Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and El Calafate

For one person, living is cheaper in El Calafate: $961 a month against $1,368 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ubud, Bali outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

67

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
Learn more

Ubud, Bali Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in El Calafate
Learn more

El Calafate Living Index

Jump to prices

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,368

/mo nomad

El Calafate

🇦🇷 Argentina

$961

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ubud, Bali and in El Calafate

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,368 in Ubud, Bali versus $961 in El Calafate.

Ubud, Bali $1,368
El Calafate $961

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,314 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,574 in El Calafate.

Ubud, Bali $2,314
El Calafate $1,574

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,260 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,187 in El Calafate.

Ubud, Bali $3,260
El Calafate $2,187

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 42% more expensive than in El Calafate, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubud, Bali is 1% above, El Calafate is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.33 Rp 59.9K

$10.66 ARS 16.2K

-68.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.18 Rp 633.2K

$33.87 ARS 51.4K

3.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.80 Rp 104.5K

$8.85 ARS 13.4K

-34.46%

Cappuccino

$2.73 Rp 49.1K

$2.77 ARS 4,198

-1.44%

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

$1.64 Rp 29.5K

$1.64 ARS 2,484

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

$1.49 ARS 2,268

-44.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.70 Rp 48.6K

$2.08 ARS 3,157

29.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.30 Rp 77.4K

$2.93 ARS 4,452

46.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 Rp 27.1K

$1.24 ARS 1,887

20.97%

White Bread (500g)

$2.30 Rp 41.4K

$1.61 ARS 2,446

42.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$1.93 ARS 2,930

-38.86%

Eggs

$2.14 Rp 38.6K

$2.20 ARS 3,346

-2.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.48 Rp 314.6K

$10.29 ARS 15.6K

69.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.03 Rp 72.5K

$6.07 ARS 9,209

-33.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.23 Rp 220.1K

$9.50 ARS 14.4K

28.74%

Apples (1kg)

$3.55 Rp 63.9K

$1.95 ARS 2,963

82.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

$2.11 ARS 3,205

-25.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.24 Rp 40.2K

$1.33 ARS 2,015

68.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.93 Rp 34.7K

$2.62 ARS 3,973

-26.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 Rp 33.9K

$1.19 ARS 1,808

57.98%

Onion (1kg)

$2.29 Rp 41.3K

$1.20 ARS 1,821

90.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 17.9K

$1.30 ARS 1,973

-23.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 Rp 9,475

$1.48 ARS 2,245

-64.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.28 Rp 41.1K

$3.16 ARS 4,800

-27.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.01 Rp 414.2K

$4.97 ARS 7,536

362.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.34 Rp 42.2K

$2.06 ARS 3,133

13.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 Rp 52.4K

$3.16 ARS 4,799

-7.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.24 Rp 4,315

$0.76 ARS 1,159

-68.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.82 Rp 158.7K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.48 Rp 8,684

$1.51 ARS 2,293

-68.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.46 Rp 8,233

$0.87 ARS 1,322

-47.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 Rp 98.2K

$5.89 ARS 8,934

-7.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 Rp 15.9K

$1.05 ARS 1,600

-16.19%

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

$24.6K Rp 442.2M

$27.4K ARS 41.6M

-10.45%

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

$31.2K Rp 561.4M

$30.2K ARS 45.9M

3.18%

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

$83.0 Rp 1.5M

$66.5 ARS 100.9K

24.85%

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

$6.45 Rp 116.0K

$16.85 ARS 25.6K

-61.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.57 Rp 334.2K

$22.42 ARS 34.0K

-17.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.8 Rp 1.0M

$26.64 ARS 40.4K

109.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.11 Rp 326.0K

$13.53 ARS 20.5K

33.85%

Cinema Ticket

$4.38 Rp 78.9K

$6.34 ARS 9,617

-30.91%

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

$493 Rp 8.9M

$224 ARS 340.0K

120.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,754 Rp 103.6M

$2,679 ARS 4.1M

114.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.19 Rp 831.4K

$72.7 ARS 110.3K

-36.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.33 Rp 636.0K

$70.7 ARS 107.3K

-50.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$114 ARS 173.7K

-30.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.4 Rp 1.4M

$114 ARS 172.2K

-30.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,142 Rp 20.6M

$342 ARS 518.6K

234.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$676 Rp 12.2M

$235 ARS 357.2K

187.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,503 Rp 63.1M

$695 ARS 1.1M

404.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,700 Rp 30.6M

$533 ARS 809.3K

218.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,784 Rp 50.1M

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

49.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

$1,600 ARS 2.4M

40.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$165 Rp 3.0M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

58.5

-76.44%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 11, 2026

Last update for El Calafate: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$676 49.4%

El Calafate

$235 24.5% 65.2% $440

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$290 21.2%

El Calafate

$231 24% 20.4% $59

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$109 8%

El Calafate

$174 18.1% 59.8% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$108 7.9%

El Calafate

$106 11% 2.1% $2.3

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 7.9%

El Calafate

$167 17.4% 55.4% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$65 4.7%

El Calafate

$39 4.1% 39.1% $25

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$13 0.9%

El Calafate

$8.9 * 0.9% 28.9% $3.6

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,142 in Ubud, Bali and $342 in El Calafate. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Ubud, Bali vs $34.00 in El Calafate for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $231 per month, with El Calafate cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇦🇷 El Calafate

🕒 Local time

22:05 10:05 PM

11:05 11:05 AM

11 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

22,844

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, 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).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali El Calafate 13,430 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
El Calafate

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 El Calafate: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ubud, Bali and El Calafate differ by about 42% in total monthly costs ($1,368 vs $961 including rent). El Calafate is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,051 in Ubud, Bali and $1,442 in El Calafate to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,142 in Ubud, Bali versus $342 in El Calafate. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $493 in Ubud, Bali versus $224 in El Calafate. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in El Calafate – a meal for two runs $34.00 versus $35.00 in Ubud, Bali. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $961 in El Calafate versus $1,368 in Ubud, Bali, a $2,000 budget is realistic in El Calafate but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes El Calafate 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 El Calafate 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 El Calafate gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.