Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Buea

For one person, living is cheaper in Buea: $739 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ubud, Bali outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

65

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Buea
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Buea Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Buea

🇨🇲 Cameroon

$739

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $739 in Buea.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Buea $739

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,340 in Buea.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Buea $1,340

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,941 in Buea.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Buea $1,941

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 83% more expensive than in Buea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.3K

$1.69 FCFA 991

96.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 646.5K

$117 FCFA 68.8K

-69.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.4K

$6.06 FCFA 3,561

-8.75%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

$2.04 FCFA 1,199

33.33%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$1.25 FCFA 736

36.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.46 FCFA 270

65.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.1K

$0.99 FCFA 582

167.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

$1.50 FCFA 878

192.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.0K

$2.78 FCFA 1,635

-46.40%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.3K

$0.40 FCFA 233

470.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$1.53 FCFA 901

-22.22%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 36.9K

$1.87 FCFA 1,098

9.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.1K

$21.74 FCFA 12.8K

-18.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 71.9K

$7.58 FCFA 4,450

-47.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.1K

$4.36 FCFA 2,562

179.59%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.3K

$3.43 FCFA 2,015

6.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.5K

$1.38 FCFA 808

10.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

$0.88 FCFA 516

153.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

$1.31 FCFA 772

50.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.5K

$1.72 FCFA 1,013

7.56%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.0K

$1.39 FCFA 816

74.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$0.73 FCFA 427

35.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,313

$0.61 FCFA 361

-16.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.3K

$2.64 FCFA 1,549

-15.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 403.4K

$8.70 FCFA 5,108

155.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.0K

$1.16 FCFA 679

94.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

$1.73 FCFA 1,018

71.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,553

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 141.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,972

$0.27 FCFA 159

62.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,801

$0.53 FCFA 310

-18.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.1K

$4.99 FCFA 2,932

8.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$1.20 FCFA 702

-31.67%

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

$23.8K Rp 432.4M

$18.7K FCFA 11.0M

27.55%

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

$31.7K Rp 575.9M

$15.6K FCFA 9.1M

104.03%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$59.1 FCFA 34.7K

33.73%

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

$6.45 Rp 116.9K

$16.88 FCFA 9,918

-61.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.0K

$167 FCFA 98.2K

-88.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 897.5K

$25.69 FCFA 15.1K

92.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.1K

$4.25 FCFA 2,494

315.29%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.5K

$8.54 FCFA 5,015

-50.00%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$506 FCFA 297.3K

-3.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 102.9M

$3,349 FCFA 2.0M

69.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 809.7K

$34.09 FCFA 20.0K

30.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 634.0K

$65.7 FCFA 38.6K

-46.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

$137 FCFA 80.3K

-41.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$67.9 FCFA 39.9K

16.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.7M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.5M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.4M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$130 FCFA 76.5K

25.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

19.04

-27.63%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Buea: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Buea

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Buea

$242 32.8% 16.1% $47

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Buea

$71 9.6% 34.1% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Buea

$137 18.5% 27.4% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Buea

$243 32.9% 134% $139

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Buea

$43 5.8% 26.3% $15

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Buea

$2.9 * 0.4% 74.5% $8.5

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

Cost Breakdown

Ubud, Bali pays 26% 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: $36 in Ubud, Bali vs $117 in Buea. Groceries flip the comparison at $288 vs $242, with Buea cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇨🇲 Buea

🕒 Local time

18:11 6:11 PM

11:11 11:11 AM

7 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

1,325,000

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Central African CFA Franc XAF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1,000 XAF = 1.7 USD

1,000 XAF = 1.53 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

XAF, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18,138 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,241 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Central African CFA Franc exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 587 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.7 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.53 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Buea 11,840 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Buea

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 Buea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,349 in Ubud, Bali and $739 in Buea, so Buea is about 45% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 26% higher in Ubud, Bali, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $491 in Ubud, Bali versus $506 in Buea. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ubud, Bali – a meal for two runs $36 versus $117 in Buea. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $739 in Buea versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Buea but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Buea 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.

It comes down to priorities – Buea wins on affordability, Ubud, Bali on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.