Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Kandy

For one person, living is cheaper in Kandy: $513 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Kandy
Learn more

Kandy Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Kandy

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$513

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $513 in Kandy.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Kandy $513

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $728 in Kandy.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Kandy $728

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $943 in Kandy.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Kandy $943

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 163% more expensive than in Kandy, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

$2.66 LKR 885

24.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 647.8K

$13.01 LKR 4,324

173.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

$6.00 LKR 1,996

-7.83%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

$1.90 LKR 632

43.16%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$0.52 LKR 174

226.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.26 LKR 87.1

192.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

$1.86 LKR 620

42.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.6K

$2.80 LKR 931

56.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$1.15 LKR 382

29.57%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

$0.52 LKR 174

338.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$0.77 LKR 255

54.55%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

$1.71 LKR 568

19.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.7K

$5.14 LKR 1,708

244.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 72.0K

$4.25 LKR 1,412

-6.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.6K

$6.87 LKR 2,285

77.44%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.4K

$3.14 LKR 1,043

16.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

$0.84 LKR 280

80.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$1.73 LKR 574

28.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

$1.29 LKR 429

52.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

$1.02 LKR 339

81.37%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

$0.83 LKR 277

191.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$0.43 LKR 144

130.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,332

$0.42 LKR 140

21.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

$8.02 LKR 2,668

-72.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 404.2K

$11.28 LKR 3,751

97.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

$1.93 LKR 643

17.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

$2.08 LKR 691

42.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,562

$0.16 LKR 53.3

56.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.2K

$4.38 LKR 1,457

78.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,989

$0.41 LKR 136

7.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,817

$0.35 LKR 116

22.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.3K

$0.47 LKR 156

1051.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$1.15 LKR 383

-28.70%

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

$23.8K Rp 433.3M

$14.0K LKR 4.6M

70.59%

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

$31.7K Rp 577.0M

$36.7K LKR 12.2M

-13.60%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$59.0 LKR 19.6K

33.98%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

$3.86 LKR 1,282

67.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.7K

$12.72 LKR 4,227

46.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 899.4K

$10.85 LKR 3,606

356.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.8K

$6.80 LKR 2,262

159.56%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

$2.74 LKR 909

55.84%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$21.65 LKR 7,199

2165.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.1M

$304 LKR 101.0K

1768.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 811.4K

$18.28 LKR 6,078

144.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 635.3K

$10.15 LKR 3,375

244.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

$67.7 LKR 22.5K

18.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$26.56 LKR 8,831

199.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

$172 LKR 57.2K

554.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$113 LKR 37.5K

494.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

$172 LKR 57.2K

1970.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$93.6 LKR 31.1K

1740.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

$397 LKR 131.9K

588.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

$400 LKR 133.0K

470.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$262 LKR 86.9K

-37.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

14.83%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Kandy: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Kandy

$113 22% 83.2% $559

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Kandy

$166 32.3% 42.5% $123

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Kandy

$80 15.6% 25.5% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Kandy

$55 10.8% 48.6% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Kandy

$76 14.7% 27.4% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Kandy

$16 3.2% 71.9% $42

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Kandy

$7.2 1.4% 37.2% $4.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $172 in Kandy. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kandy pays 60% 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 $13 in Kandy for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $166 per month, with Kandy cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇱🇰 Kandy

🕒 Local time

04:22 4:22 AM

01:52 1:52 AM

2 h 30 min behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

125,000

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, 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).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Kandy 4,220 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Kandy

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 Kandy: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kandy is about 62% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 37% 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 $172 in Kandy. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,349 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $513 in Kandy – Kandy is about 62% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Kandy runs roughly 44% less than in Ubud, Bali. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $513 in Kandy versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kandy but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Kandy the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Kandy is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Ubud, Bali, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Ubud, Bali and Kandy are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Kandy gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.