Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Johor Bahru

For one person, living is cheaper in Johor Bahru: $1,080 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Johor Bahru
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Johor Bahru Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Johor Bahru

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,080

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ubud, Bali and in Johor Bahru

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,080 in Johor Bahru.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Johor Bahru $1,080

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,611 in Johor Bahru.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Johor Bahru $1,611

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,141 in Johor Bahru.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Johor Bahru $2,141

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 25% more expensive than in Johor Bahru, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.3K

$3.57 MYR 14.52

-7.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 646.7K

$18.54 MYR 75.5

92.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.4K

$5.03 MYR 20.47

9.94%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

$3.00 MYR 12.20

-9.33%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$0.85 MYR 3.45

100.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.56 MYR 2.30

35.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

$4.54 MYR 18.48

-41.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

$6.27 MYR 25.50

-30.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$1.70 MYR 6.92

-12.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.3K

$1.05 MYR 4.28

117.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$1.42 MYR 5.77

-16.20%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 36.9K

$1.73 MYR 7.03

17.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.2K

$18.23 MYR 74.2

-2.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 71.9K

$4.57 MYR 18.60

-13.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.2K

$10.51 MYR 42.77

15.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.3K

$3.28 MYR 13.37

11.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.5K

$1.74 MYR 7.09

-12.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

$3.91 MYR 15.93

-42.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

$1.64 MYR 6.67

20.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.5K

$1.41 MYR 5.72

31.21%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.0K

$1.65 MYR 6.70

46.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$1.37 MYR 5.56

-27.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,316

$0.56 MYR 2.26

-8.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.3K

$4.19 MYR 17.05

-47.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 403.6K

$14.20 MYR 57.8

56.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.0K

$2.92 MYR 11.90

-22.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

$3.03 MYR 12.32

-1.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,555

$0.70 MYR 2.83

-64.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.0K

$12.36 MYR 50.3

-36.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,975

$0.94 MYR 3.84

-53.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,804

$0.75 MYR 3.07

-42.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.2K

$9.95 MYR 40.50

-45.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$0.83 MYR 3.37

-1.20%

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

$23.8K Rp 432.6M

$43.9K MYR 178.6K

-45.66%

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

$31.7K Rp 576.1M

$35.7K MYR 145.4K

-11.14%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$52.7 MYR 214

50.10%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.0K

$11.01 MYR 44.82

-41.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.1K

$28.28 MYR 115

-34.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 897.9K

$41.28 MYR 168

19.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.2K

$5.80 MYR 23.59

204.31%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.6K

$4.81 MYR 19.59

-11.23%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$239 MYR 974

105.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.0M

$4,518 MYR 18.4K

25.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 810.0K

$54.6 MYR 222

-18.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 634.2K

$16.53 MYR 67.3

111.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

$81.3 MYR 331

-1.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$98.3 MYR 400

-19.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

$523 MYR 2,130

114.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$416 MYR 1,692

61.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.7M

$983 MYR 4,000

262.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$707 MYR 2,879

143.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

$2,002 MYR 8,147

36.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.4M

$1,214 MYR 4,940

88.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$1,076 MYR 4,378

-84.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

4.06

239.41%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Johor Bahru: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Johor Bahru

$416 38.5% 38.1% $256

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Johor Bahru

$269 24.9% 6.9% $20

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Johor Bahru

$120 11.2% 11.9% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Johor Bahru

$113 10.4% 4.9% $5.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Johor Bahru

$92 8.5% 11.7% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Johor Bahru

$51 4.7% 12.3% $7.1

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Johor Bahru

$20 1.8% 73.9% $8.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $523 in Johor Bahru. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Johor Bahru pays about 6.6 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $36 in Ubud, Bali vs $19 in Johor Bahru for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $269 per month, with Johor Bahru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇲🇾 Johor Bahru

🕒 Local time

04:17 4:17 AM

Same time as Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

858,118

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR

1 MYR = 0.246 USD

1 MYR = 0.219 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18,145 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,337 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.246 USD). 1 EUR = 4.56 MYR (1 MYR = 0.219 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Johor Bahru 1,690 km ≈ 2 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Johor Bahru

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 Johor Bahru: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,349 in Ubud, Bali and $1,080 in Johor Bahru, so Johor Bahru is about 20% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 85% 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 $523 in Johor Bahru. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Johor Bahru – a meal for two runs $19 versus $36 in Ubud, Bali. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,349 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $1,080 in Johor Bahru – Johor Bahru is about 20% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Johor Bahru 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 Johor Bahru are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.