Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Bukit Mertajam

For one person, living is cheaper in Bukit Mertajam: $623 a month against $1,368 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Bukit Mertajam
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Bukit Mertajam Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,368

/mo nomad

Bukit Mertajam

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$623

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ubud, Bali and in Bukit Mertajam

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,368 in Ubud, Bali versus $623 in Bukit Mertajam.

Ubud, Bali $1,368
Bukit Mertajam $623

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,314 in Ubud, Bali versus $979 in Bukit Mertajam.

Ubud, Bali $2,314
Bukit Mertajam $979

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,260 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,335 in Bukit Mertajam.

Ubud, Bali $3,260
Bukit Mertajam $1,335

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 119% more expensive than in Bukit Mertajam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubud, Bali is 1% above, Bukit Mertajam is 54% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.33 Rp 59.9K

$1.93 MYR 7.87

72.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.18 Rp 633.2K

$20.63 MYR 84.2

70.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.80 Rp 104.5K

$3.93 MYR 16.03

47.58%

Cappuccino

$2.73 Rp 49.1K

$3.14 MYR 12.80

-13.06%

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

$1.64 Rp 29.5K

$0.72 MYR 2.93

127.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

$0.47 MYR 1.93

76.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.70 Rp 48.6K

$4.30 MYR 17.52

-37.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.30 Rp 77.4K

$6.05 MYR 24.69

-28.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 Rp 27.1K

$1.74 MYR 7.10

-13.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.30 Rp 41.4K

$1.12 MYR 4.58

105.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$1.94 MYR 7.91

-39.18%

Eggs

$2.14 Rp 38.6K

$2.52 MYR 10.26

-15.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.48 Rp 314.6K

$14.07 MYR 57.4

24.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.03 Rp 72.5K

$4.34 MYR 17.71

-7.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.23 Rp 220.1K

$9.65 MYR 39.35

26.74%

Apples (1kg)

$3.55 Rp 63.9K

$3.49 MYR 14.24

1.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

$1.79 MYR 7.32

-12.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.24 Rp 40.2K

$2.31 MYR 9.42

-3.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.93 Rp 34.7K

$1.53 MYR 6.23

26.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 Rp 33.9K

$1.33 MYR 5.42

41.35%

Onion (1kg)

$2.29 Rp 41.3K

$1.41 MYR 5.76

62.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 17.9K

$1.12 MYR 4.57

-11.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 Rp 9,475

$0.67 MYR 2.72

-20.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.28 Rp 41.1K

$4.32 MYR 17.64

-47.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.01 Rp 414.2K

$19.48 MYR 79.5

18.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.34 Rp 42.2K

$3.65 MYR 14.91

-35.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 Rp 52.4K

$5.05 MYR 20.60

-42.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.24 Rp 4,315

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.82 Rp 158.7K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.48 Rp 8,684

$1.19 MYR 4.84

-59.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.46 Rp 8,233

$1.25 MYR 5.11

-63.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 Rp 98.2K

$5.03 MYR 20.50

8.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 Rp 15.9K

$0.87 MYR 3.54

1.15%

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

$24.6K Rp 442.2M

$41.2K MYR 168.3K

-40.44%

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

$31.2K Rp 561.4M

$34.4K MYR 140.4K

-9.38%

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

$83.0 Rp 1.5M

$62.4 MYR 255

32.94%

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

$6.45 Rp 116.0K

$8.54 MYR 34.85

-24.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.57 Rp 334.2K

$26.31 MYR 107

-29.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.8 Rp 1.0M

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.11 Rp 326.0K

Cinema Ticket

$4.38 Rp 78.9K

$5.06 MYR 20.65

-13.44%

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

$493 Rp 8.9M

$242 MYR 989

103.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,754 Rp 103.6M

$13.0K MYR 52.9K

-55.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.19 Rp 831.4K

$71.6 MYR 292

-35.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.33 Rp 636.0K

$41.95 MYR 171

-15.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$87.5 MYR 357

-9.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.4 Rp 1.4M

$97.3 MYR 397

-19.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,142 Rp 20.6M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$676 Rp 12.2M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,503 Rp 63.1M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,700 Rp 30.6M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,784 Rp 50.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$165 Rp 3.0M

$567 MYR 2,312

-70.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

4.18

229.67%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 11, 2026

Last update for Bukit Mertajam: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$676 49.4%

Bukit Mertajam

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$290 21.2%

Bukit Mertajam

$271 43.5% 6.7% $19

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$109 8%

Bukit Mertajam

$103 16.6% 5.1% $5.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$108 7.9%

Bukit Mertajam

$97 15.6% 9.9% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 7.9%

Bukit Mertajam

$134 21.5% 24.8% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$65 4.7%

Bukit Mertajam

$10 * 1.6% 84.3% $54

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$13 0.9%

Bukit Mertajam

$7.5 * 1.2% 40.6% $5.1

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

Cost Breakdown

Bukit Mertajam pays 244% 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 $21.00 in Bukit Mertajam for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $271 per month, with Bukit Mertajam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇲🇾 Bukit Mertajam

🕒 Local time

12:20 12:20 PM

Same time as Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

212,329

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Bukit Mertajam 2,250 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Bukit Mertajam

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 Bukit Mertajam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ubud, Bali and Bukit Mertajam differ by about 119% in total monthly costs ($1,368 vs $623 including rent). Bukit Mertajam is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 244% lower in Bukit Mertajam. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Supermarket bills run roughly 7% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,368 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $623 in Bukit Mertajam – a 119% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $623 in Bukit Mertajam versus $1,368 in Ubud, Bali, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bukit Mertajam but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Bukit Mertajam 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 Bukit Mertajam 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 Bukit Mertajam gentler on the wallet – expenses run 119% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.