Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Emalahleni

For one person, living is cheaper in Emalahleni: $1,224 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Emalahleni
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Emalahleni Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Emalahleni

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,224

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,349 per month in Ubud, Bali vs $1,224 in Emalahleni, rent included.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Emalahleni $1,224

A couple spends around $2,305 per month in Ubud, Bali vs $1,869 in Emalahleni, rent included.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Emalahleni $1,869

A family of three spends $3,261 per month in Ubud, Bali vs $2,515 in Emalahleni, rent included.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Emalahleni $2,515

Ubud, Bali costs about 10% more than Emalahleni, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

$12.00 R 199

-72.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 648.1K

$45.30 R 753

-21.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

$7.41 R 123

-25.37%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

$1.53 R 25.43

77.78%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$0.89 R 14.78

91.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.57 R 9.42

33.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.3K

$1.42 R 23.60

86.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.7K

$1.74 R 28.89

151.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$1.31 R 21.77

13.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

$0.90 R 14.91

153.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$1.23 R 20.45

-3.25%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

$2.20 R 36.60

-7.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.9K

$8.83 R 147

100.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 72.1K

$4.82 R 80.0

-17.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.7K

$9.08 R 151

34.25%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.5K

$1.78 R 29.54

105.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

$1.20 R 19.86

26.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$1.85 R 30.68

20.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

$1.67 R 27.68

17.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

$1.67 R 27.73

10.78%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

$1.01 R 16.70

139.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$1.37 R 22.69

-27.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,336

$1.18 R 19.57

-56.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

$3.12 R 51.8

-28.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 404.4K

$3.55 R 59.0

526.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

$1.33 R 22.13

69.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

$1.37 R 22.75

116.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,564

$1.51 R 25.00

-83.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,992

$0.88 R 14.69

-50.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,821

$0.92 R 15.33

-53.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.4K

$14.75 R 245

-63.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$1.43 R 23.76

-42.66%

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

$23.8K Rp 433.5M

$36.5K R 605.8K

-34.63%

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

$31.7K Rp 577.3M

$33.2K R 551.0K

-4.29%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$232 R 3,850

-65.89%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

$38.64 R 642

-83.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.8K

$38.16 R 634

-51.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 899.8K

$32.35 R 537

52.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.9K

$10.80 R 179

63.43%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

$6.02 R 99.9

-29.07%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$211 R 3,509

132.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.2M

$1,792 R 29.8K

216.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 811.7K

$59.7 R 992

-25.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 635.6K

$46.35 R 770

-24.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

$114 R 1,891

-29.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$114 R 1,889

-30.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.5M

$392 R 6,515

186.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$368 R 6,104

82.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

$729 R 12.1K

388.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$727 R 12.1K

137.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.7M

$860 R 14.3K

217.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

$681 R 11.3K

235.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$2,066 R 34.3K

-92.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

10.91

26.31%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Emalahleni: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Emalahleni

$368 30% 45.3% $304

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Emalahleni

$189 15.4% 34.6% $100

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Emalahleni

$153 12.5% 42.1% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Emalahleni

$150 12.3% 39.7% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Emalahleni

$309 25.2% 197% $204

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Emalahleni

$44 3.6% 23.5% $14

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Emalahleni

$12 * 0.9% 0.9% $0.1

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali versus $392 in Emalahleni. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Emalahleni are about 13 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $36 in Ubud, Bali versus $45 in Emalahleni. Groceries tell a different story – $288 in Ubud, Bali vs $189 in Emalahleni – so Emalahleni wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇿🇦 Emalahleni

🕒 Local time

11:10 11:10 AM

05:10 5:10 AM

6 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

108,673

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18,183 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20,242 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Emalahleni 9,200 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Emalahleni

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 Emalahleni: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, $1,224 in Emalahleni – Emalahleni comes out roughly 9% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,023 per month in Ubud, Bali and $1,835 in Emalahleni. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Emalahleni, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $392 there versus $1,125 in Ubud, Bali.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $36 in Ubud, Bali and $45 in Emalahleni. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 53% more in Ubud, Bali, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,349 in Ubud, Bali and $1,224 in Emalahleni, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Emalahleni – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.