Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Lanzhou

For one person, living is cheaper in Lanzhou: $719 a month against $1,331 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Lanzhou, China
Ubud, Bali
🇮🇩 Indonesia
$1,331
/mo nomad
Lanzhou
🇨🇳 China
$719
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,331 in Ubud, Bali versus $719 in Lanzhou.

  • Ubud, Bali $1,331
  • Lanzhou $719

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,255 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,150 in Lanzhou.

  • Ubud, Bali $2,255
  • Lanzhou $1,150

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,180 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,580 in Lanzhou.

  • Ubud, Bali $3,180
  • Lanzhou $1,580

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 85% more expensive than in Lanzhou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ubud, Bali 2% lower, Lanzhou 47% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Ubud, Bali
Lanzhou
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$3.38 Rp 60.9K
$2.07 ¥13.75
63.29%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$34.65 Rp 625.4K
$28.68 ¥191
20.82%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.57 Rp 100.6K
$5.53 ¥36.79
0.72%
Cappuccino
$2.62 Rp 47.3K
$3.02 ¥20.10
-13.25%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.54 Rp 27.8K
$0.48 ¥3.16
220.83%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.64 Rp 11.6K
$0.31 ¥2.08
106.45%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.67 Rp 48.1K
$1.13 ¥7.55
136.28%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.26 Rp 76.9K
$2.34 ¥15.57
82.05%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Ubud, Bali
Lanzhou
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.46 Rp 26.4K
$1.85 ¥12.32
-21.08%
White Bread (500g)
$2.29 Rp 41.4K
$1.64 ¥10.91
39.63%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.11 Rp 20.0K
$0.97 ¥6.45
14.43%
Eggs
$2.10 Rp 37.9K
$1.64 ¥10.92
28.05%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$15.94 Rp 287.7K
$13.59 ¥90.5
17.29%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.88 Rp 70.1K
$3.30 ¥22.00
17.58%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.40 Rp 205.8K
$12.23 ¥81.4
-6.79%
Apples (1kg)
$3.55 Rp 64.1K
$1.90 ¥12.64
86.84%
Banana (1kg)
$1.54 Rp 27.7K
$1.26 ¥8.41
22.22%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.23 Rp 40.2K
$1.51 ¥10.04
47.68%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.97 Rp 35.6K
$1.33 ¥8.83
48.12%
Potato (1kg)
$1.86 Rp 33.5K
$0.77 ¥5.10
141.56%
Onion (1kg)
$2.42 Rp 43.6K
$0.92 ¥6.13
163.04%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.02 Rp 18.5K
$0.60 ¥4.01
70.00%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.52 Rp 9,427
$0.55 ¥3.64
-5.45%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.20 Rp 39.7K
$3.75 ¥24.96
-41.33%
Wine (Bottle)
$21.79 Rp 393.2K
$11.31 ¥75.3
92.66%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.33 Rp 42.0K
$0.84 ¥5.59
177.38%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.97 Rp 53.6K
$1.61 ¥10.75
84.47%
🚌 Getting Around
Ubud, Bali
Lanzhou
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.25 Rp 4,519
$0.29 ¥1.93
-13.79%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$8.17 Rp 147.5K
$18.31 ¥122
-55.38%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.44 Rp 7,901
$1.47 ¥9.81
-70.07%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.47 Rp 8,446
$0.33 ¥2.17
42.42%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.60 Rp 101.1K
$6.95 ¥46.24
-19.42%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$0.83 Rp 14.9K
$1.54 ¥10.23
-46.10%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$24.4K Rp 441.3M
$16.6K ¥110.6K
47.17%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.7K Rp 572.1M
$19.5K ¥129.6K
62.85%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Ubud, Bali
Lanzhou
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$77.5 Rp 1.4M
$57.0 ¥379
35.98%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$6.14 Rp 110.9K
$8.60 ¥57.3
-28.60%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$18.92 Rp 341.4K
$11.23 ¥74.8
68.48%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Ubud, Bali
Lanzhou
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$51.0 Rp 920.4K
$42.38 ¥282
20.32%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.25 Rp 329.4K
$15.09 ¥100
20.94%
Cinema Ticket
$4.38 Rp 79.1K
$6.46 ¥43.00
-32.20%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Ubud, Bali
Lanzhou
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$492 Rp 8.9M
$468 ¥3,113
5.33%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$12.2K Rp 220.6M
$23.6K ¥157.0K
-48.18%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Ubud, Bali
Lanzhou
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$45.16 Rp 815.1K
$43.62 ¥290
3.53%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$34.89 Rp 629.7K
$31.86 ¥212
9.51%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$78.3 Rp 1.4M
$76.5 ¥510
2.34%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$77.9 Rp 1.4M
$75.6 ¥504
2.96%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Ubud, Bali
Lanzhou
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,078 Rp 19.4M
$283 ¥1,884
280.92%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$665 Rp 12.0M
$167 ¥1,111
298.52%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$3,510 Rp 63.4M
$605 ¥4,027
480.39%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,671 Rp 30.2M
$301 ¥2,005
454.99%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,340 Rp 42.2M
$2,661 ¥17.7K
-12.07%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,236 Rp 40.4M
$1,623 ¥10.8K
37.75%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Ubud, Bali
Lanzhou
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$166 Rp 3.0M
$965 ¥6,422
-82.75%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
13.78
3
359.33%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: November 1, 2026

Last update for Lanzhou: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Ubud, Bali
$665
Lanzhou
$167 74.9% $498
Groceries & Markets
Ubud, Bali
$279
Lanzhou
$212 24.1% $67
Clothing & Footwear
Ubud, Bali
$106
Lanzhou
$102 3.6% $3.9
Eating Out
Ubud, Bali
$106
Lanzhou
$83 21.7% $23
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Ubud, Bali
$103
Lanzhou
$77 25.1% $26
Sport & Entertainment
Ubud, Bali
$60
Lanzhou
$55 7.5% $4.5
Getting Around
Ubud, Bali
$12
Lanzhou
$23 88.9% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,078 in Ubud, Bali and $283 in Lanzhou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lanzhou pays about 5.8 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 $29 in Lanzhou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $279 vs $212 per month, with Lanzhou cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali
🇨🇳 Lanzhou
🕒 Local time
18:28 6:28 PM
18:28 6:28 PM
Same time as Ubud, Bali
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
74,800
3,688,400
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18,049 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.54 USD). 1 EUR = 20,271 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.93 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 6.66 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.48 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Ubud, Bali Lanzhou 5,100 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Ubud, Bali
  • Lanzhou

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 Lanzhou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Lanzhou cheaper than Ubud, Bali?
Lanzhou is about 46% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Ubud, Bali or Lanzhou?
On paper, salaries run 83% 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.
What is the rent difference between Ubud, Bali and Lanzhou?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,078 in Ubud, Bali versus $283 in Lanzhou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $492 in Ubud, Bali versus $468 in Lanzhou. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
How do food prices compare in Ubud, Bali and in Lanzhou?
Supermarket bills run roughly 32% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Is $1,000 a realistic budget for living in Ubud, Bali or in Lanzhou?
At $719 in Lanzhou versus $1,331 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Lanzhou but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Lanzhou the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is it better to live in Ubud, Bali or in Lanzhou?
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.

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