Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Mahboula

For one person, living is cheaper in Mahboula: $1,239 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Mahboula
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Mahboula Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Mahboula

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,239

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,239 in Mahboula.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Mahboula $1,239

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,004 in Mahboula.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Mahboula $2,004

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,769 in Mahboula.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Mahboula $2,769

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 9% more expensive than in Mahboula, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

$6.57 KWD 2.04

-49.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 648.1K

$25.24 KWD 7.84

41.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

$8.92 KWD 2.77

-38.00%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.66 KWD 0.51

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 KWD 1.01

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

$5.15 KWD 1.60

-47.18%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$0.49 KWD 0.15

246.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.14 KWD 0.04

442.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.3K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.7K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$1.63 KWD 0.51

-8.59%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

$0.99 KWD 0.31

130.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$1.87 KWD 0.58

-36.36%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

$1.30 KWD 0.40

56.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.9K

$4.48 KWD 1.39

295.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 72.1K

$6.58 KWD 2.04

-39.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.7K

$10.41 KWD 3.24

17.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.5K

$2.50 KWD 0.78

46.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

$1.95 KWD 0.60

-22.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$1.78 KWD 0.55

25.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

$1.15 KWD 0.36

71.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

$1.32 KWD 0.41

40.15%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

$1.11 KWD 0.35

118.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$2.27 KWD 0.70

-56.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,336

$0.49 KWD 0.15

4.08%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.13 KWD 0.97

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 KWD 0.33

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 KWD 0.43

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

$1.58 KWD 0.49

40.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 404.4K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,564

$0.78 KWD 0.24

-67.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.3K

$49.06 KWD 15.24

-84.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,992

$1.57 KWD 0.49

-71.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,821

$1.60 KWD 0.50

-73.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.4K

$5.50 KWD 1.71

-1.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$0.15 KWD 0.05

446.67%

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

$23.8K Rp 433.5M

$19.6K KWD 6,096

21.54%

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

$31.7K Rp 577.3M

$17.5K KWD 5,449

81.06%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$65.7 KWD 20.43

20.28%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

$16.29 KWD 5.06

-60.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.8K

$30.36 KWD 9.44

-38.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 899.8K

$97.6 KWD 30.32

-49.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.9K

$47.79 KWD 14.85

-63.07%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

$12.67 KWD 3.94

-66.30%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$379 KWD 118

29.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.2M

$6,632 KWD 2,061

-14.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 811.7K

$38.09 KWD 11.84

17.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 635.6K

$39.40 KWD 12.24

-11.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

$97.3 KWD 30.23

-17.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$88.6 KWD 27.52

-10.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.5M

$737 KWD 229

52.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$505 KWD 157

32.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

$1,769 KWD 550

101.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$1,118 KWD 347

54.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.7M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$1,275 KWD 396

-87.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

6.53

111.03%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mahboula: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Mahboula

$505 40.8% 24.8% $166

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Mahboula

$175 14.1% 39.4% $114

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Mahboula

$144 11.6% 33.5% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Mahboula

$119 9.6% 10.2% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Mahboula

$112 9.1% 8% $8.3

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Mahboula

$123 9.9% 112% $65

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Mahboula

$62 5% 441% $50

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $737 in Mahboula. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mahboula pays about 7.8 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $36 in Ubud, Bali vs $25 in Mahboula for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $175 per month, with Mahboula cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇰🇼 Mahboula

🕒 Local time

16:21 4:21 PM

11:21 11:21 AM

5 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

18,178

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.93 EUR

1 KWD = 3.22 USD

1 KWD = 2.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KWD, 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 = 20,291 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.93 EUR).

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 0.311 KWD (1 KWD = 3.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.347 KWD (1 KWD = 2.88 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Mahboula 8,310 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Mahboula

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 Mahboula: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mahboula is about 8% cheaper overall, especially in groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 87% 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 $737 in Mahboula. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Mahboula – a meal for two runs $25 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 $1,239 in Mahboula – Mahboula is about 8% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Mahboula 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 Mahboula are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.