Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Badulla

For one person, living is cheaper in Badulla: $547 a month against $1,331 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

64

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
Learn more

Ubud, Bali Living Index
26

Cost of Living Index in Badulla
Learn more

Badulla Living Index

Jump to prices

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,331

/mo nomad

Badulla

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$547

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ubud, Bali and in Badulla

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,331 in Ubud, Bali versus $547 in Badulla.

Ubud, Bali $1,331
Badulla $547

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,255 in Ubud, Bali versus $883 in Badulla.

Ubud, Bali $2,255
Badulla $883

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,180 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,219 in Badulla.

Ubud, Bali $3,180
Badulla $1,219

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 143% more expensive than in Badulla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ubud, Bali 2% lower, Badulla 60% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.38 Rp 61.2K

$3.84 LKR 1,276

-11.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.65 Rp 628.6K

$24.93 LKR 8,291

38.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.57 Rp 101.1K

$7.54 LKR 2,507

-26.13%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.5K

$2.47 LKR 823

6.07%

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

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

$0.68 LKR 227

126.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.64 Rp 11.6K

$0.27 LKR 90.6

137.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.67 Rp 48.4K

$2.26 LKR 752

18.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.26 Rp 77.3K

$3.02 LKR 1,006

41.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 Rp 26.5K

$1.62 LKR 539

-9.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 Rp 41.6K

$0.57 LKR 190

301.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.11 Rp 20.1K

$0.61 LKR 203

81.97%

Eggs

$2.10 Rp 38.1K

$1.65 LKR 548

27.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.94 Rp 289.2K

$15.15 LKR 5,038

5.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.88 Rp 70.4K

$3.70 LKR 1,230

4.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.40 Rp 206.8K

$7.60 LKR 2,528

50.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.55 Rp 64.4K

$6.61 LKR 2,198

-46.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

$0.89 LKR 296

73.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$4.27 LKR 1,421

-47.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

$1.26 LKR 420

56.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 Rp 33.7K

$1.09 LKR 362

70.64%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 43.9K

$0.79 LKR 261

206.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 Rp 18.6K

$1.22 LKR 405

-16.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 Rp 9,475

$0.46 LKR 152

13.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.20 Rp 39.9K

$10.15 LKR 3,375

-78.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.79 Rp 395.2K

$13.31 LKR 4,428

63.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 Rp 42.2K

$1.91 LKR 634

21.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

$2.85 LKR 947

4.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,542

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.17 Rp 148.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,941

$0.41 LKR 136

7.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 Rp 8,489

$0.33 LKR 111

42.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.60 Rp 101.6K

$0.87 LKR 288

543.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

$1.37 LKR 454

-39.42%

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

$24.4K Rp 443.5M

$42.8K LKR 14.2M

-42.89%

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

$31.7K Rp 575.0M

$46.1K LKR 15.3M

-31.24%

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

$77.5 Rp 1.4M

$56.2 LKR 18.7K

37.77%

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

$6.14 Rp 111.5K

$4.32 LKR 1,437

42.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.92 Rp 343.1K

$20.66 LKR 6,873

-8.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 Rp 925.0K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.25 Rp 331.0K

Cinema Ticket

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

$4.39 LKR 1,461

-0.23%

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

$492 Rp 8.9M

$40.51 LKR 13.5K

1115.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K Rp 221.7M

$17.5K LKR 5.8M

-30.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.16 Rp 819.2K

$18.24 LKR 6,068

147.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.89 Rp 632.9K

$17.37 LKR 5,779

100.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 Rp 1.4M

$77.6 LKR 25.8K

0.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.9 Rp 1.4M

$41.18 LKR 13.7K

89.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 Rp 19.5M

$76.3 LKR 25.4K

1311.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 Rp 12.1M

$44.38 LKR 14.8K

1398.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,510 Rp 63.7M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,671 Rp 30.3M

$89.8 LKR 29.9K

1759.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,340 Rp 42.4M

$4,570 LKR 1.5M

-48.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,236 Rp 40.6M

$747 LKR 248.4K

199.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

$222 LKR 73.7K

-24.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

12.5

10.24%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: November 1, 2026

Last update for Badulla: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$665 50%

Badulla

$44 8.1% 93.3% $621

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$279 21%

Badulla

$237 43.3% 15.4% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$106 8%

Badulla

$69 12.7% 34.6% $37

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 8%

Badulla

$104 19.1% 1.5% $1.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$103 7.7%

Badulla

$81 14.9% 20.8% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$60 4.5%

Badulla

$8.8 * 1.6% 85.3% $51

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Badulla

$2.1 * 0.4% 82.6% $9.9

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,078 in Ubud, Bali and $76 in Badulla. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Badulla pays 33% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35 in Ubud, Bali vs $25 in Badulla for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $279 vs $237 per month, with Badulla cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇱🇰 Badulla

🕒 Local time

15:40 3:40 PM

13:10 1:10 PM

2 h 30 min behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

110,000

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.91 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18,140 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,384 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.91 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 374 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Badulla 4,160 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Badulla

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

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

Badulla is about 59% cheaper overall, especially in leisure, groceries, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 25% lower in Ubud, Bali. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,078 in Ubud, Bali versus $76 in Badulla. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $492 in Ubud, Bali versus $41 in Badulla. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Badulla – a meal for two runs $25 versus $35 in Ubud, Bali. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $547 in Badulla versus $1,331 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Badulla but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Badulla the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Ubud, Bali and Badulla are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.