Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Formosa

For one person, living is cheaper in Formosa: $1,250 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 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
61

Cost of Living Index in Formosa
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Formosa Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Formosa

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,250

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,250 in Formosa.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Formosa $1,250

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,112 in Formosa.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Formosa $2,112

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,973 in Formosa.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Formosa $2,973

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 8% more expensive than in Formosa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

$18.95 ARS 29.1K

-82.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 647.8K

$53.7 ARS 82.6K

-33.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

$11.11 ARS 17.1K

-50.23%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

$3.57 ARS 5,486

-23.81%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$2.34 ARS 3,593

-27.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$2.11 ARS 3,241

-63.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

$3.86 ARS 5,935

-31.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.6K

$3.91 ARS 6,013

12.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$1.21 ARS 1,859

23.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

$2.40 ARS 3,691

-5.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$2.01 ARS 3,088

-40.80%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

$2.43 ARS 3,740

-16.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.7K

$10.75 ARS 16.5K

64.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 72.0K

$7.84 ARS 12.1K

-49.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.6K

$11.29 ARS 17.4K

7.97%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.4K

$2.25 ARS 3,465

62.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

$2.21 ARS 3,407

-31.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$1.45 ARS 2,234

53.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

$3.04 ARS 4,671

-35.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

$1.02 ARS 1,568

81.37%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

$0.90 ARS 1,387

168.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,332

$1.54 ARS 2,375

-66.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

$3.18 ARS 4,891

-30.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 404.2K

$5.62 ARS 8,640

295.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

$2.07 ARS 3,190

9.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

$2.98 ARS 4,584

-0.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,562

$1.12 ARS 1,718

-77.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,989

$1.45 ARS 2,228

-69.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,817

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.3K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$1.19 ARS 1,830

-31.09%

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

$23.8K Rp 433.3M

$23.5K ARS 36.2M

1.35%

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

$31.7K Rp 577.0M

$30.6K ARS 47.0M

3.88%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$126 ARS 194.4K

-37.43%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

$19.23 ARS 29.6K

-66.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.7K

$27.25 ARS 41.9K

-31.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 899.4K

$29.34 ARS 45.1K

68.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.8K

$21.72 ARS 33.4K

-18.74%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

$8.55 ARS 13.2K

-50.06%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$208 ARS 319.2K

136.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.1M

$4,398 ARS 6.8M

29.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 811.4K

$114 ARS 175.7K

-60.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 635.3K

$74.4 ARS 114.5K

-53.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

$114 ARS 175.6K

-30.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$105 ARS 162.3K

-24.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

$536 ARS 824.4K

109.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$312 ARS 480.6K

114.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

$1,093 ARS 1.7M

225.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$831 ARS 1.3M

107.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

$1,357 ARS 2.1M

68.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Formosa: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Formosa

$312 25% 53.5% $359

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Formosa

$256 * 20.5% 11.4% $33

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Formosa

$273 21.8% 153% $165

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Formosa

$184 14.7% 70.9% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Formosa

$173 13.8% 66.1% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Formosa

$46 3.7% 20% $12

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Formosa

$5.9 * 0.5% 48.2% $5.5

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 $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $536 in Formosa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $36 in Ubud, Bali vs $54 in Formosa. Groceries flip the comparison at $288 vs $256, with Formosa cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇦🇷 Formosa

🕒 Local time

03:02 3:02 AM

16:02 4:02 PM

11 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

234,354

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.84 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18,175 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20,233 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,538 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD). 1 EUR = 1,712 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Formosa 16,090 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Formosa

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 Formosa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Formosa is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. The 8% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,023 in Ubud, Bali and $1,874 in Formosa 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: $1,125 in Ubud, Bali versus $536 in Formosa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $491 in Ubud, Bali versus $208 in Formosa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ubud, Bali – a meal for two runs $36 versus $54 in Formosa. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Formosa 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 Formosa are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.