Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Cuernavaca

For one person, living is cheaper in Cuernavaca: $1,208 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Cuernavaca
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Cuernavaca Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Cuernavaca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,208 in Cuernavaca.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Cuernavaca $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,788 in Cuernavaca.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Cuernavaca $1,788

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,368 in Cuernavaca.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Cuernavaca $2,368

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 12% more expensive than in Cuernavaca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 59.9K

$7.98 MX$149

-58.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 642.4K

$37.14 MX$694

-4.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 99.7K

$6.83 MX$128

-19.03%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.0K

$2.48 MX$46.28

9.68%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.7K

$1.31 MX$24.45

29.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.7K

$0.61 MX$11.42

24.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 47.8K

$2.44 MX$45.52

8.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.0K

$3.27 MX$61.1

33.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 26.9K

$1.62 MX$30.31

-8.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.0K

$2.21 MX$41.29

3.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.5K

$1.42 MX$26.50

-16.20%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 36.7K

$1.89 MX$35.23

7.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 319.1K

$7.76 MX$145

128.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 71.4K

$4.82 MX$90.0

-17.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 219.7K

$13.55 MX$253

-10.04%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 65.9K

$2.21 MX$41.26

65.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.4K

$1.32 MX$24.73

15.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.2K

$2.22 MX$41.45

0.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.6K

$1.66 MX$30.95

18.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.3K

$1.76 MX$32.94

5.11%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 43.7K

$1.71 MX$31.94

41.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 17.8K

$1.49 MX$27.89

-33.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,255

$0.83 MX$15.50

-38.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.0K

$4.23 MX$79.1

-47.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 400.9K

$8.03 MX$150

176.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 40.7K

$1.21 MX$22.63

86.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.5K

$3.30 MX$61.6

-10.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,525

$0.71 MX$13.31

-64.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 141.0K

$34.93 MX$653

-77.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,923

$1.91 MX$35.62

-76.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,753

$2.49 MX$46.60

-82.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 97.5K

$10.64 MX$199

-49.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 14.9K

$1.33 MX$24.94

-38.35%

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

$23.8K Rp 429.7M

$24.5K MX$456.9K

-2.50%

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

$31.7K Rp 572.3M

$23.4K MX$436.5K

35.90%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$56.4 MX$1,054

40.23%

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

$6.45 Rp 116.2K

$18.52 MX$346

-65.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 334.9K

$24.73 MX$462

-24.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 892.0K

$29.09 MX$543

70.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 318.1K

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.0K

$5.24 MX$97.9

-18.51%

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

$491 Rp 8.8M

$218 MX$4,072

125.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 102.3M

$5,055 MX$94.5K

12.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 804.7K

$40.44 MX$756

10.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 630.1K

$32.23 MX$602

8.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

$92.5 MX$1,728

-13.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$97.7 MX$1,826

-18.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.3M

$619 MX$11.6K

81.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.1M

$529 MX$9,882

26.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.3M

$901 MX$16.8K

295.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.1M

$803 MX$15.0K

114.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.2M

$851 MX$15.9K

221.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.2M

$594 MX$11.1K

284.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$638 MX$11.9K

-74.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

11.4

20.88%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cuernavaca: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Cuernavaca

$529 43.8% 21.2% $143

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Cuernavaca

$229 19% 20.6% $59

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Cuernavaca

$140 11.6% 30.4% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Cuernavaca

$118 9.8% 10% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Cuernavaca

$100 8.3% 4.3% $4.5

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Cuernavaca

$40 3.3% 31.8% $18

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Cuernavaca

$52 4.3% 357% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $619 in Cuernavaca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cuernavaca pays about 3.9 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $36 in Ubud, Bali vs $37 in Cuernavaca. Groceries flip the comparison at $288 vs $229, with Cuernavaca cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇲🇽 Cuernavaca

🕒 Local time

22:06 10:06 PM

08:06 8:06 AM

14 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

341,029

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.55 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.98 EUR

100 MXN = 5.35 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18,025 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.55 USD). 1 EUR = 20,061 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.98 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.69 MXN (100 MXN = 5.35 USD). 1 EUR = 20.8 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Cuernavaca 16,120 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Cuernavaca

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 Cuernavaca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cuernavaca is cheaper overall, especially in groceries and leisure. The 12% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 74% lower in Ubud, Bali. 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: $1,125 in Ubud, Bali versus $619 in Cuernavaca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Ubud, Bali – a meal for two runs $36 versus $37 in Cuernavaca. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Cuernavaca gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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 Cuernavaca are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.