Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Higuey

For one person, living is cheaper in Higuey: $926 a month against $1,331 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.

64

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
Learn more

Ubud, Bali Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Higuey
Learn more

Higuey Living Index

Jump to prices

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,331

/mo nomad

Higuey

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$926

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,331 in Ubud, Bali versus $926 in Higuey.

Ubud, Bali $1,331
Higuey $926

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,255 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,521 in Higuey.

Ubud, Bali $2,255
Higuey $1,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,180 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,116 in Higuey.

Ubud, Bali $3,180
Higuey $2,116

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 44% more expensive than in Higuey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ubud, Bali 2% lower, Higuey 31% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.38 Rp 61.3K

$9.95 DOP 598

-66.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.65 Rp 629.3K

$52.3 DOP 3,145

-33.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.57 Rp 101.2K

$7.43 DOP 446

-25.03%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.6K

$2.12 DOP 127

23.58%

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

$1.54 Rp 28.0K

$1.07 DOP 64.2

43.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.64 Rp 11.6K

$0.49 DOP 29.25

30.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.67 Rp 48.4K

$2.51 DOP 151

6.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.26 Rp 77.4K

$3.04 DOP 183

40.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 Rp 26.6K

$1.20 DOP 72.4

21.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 Rp 41.6K

$1.54 DOP 92.7

48.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.11 Rp 20.1K

$1.38 DOP 82.8

-19.57%

Eggs

$2.10 Rp 38.1K

$2.00 DOP 120

5.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.94 Rp 289.5K

$7.36 DOP 442

116.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.88 Rp 70.5K

$5.26 DOP 316

-26.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.40 Rp 207.1K

$6.78 DOP 407

68.14%

Apples (1kg)

$3.55 Rp 64.5K

$2.92 DOP 175

21.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

$0.76 DOP 45.93

102.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$1.46 DOP 87.8

52.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

$1.29 DOP 77.2

52.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 Rp 33.7K

$1.14 DOP 68.2

63.16%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 43.9K

$1.18 DOP 70.6

105.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 Rp 18.6K

$0.56 DOP 33.51

82.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 Rp 9,486

$0.52 DOP 31.15

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.20 Rp 39.9K

$5.22 DOP 314

-57.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.79 Rp 395.7K

$10.19 DOP 612

113.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 Rp 42.2K

$2.43 DOP 146

-4.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

$2.88 DOP 173

3.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,547

$0.84 DOP 50.5

-70.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.17 Rp 148.5K

$48.70 DOP 2,926

-83.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,950

$3.39 DOP 204

-87.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 Rp 8,499

$2.19 DOP 131

-78.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.60 Rp 101.7K

$5.70 DOP 343

-1.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

$1.47 DOP 88.2

-43.54%

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

$24.4K Rp 444.0M

$25.0K DOP 1.5M

-2.38%

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

$31.7K Rp 575.6M

$31.2K DOP 1.9M

1.68%

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

$77.5 Rp 1.4M

$93.0 DOP 5,588

-16.70%

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

$6.14 Rp 111.6K

$16.84 DOP 1,012

-63.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.92 Rp 343.5K

$33.54 DOP 2,015

-43.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 Rp 926.1K

$24.52 DOP 1,473

107.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.25 Rp 331.4K

$66.9 DOP 4,022

-72.74%

Cinema Ticket

$4.38 Rp 79.6K

$7.29 DOP 438

-39.92%

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

$492 Rp 8.9M

$97.5 DOP 5,859

404.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K Rp 222.0M

$2,149 DOP 129.1K

468.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.16 Rp 820.2K

$44.91 DOP 2,698

0.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.89 Rp 633.6K

$45.51 DOP 2,734

-23.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 Rp 1.4M

$85.8 DOP 5,152

-8.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.9 Rp 1.4M

$79.2 DOP 4,757

-1.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 Rp 19.6M

$300 DOP 18.0K

259.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 Rp 12.1M

$217 DOP 13.0K

206.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,510 Rp 63.7M

$570 DOP 34.2K

516.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,671 Rp 30.3M

$415 DOP 24.9K

302.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,340 Rp 42.5M

$1,862 DOP 111.9K

25.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,236 Rp 40.6M

$1,225 DOP 73.6K

82.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

$444 DOP 26.7K

-62.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

11.5

19.83%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: November 1, 2026

Last update for Higuey: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$665 50%

Higuey

$217 23.4% 67.4% $448

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$279 21%

Higuey

$194 20.9% 30.7% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$106 8%

Higuey

$115 12.4% 8.1% $8.6

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 8%

Higuey

$152 16.4% 43.9% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$103 7.7%

Higuey

$143 15.5% 39.8% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$60 4.5%

Higuey

$39 4.2% 34.6% $21

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Higuey

$66 7.2% 456% $54

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,078 in Ubud, Bali and $300 in Higuey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Higuey pays about 2.7 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35 in Ubud, Bali vs $52 in Higuey. Groceries flip the comparison at $279 vs $194, with Higuey cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇩🇴 Higuey

🕒 Local time

00:19 12:19 AM

12:19 12:19 PM

12 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

123,787

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR

100 DOP = 1.66 USD

100 DOP = 1.49 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18,161 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,333 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 60.08 DOP (100 DOP = 1.66 USD). 1 EUR = 67.26 DOP (100 DOP = 1.49 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Higuey 18,810 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Higuey

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 Higuey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Higuey is about 30% cheaper overall, especially in groceries and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 63% 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: $1,078 in Ubud, Bali versus $300 in Higuey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,331 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $926 in Higuey – Higuey is about 30% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Ubud, Bali runs roughly 83% less than in Higuey. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your 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 Higuey are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.