Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Dubai

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubud, Bali: $1,349 a month against $2,896 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $18,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
140

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,896

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,896 in Dubai.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Dubai $2,896

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $4,468 in Dubai.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Dubai $4,468

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $6,040 in Dubai.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Dubai $6,040

Living in Ubud, Bali costs roughly 53% less than in Dubai, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.2K

$12.73 AED 46.74

-73.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 645.8K

$81.5 AED 299

-56.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.3K

$9.68 AED 35.55

-42.87%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

$5.97 AED 21.93

-54.44%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.8K

$1.66 AED 6.10

2.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.82 AED 3.00

-7.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.1K

$13.38 AED 49.13

-80.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.4K

$13.60 AED 49.94

-67.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.0K

$1.81 AED 6.66

-17.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.2K

$1.55 AED 5.68

47.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$2.60 AED 9.57

-54.23%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 36.9K

$3.58 AED 13.16

-43.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 320.8K

$12.12 AED 44.52

46.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 71.8K

$9.50 AED 34.90

-58.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 220.9K

$13.88 AED 51.0

-12.18%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.2K

$2.63 AED 9.67

39.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.5K

$1.90 AED 6.97

-20.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

$1.85 AED 6.81

20.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.7K

$1.50 AED 5.51

31.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.5K

$1.19 AED 4.36

55.46%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 43.9K

$1.01 AED 3.70

139.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 17.9K

$1.66 AED 6.10

-40.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,303

$0.62 AED 2.27

-17.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.3K

$6.11 AED 22.42

-63.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 403.0K

$16.08 AED 59.1

38.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.0K

$2.71 AED 9.95

-16.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.8K

$3.02 AED 11.10

-1.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,548

$1.47 AED 5.39

-82.99%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 141.8K

$67.0 AED 246

-88.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,964

$3.35 AED 12.31

-86.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,793

$0.68 AED 2.48

-36.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.0K

$8.24 AED 30.24

-34.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 14.9K

$0.92 AED 3.40

-10.87%

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

$23.8K Rp 432.0M

$26.0K AED 95.5K

-8.29%

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

$31.7K Rp 575.3M

$21.5K AED 79.0K

47.55%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$248 AED 910

-68.08%

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

$6.45 Rp 116.8K

$56.2 AED 206

-88.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 336.7K

$93.8 AED 344

-80.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 896.7K

$91.1 AED 335

-45.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 319.8K

$45.35 AED 167

-61.08%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.4K

$16.58 AED 60.9

-74.25%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$949 AED 3,486

-48.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 102.8M

$17.1K AED 62.8K

-66.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 808.9K

$70.5 AED 259

-36.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 633.4K

$61.7 AED 227

-43.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

$101 AED 370

-20.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$114 AED 419

-30.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

$2,510 AED 9,217

-55.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$1,537 AED 5,644

-56.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.6M

$5,106 AED 18.8K

-30.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.2M

$3,110 AED 11.4K

-44.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.5M

$7,216 AED 26.5K

-62.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.4M

$4,383 AED 16.1K

-47.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$3,556 AED 13.1K

-95.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

4.54

203.52%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Dubai: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Dubai

$1.5K 53.1% 129% $865

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Dubai

$295 10.2% 2.2% $6.3

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Dubai

$307 10.6% 185% $199

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Dubai

$156 5.4% 45.3% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Dubai

$398 13.7% 282% $294

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Dubai

$124 4.3% 114% $66

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Dubai

$80 2.8% 597% $68

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $2,510 in Dubai. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays about 22 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $36 in Ubud, Bali vs $81 in Dubai for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $295 per month, with Ubud, Bali cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇦🇪 Dubai

🕒 Local time

13:24 1:24 PM

09:24 9:24 AM

4 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

3,790,000

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.52 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.244 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18,120 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.52 USD). 1 EUR = 20,232 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.1 AED (1 AED = 0.244 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Dubai 7,500 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Dubai

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 Dubai: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ubud, Bali is about 53% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, utilities, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 95% 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 $2,510 in Dubai. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Ubud, Bali runs roughly 88% less than in Dubai. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,349 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $2,896 in Dubai – Ubud, Bali is about 53% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Ubud, Bali is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Ubud, Bali is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Dubai, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Ubud, Bali and Dubai are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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