Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Blantyre

For one person, living is cheaper in Blantyre: $602 a month against $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
29

Cost of Living Index in Blantyre
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Blantyre Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,353

/mo nomad

Blantyre

🇲🇼 Malawi

$602

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,353 in Ubud, Bali versus $602 in Blantyre.

Ubud, Bali $1,353
Blantyre $602

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,297 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,046 in Blantyre.

Ubud, Bali $2,297
Blantyre $1,046

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,241 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,489 in Blantyre.

Ubud, Bali $3,241
Blantyre $1,489

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 125% more expensive than in Blantyre, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubud, Bali is 0% above, Blantyre is 56% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.23 Rp 58.1K

$3.90 MWK 6,698

-17.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.88 Rp 627.8K

$13.39 MWK 23.0K

160.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.70 Rp 102.5K

$7.08 MWK 12.2K

-19.49%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.1K

$2.79 MWK 4,791

-6.09%

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

$1.72 Rp 31.0K

$0.85 MWK 1,465

102.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

$0.45 MWK 772

80.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 47.7K

$1.05 MWK 1,802

152.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 Rp 78.6K

$1.74 MWK 2,987

151.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

$1.06 MWK 1,817

48.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 Rp 39.5K

$1.35 MWK 2,318

62.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$2.03 MWK 3,480

-41.87%

Eggs

$2.16 Rp 38.8K

$1.74 MWK 2,993

24.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.65 Rp 317.7K

$3.65 MWK 6,268

383.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.78 Rp 68.0K

$5.51 MWK 9,455

-31.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.95 Rp 215.1K

$6.62 MWK 11.4K

80.51%

Apples (1kg)

$3.60 Rp 64.8K

$2.27 MWK 3,893

58.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 Rp 28.6K

$2.36 MWK 4,059

-32.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 Rp 41.6K

$2.39 MWK 4,108

-3.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$1.11 MWK 1,903

72.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 Rp 32.1K

$1.32 MWK 2,263

34.85%

Onion (1kg)

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

$1.35 MWK 2,326

72.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

$0.31 MWK 530

222.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 Rp 9,509

$0.79 MWK 1,349

-32.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.29 Rp 41.1K

$2.40 MWK 4,121

-4.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.07 Rp 397.3K

$13.63 MWK 23.4K

61.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 Rp 42.2K

$0.92 MWK 1,578

155.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 Rp 53.6K

$1.64 MWK 2,819

81.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 Rp 4,112

$0.52 MWK 891

-55.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.90 Rp 160.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 Rp 8,466

$0.61 MWK 1,051

-22.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,737

$1.48 MWK 2,544

-70.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.47 Rp 98.4K

$3.92 MWK 6,727

39.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

$1.51 MWK 2,588

-45.03%

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

$23.9K Rp 429.8M

$34.7K MWK 59.6M

-31.25%

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

$32.8K Rp 590.1M

$39.2K MWK 67.4M

-16.46%

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

$80.0 Rp 1.4M

$26.58 MWK 45.6K

200.94%

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

$6.56 Rp 118.1K

$7.89 MWK 13.6K

-16.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.60 Rp 334.8K

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 Rp 974.1K

$59.8 MWK 102.6K

-9.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.28 Rp 329.0K

$15.14 MWK 26.0K

20.74%

Cinema Ticket

$4.25 Rp 76.5K

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

$493 Rp 8.9M

$385 MWK 660.7K

28.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,597 Rp 100.7M

$603 MWK 1.0M

827.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.58 Rp 820.4K

$43.33 MWK 74.4K

5.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.96 Rp 629.4K

$40.24 MWK 69.1K

-13.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

$48.11 MWK 82.6K

61.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.5 Rp 1.4M

$71.1 MWK 122.0K

10.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,131 Rp 20.4M

$225 MWK 386.5K

402.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$673 Rp 12.1M

$116 MWK 199.7K

478.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,613 Rp 65.0M

$595 MWK 1.0M

507.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,702 Rp 30.6M

$394 MWK 676.6K

331.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,717 Rp 48.9M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

$400 MWK 686.0K

460.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

$336 MWK 576.4K

-50.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 19, 2026

Last update for Blantyre: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$673 49.7%

Blantyre

$116 19.3% 82.7% $557

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$287 21.2%

Blantyre

$191 31.6% 33.6% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$107 7.9%

Blantyre

$91 15.2% 14.4% $15

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 7.9%

Blantyre

$100 16.6% 6.2% $6.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$105 7.8%

Blantyre

$34 * 5.7% 67.2% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$63 4.6%

Blantyre

$60 * 9.9% 4.6% $2.9

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Blantyre

$10 * 1.7% 18.8% $2.3

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 $1,131 in Ubud, Bali and $225 in Blantyre. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Blantyre pays 102% 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 $13.00 in Blantyre for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $287 vs $191 per month, with Blantyre cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇲🇼 Blantyre

🕒 Local time

20:32 8:32 PM

14:32 2:32 PM

6 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

994,500

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Malawian Kwacha MWK MK

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

10,000 MWK = 5.82 USD

10,000 MWK = 5.18 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MWK, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

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

Malawian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1,717 MWK (10,000 MWK = 5.82 USD). 1 EUR = 1,930 MWK (10,000 MWK = 5.18 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Blantyre 8,720 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Blantyre

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 Blantyre: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ubud, Bali and Blantyre differ by about 125% in total monthly costs ($1,353 vs $602 including rent). Blantyre is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 102% lower in Blantyre. 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 $225 in Blantyre. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 51% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,353 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $602 in Blantyre – a 125% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $602 in Blantyre versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Blantyre but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Blantyre 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 Blantyre 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 Blantyre gentler on the wallet – expenses run 125% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.