Ubud, Bali
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$129 ৳15.8K
$1,142 Rp 20.5M
-88.75%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$57.6 ৳7,087
$676 Rp 12.1M
-91.48%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$173 ৳21.3K
$3,503 Rp 62.8M
-95.07%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$162 ৳19.9K
$1,700 Rp 30.5M
-90.49%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$706 ৳86.9K
$2,784 Rp 49.9M
-74.64%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$350 ৳43.1K
$2,241 Rp 40.2M
-84.36%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Sylhet
Ubud, Bali
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$224 ৳27.6K
$165 Rp 2.9M
36.26%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
10.48
13.78
-23.95%

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

Last update for Sylhet: October 10, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Sylhet
$119
Ubud, Bali
$290 145% $172
Accommodation & Living
Sylhet
$58
Ubud, Bali
$676 1074% $618
Eating Out
Sylhet
$57
Ubud, Bali
$109 89.9% $52
Clothing & Footwear
Sylhet
$45
Ubud, Bali
$108 139% $63
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sylhet
$41
Ubud, Bali
$108 166% $67
Getting Around
Sylhet
$29
Ubud, Bali
$13 56.5% $16
Sport & Entertainment
Sylhet
$17
Ubud, Bali
$65 278% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $129 in Sylhet and $1,142 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sylhet pays 36% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $12.00 in Sylhet vs $35.00 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $119 vs $290 per month, with Sylhet cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇧🇩 Sylhet
🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali
🕒 Local time
07:51 7:51 AM
09:51 9:51 AM
2 h ahead of Sylhet
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
526,412
74,800
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 123 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.12 USD). 1 EUR = 138 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.26 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 17,925 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.58 USD). 1 EUR = 20,059 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.99 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Sylhet Ubud, Bali 4,500 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Sylhet
  • 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
Sylhet vs Ubud, Bali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Sylhet and in Ubud, Bali?
Sylhet and Ubud, Bali differ by about 274% in total monthly costs ($365 vs $1,368 including rent). Sylhet is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: Sylhet or Ubud, Bali?
Average pay runs 36% higher in Sylhet, 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 Sylhet and in Ubud, Bali?
Rent for a central apartment: $129 in Sylhet versus $1,142 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 145% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city has cheaper restaurants?
Dining out is cheaper in Sylhet – a meal for two runs $12.00 versus $35.00 in Ubud, Bali. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Which city is more doable on $2,000 per month?
At $365 in Sylhet versus $1,368 in Ubud, Bali, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sylhet but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Sylhet the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Sylhet 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.
Is Sylhet or Ubud, Bali safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Sylhet 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.
Where should expats move: Sylhet or Ubud, Bali?
Expats usually find Sylhet gentler on the wallet – expenses run 274% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Sylhet vs other spots: cost of living compared

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