Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Lhasa

For one person, living is cheaper in Lhasa: $738 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Lhasa
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Lhasa Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Lhasa

🇨🇳 China

$738

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $738 in Lhasa.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Lhasa $738

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,194 in Lhasa.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Lhasa $1,194

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,649 in Lhasa.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Lhasa $1,649

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 83% more expensive than in Lhasa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

$4.37 ¥29.06

-24.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 648.1K

$30.36 ¥202

17.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

$7.38 ¥49.11

-25.07%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

$2.81 ¥18.67

-3.20%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$0.43 ¥2.88

295.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.31 ¥2.05

145.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.3K

$1.48 ¥9.85

79.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.7K

$2.08 ¥13.84

110.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$1.80 ¥11.96

-17.22%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

$1.65 ¥11.00

38.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$1.01 ¥6.73

17.82%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

$1.58 ¥10.54

29.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.9K

$7.00 ¥46.59

152.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 72.1K

$3.04 ¥20.23

30.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.7K

$11.15 ¥74.2

9.33%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.5K

$1.83 ¥12.16

100.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

$1.34 ¥8.90

13.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$1.56 ¥10.41

42.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

$1.33 ¥8.86

48.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

$0.70 ¥4.65

164.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

$0.95 ¥6.34

154.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$0.59 ¥3.93

67.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,336

$0.59 ¥3.96

-13.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

$3.84 ¥25.58

-42.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 404.4K

$11.23 ¥74.7

98.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

$0.84 ¥5.62

169.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

$1.61 ¥10.71

84.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,564

$0.31 ¥2.06

-19.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.3K

$18.27 ¥122

-57.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,992

$1.47 ¥9.81

-70.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,821

$0.32 ¥2.16

34.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.4K

$7.33 ¥48.81

-26.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$1.31 ¥8.71

-37.40%

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

$23.8K Rp 433.5M

$19.2K ¥127.8K

24.17%

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

$31.7K Rp 577.3M

$17.7K ¥117.7K

79.56%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$56.5 ¥376

39.90%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

$8.54 ¥56.8

-24.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.8K

$11.23 ¥74.7

65.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 899.8K

$42.42 ¥282

16.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.9K

$15.12 ¥101

16.73%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

$6.33 ¥42.15

-32.54%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$434 ¥2,885

13.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.2M

$17.8K ¥118.6K

-68.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 811.7K

$42.74 ¥284

4.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 635.6K

$33.30 ¥222

4.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

$75.4 ¥502

5.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$76.4 ¥508

4.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.5M

$287 ¥1,910

291.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$189 ¥1,256

255.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

$598 ¥3,978

496.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$373 ¥2,482

362.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.7M

$3,221 ¥21.4K

-15.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

$1,933 ¥12.9K

18.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$2,079 ¥13.8K

-92.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

3.36

310.12%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Lhasa: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Lhasa

$189 25.6% 71.9% $483

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Lhasa

$188 25.5% 34.8% $100

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Lhasa

$105 14.3% 2.2% $2.4

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Lhasa

$103 13.9% 4.6% $5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Lhasa

$76 10.3% 26.7% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Lhasa

$55 7.5% 5.1% $2.9

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Lhasa

$23 3.1% 97.9% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $287 in Lhasa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lhasa pays about 13 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 $30 in Lhasa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $188 per month, with Lhasa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇨🇳 Lhasa

🕒 Local time

11:09 11:09 AM

Same time as Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

867,891

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18,183 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20,242 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ubud, Bali Lhasa 4,970 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Lhasa

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 Lhasa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,349 in Ubud, Bali and $738 in Lhasa, so Lhasa is about 45% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 92% 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 $287 in Lhasa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 53% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Lhasa – a meal for two runs $30 versus $36 in Ubud, Bali. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $738 in Lhasa versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Lhasa but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Lhasa the clear choice for anyone on this 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.