Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Bangkok

For one person, living is cheaper in Bangkok: $1,112 a month against $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ubud, Bali outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

66

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Bangkok
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Bangkok Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,353

/mo nomad

Bangkok

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,112

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Bangkok actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,353 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,112 in Bangkok.

Ubud, Bali $1,353
Bangkok $1,112

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,297 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,788 in Bangkok.

Ubud, Bali $2,297
Bangkok $1,788

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,241 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,464 in Bangkok.

Ubud, Bali $3,241
Bangkok $2,464

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 22% more expensive than in Bangkok, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubud, Bali is 0% above, Bangkok is 18% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.23 Rp 58.1K

$2.95 ฿98.7

9.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.88 Rp 627.8K

$35.13 ฿1,174

-0.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.70 Rp 102.5K

$7.33 ฿245

-22.24%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.1K

$2.73 ฿91.3

-4.03%

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

$1.72 Rp 31.0K

$0.62 ฿20.78

177.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

$0.36 ฿12.17

125.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 47.7K

$2.63 ฿87.9

0.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 Rp 78.6K

$4.35 ฿145

0.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

$1.85 ฿61.8

-15.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 Rp 39.5K

$1.51 ฿50.5

45.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$1.34 ฿44.72

-11.94%

Eggs

$2.16 Rp 38.8K

$2.62 ฿87.4

-17.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.65 Rp 317.7K

$17.10 ฿572

3.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.78 Rp 68.0K

$3.67 ฿123

3.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.95 Rp 215.1K

$12.83 ฿429

-6.86%

Apples (1kg)

$3.60 Rp 64.8K

$3.73 ฿125

-3.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 Rp 28.6K

$1.74 ฿58.2

-8.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 Rp 41.6K

$2.79 ฿93.2

-17.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$1.88 ฿62.9

1.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 Rp 32.1K

$1.75 ฿58.4

1.71%

Onion (1kg)

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

$1.49 ฿49.68

56.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

$1.24 ฿41.51

-19.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 Rp 9,509

$0.55 ฿18.22

-3.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.29 Rp 41.1K

$4.73 ฿158

-51.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.07 Rp 397.3K

$15.10 ฿505

46.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 Rp 42.2K

$1.77 ฿59.0

32.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 Rp 53.6K

$3.18 ฿106

-6.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 Rp 4,112

$1.11 ฿37.19

-79.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.90 Rp 160.2K

$34.46 ฿1,152

-74.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 Rp 8,466

$1.06 ฿35.47

-55.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,737

$1.15 ฿38.60

-62.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.47 Rp 98.4K

$5.81 ฿194

-5.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

$1.41 ฿47.14

-41.13%

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

$23.9K Rp 429.8M

$31.7K ฿1.1M

-24.78%

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

$32.8K Rp 590.1M

$26.6K ฿887.8K

23.41%

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

$80.0 Rp 1.4M

$108 ฿3,612

-25.99%

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

$6.56 Rp 118.1K

$15.14 ฿506

-56.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.60 Rp 334.8K

$18.15 ฿607

2.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 Rp 974.1K

$55.6 ฿1,857

-2.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.28 Rp 329.0K

$18.54 ฿620

-1.40%

Cinema Ticket

$4.25 Rp 76.5K

$7.82 ฿261

-45.65%

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

$493 Rp 8.9M

$569 ฿19.0K

-13.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,597 Rp 100.7M

$16.7K ฿557.0K

-66.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.58 Rp 820.4K

$70.9 ฿2,371

-35.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.96 Rp 629.4K

$42.61 ฿1,424

-17.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

$101 ฿3,361

-22.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.5 Rp 1.4M

$107 ฿3,560

-26.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,131 Rp 20.4M

$673 ฿22.5K

68.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$673 Rp 12.1M

$333 ฿11.1K

101.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,613 Rp 65.0M

$1,982 ฿66.2K

82.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,702 Rp 30.6M

$732 ฿24.5K

132.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,717 Rp 48.9M

$6,236 ฿208.4K

-56.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

$3,096 ฿103.5K

-27.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

$626 ฿20.9K

-73.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

5.25

162.48%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 19, 2026

Last update for Bangkok: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$673 49.7%

Bangkok

$333 30% 50.5% $340

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$287 21.2%

Bangkok

$272 24.5% 5.2% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$107 7.9%

Bangkok

$144 13% 35.4% $38

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 7.9%

Bangkok

$104 9.4% 2.1% $2.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$105 7.8%

Bangkok

$141 12.7% 34.4% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$63 4.6%

Bangkok

$71 6.4% 13.7% $8.6

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Bangkok

$46 4.1% 268% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,131 in Ubud, Bali and $673 in Bangkok. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bangkok pays 276% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35.00 in Ubud, Bali vs $35.00 in Bangkok. Groceries flip the comparison at $287 vs $272, with Bangkok cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇹🇭 Bangkok

🕒 Local time

00:23 12:23 AM

23:23 11:23 PM

1 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

5,666,264 Capital

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Bangkok 2,960 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Bangkok

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 Bangkok: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ubud, Bali and Bangkok differ by about 22% in total monthly costs ($1,353 vs $1,112 including rent). Bangkok is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 276% lower in Bangkok. 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: $1,131 in Ubud, Bali versus $673 in Bangkok. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Bangkok – a meal for two runs $35.00 versus $35.00 in Ubud, Bali. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,353 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $1,112 in Bangkok – a 22% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,112 in Bangkok versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bangkok but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Bangkok 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 Bangkok are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Bangkok gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.