Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Boston

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubud, Bali: $1,353 a month against $2,437 in Boston, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 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
116

Cost of Living Index in Boston
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Boston Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,353

/mo nomad

Boston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,437

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,353 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,437 in Boston.

Ubud, Bali $1,353
Boston $2,437

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,297 in Ubud, Bali versus $3,513 in Boston.

Ubud, Bali $2,297
Boston $3,513

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,241 in Ubud, Bali versus $4,590 in Boston.

Ubud, Bali $3,241
Boston $4,590

Living in Ubud, Bali costs roughly 44% less than in Boston, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ubud, Bali 0% above, Boston 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.23 Rp 58.1K

$26.65 £19.99

-87.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.88 Rp 627.8K

$80.6 £60.5

-56.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.70 Rp 102.5K

$10.83 £8.12

-47.37%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.1K

$4.98 £3.74

-47.39%

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

$1.72 Rp 31.0K

$2.43 £1.83

-29.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

$2.03 £1.53

-60.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 47.7K

$5.74 £4.30

-53.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 Rp 78.6K

$5.57 £4.18

-21.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

$1.48 £1.11

6.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 Rp 39.5K

$0.59 £0.44

271.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$1.58 £1.18

-25.32%

Eggs

$2.16 Rp 38.8K

$4.17 £3.13

-48.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.65 Rp 317.7K

$9.13 £6.85

93.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.78 Rp 68.0K

$8.22 £6.17

-54.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.95 Rp 215.1K

$16.62 £12.47

-28.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.60 Rp 64.8K

$3.27 £2.46

10.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 Rp 28.6K

$1.56 £1.17

1.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 Rp 41.6K

$3.02 £2.26

-23.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$3.41 £2.56

-43.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 Rp 32.1K

$1.15 £0.87

54.78%

Onion (1kg)

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

$1.78 £1.34

30.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

$1.26 £0.95

-20.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 Rp 9,509

$1.30 £0.98

-59.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.29 Rp 41.1K

$16.21 £12.16

-85.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.07 Rp 397.3K

$8.56 £6.42

157.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 Rp 42.2K

$3.34 £2.51

-29.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 Rp 53.6K

$3.02 £2.26

-1.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 Rp 4,112

$3.53 £2.65

-93.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.90 Rp 160.2K

$97.5 £73.1

-90.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 Rp 8,466

$4.14 £3.11

-88.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,737

$4.03 £3.02

-89.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.47 Rp 98.4K

$31.58 £23.69

-82.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

$1.93 £1.45

-56.99%

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

$23.9K Rp 429.8M

$38.1K £28.6K

-37.39%

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

$32.8K Rp 590.1M

$39.6K £29.7K

-17.16%

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

$80.0 Rp 1.4M

$372 £279

-78.47%

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

$6.56 Rp 118.1K

$17.79 £13.35

-63.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.60 Rp 334.8K

$44.84 £33.64

-58.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 Rp 974.1K

$45.71 £34.29

18.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.28 Rp 329.0K

Cinema Ticket

$4.25 Rp 76.5K

$10.12 £7.59

-58.00%

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

$493 Rp 8.9M

$1,614 £1,211

-69.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,597 Rp 100.7M

$19.6K £14.7K

-71.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.58 Rp 820.4K

$54.2 £40.68

-15.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.96 Rp 629.4K

$40.27 £30.22

-13.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

$72.2 £54.2

7.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.5 Rp 1.4M

$60.2 £45.16

30.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,131 Rp 20.4M

$1,222 £917

-7.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$673 Rp 12.1M

$1,051 £789

-35.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,613 Rp 65.0M

$2,143 £1,607

68.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,702 Rp 30.6M

$1,688 £1,266

0.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,717 Rp 48.9M

$4,514 £3,386

-39.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

$4,159 £3,121

-46.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

$1,582 £1,187

-89.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

5.21

164.49%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 19, 2026

Last update for Boston: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$673 49.7%

Boston

$1.1K 43.1% 56.2% $378

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$287 21.2%

Boston

$285 11.7% 0.9% $2.7

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$107 7.9%

Boston

$102 4.2% 4.2% $4.5

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 7.9%

Boston

$363 14.9% 241% $257

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$105 7.8%

Boston

$434 17.8% 313% $329

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$63 4.6%

Boston

$66 2.7% 5.3% $3.3

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Boston

$136 5.6% 993% $123

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,131 in Ubud, Bali and $1,222 in Boston. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Boston pays 851% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $35.00 in Ubud, Bali vs $81.0 in Boston. Groceries flip the comparison at $287 vs $285, with Boston cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇬🇧 Boston

🕒 Local time

01:11 1:11 AM

18:11 6:11 PM

7 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

45,339

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Boston 12,440 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Boston

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 Boston: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ubud, Bali wins on cost – living expenses run 80% lower than in Boston. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ubud, Bali the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 851% lower in Boston. 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 $1,222 in Boston. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,353 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $2,437 in Boston – a 80% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Ubud, Bali runs roughly 995% less than in Boston. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,353 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,437 in Boston, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ubud, Bali but tight or insufficient in Boston. The gap between the two cities makes Ubud, Bali the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ubud, Bali delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,353 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ubud, Bali hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ubud, Bali and Boston 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 Ubud, Bali gentler on the wallet – expenses run 80% less than in Boston. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.