Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Margate, South Africa

For one person, living is cheaper in Margate: $891 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Margate
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Margate Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Margate

🇿🇦 South Africa

$891

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $891 in Margate.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Margate $891

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,419 in Margate.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Margate $1,419

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,947 in Margate.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Margate $1,947

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 51% more expensive than in Margate, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

$7.72 R 129

-56.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 647.8K

$36.77 R 613

-3.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

$5.95 R 99.2

-7.06%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

$1.89 R 31.55

43.92%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$1.05 R 17.58

61.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.84 R 14.03

-9.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

$2.44 R 40.72

8.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.6K

$2.30 R 38.37

90.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$0.99 R 16.45

50.51%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

$0.91 R 15.10

150.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$1.13 R 18.75

5.31%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

$2.38 R 39.67

-14.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.7K

$5.21 R 86.8

239.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 72.0K

$3.41 R 56.8

16.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.6K

$6.01 R 100

102.83%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.4K

$1.16 R 19.25

215.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

$1.25 R 20.88

21.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$1.09 R 18.16

104.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

$1.41 R 23.52

39.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

$1.10 R 18.25

68.18%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

$1.33 R 22.11

81.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$1.10 R 18.40

-10.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,332

$0.97 R 16.18

-47.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

$1.62 R 26.95

37.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 404.2K

$3.63 R 60.5

512.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

$1.48 R 24.64

52.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

$1.85 R 30.90

60.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,562

$1.56 R 25.93

-83.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,989

$0.45 R 7.43

-2.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,817

$0.71 R 11.90

-39.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.3K

$7.76 R 129

-30.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$1.37 R 22.90

-40.15%

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

$23.8K Rp 433.3M

$35.1K R 584.9K

-32.08%

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

$31.7K Rp 577.0M

$33.7K R 561.2K

-5.73%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$61.6 R 1,027

28.32%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

$18.40 R 307

-64.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.7K

$32.91 R 548

-43.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 899.4K

$32.81 R 547

50.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.8K

$10.97 R 183

60.89%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

$4.34 R 72.3

-1.61%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$310 R 5,169

58.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.1M

$7,680 R 128.0K

-26.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 811.4K

$54.6 R 909

-18.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 635.3K

$18.27 R 304

91.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

$71.7 R 1,195

11.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$49.48 R 825

60.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

$395 R 6,587

184.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$363 R 6,055

84.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

$743 R 12.4K

379.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$724 R 12.1K

138.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

$880 R 14.7K

210.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

$696 R 11.6K

228.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$1,528 R 25.5K

-89.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

11.78

16.98%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Margate: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Margate

$363 40.8% 45.9% $308

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Margate

$149 16.7% 48.4% $140

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Margate

$127 14.2% 17.7% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Margate

$87 9.8% 18.8% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Margate

$113 12.7% 8.5% $8.8

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Margate

$41 4.7% 28.5% $17

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Margate

$10 * 1.2% 10.3% $1.2

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $395 in Margate. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Margate pays about 9.3 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 $37 in Margate. Groceries flip the comparison at $288 vs $149, with Margate cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇿🇦 Margate

🕒 Local time

05:36 5:36 AM

23:36 11:36 PM

6 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

34,407

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, 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).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Margate 9,040 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Margate

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 Margate: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Margate wins on cost – living expenses run 34% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Margate the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 89% 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 $395 in Margate. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $491 in Ubud, Bali versus $310 in Margate. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ubud, Bali – a meal for two runs $36 versus $37 in Margate. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Margate is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.