Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Mbabane

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbabane: $753 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Mbabane
Learn more

Mbabane Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Mbabane

🇸🇿 Eswatini

$753

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,349 per month in Ubud, Bali vs $753 in Mbabane, rent included.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Mbabane $753

A couple spends around $2,305 per month in Ubud, Bali vs $1,211 in Mbabane, rent included.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Mbabane $1,211

A family of three spends $3,261 per month in Ubud, Bali vs $1,668 in Mbabane, rent included.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Mbabane $1,668

Ubud, Bali costs about 79% more than Mbabane, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

$10.34 SZL 172

-67.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 648.1K

$33.94 SZL 563

5.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

$5.95 SZL 98.7

-7.06%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

$2.50 SZL 41.48

8.80%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$1.09 SZL 18.02

55.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.62 SZL 10.26

22.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.3K

$2.15 SZL 35.59

23.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.7K

$2.41 SZL 40.00

81.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$1.59 SZL 26.40

-6.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

$0.79 SZL 13.17

188.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$1.68 SZL 27.95

-29.17%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

$1.84 SZL 30.49

10.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.9K

$11.00 SZL 183

60.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 72.1K

$5.65 SZL 93.8

-29.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.7K

$5.22 SZL 86.6

133.52%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.5K

$1.81 SZL 29.98

102.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

$0.62 SZL 10.34

145.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$1.21 SZL 20.14

84.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

$1.35 SZL 22.43

45.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

$1.30 SZL 21.58

42.31%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

$1.50 SZL 24.95

61.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$0.65 SZL 10.85

52.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,336

$0.74 SZL 12.35

-31.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

$2.83 SZL 46.94

-21.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 404.4K

$6.15 SZL 102

261.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

$1.54 SZL 25.60

46.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

$1.68 SZL 27.83

76.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,564

$0.75 SZL 12.52

-66.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,992

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,821

$1.39 SZL 23.01

-69.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.4K

$3.00 SZL 49.75

80.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$1.31 SZL 21.78

-37.40%

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

$23.8K Rp 433.5M

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

$31.7K Rp 577.3M

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$63.4 SZL 1,052

24.72%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

$38.11 SZL 632

-83.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.8K

$26.81 SZL 445

-30.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 899.8K

$22.69 SZL 376

118.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.9K

$3.04 SZL 50.4

480.59%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

$3.64 SZL 60.3

17.31%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.2M

$6,345 SZL 105.3K

-10.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 811.7K

$34.87 SZL 579

28.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 635.6K

$14.98 SZL 248

133.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

$71.3 SZL 1,182

12.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$53.0 SZL 880

49.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.5M

$272 SZL 4,515

313.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$173 SZL 2,867

288.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

$454 SZL 7,527

685.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$346 SZL 5,737

398.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.7M

$484 SZL 8,034

464.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

$362 SZL 6,012

530.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

7.25

90.07%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mbabane: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Mbabane

$173 22.9% 74.3% $499

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Mbabane

$181 24% 37.2% $107

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Mbabane

$153 20.3% 42.1% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Mbabane

$78 10.4% 27.1% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Mbabane

$128 17% 23.3% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Mbabane

$30 4% 48.4% $28

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Mbabane

$10 * 1.3% 12.9% $1.5

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali versus $272 in Mbabane. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $36 in Ubud, Bali versus $34 in Mbabane. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $288 vs $181 – making Mbabane the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇸🇿 Mbabane

🕒 Local time

19:06 7:06 PM

13:06 1:06 PM

6 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

94,874 Capital

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Eswatini Lilangeni SZL L

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.93 EUR

100 SZL = 6.03 USD

100 SZL = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SZL, 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).

Eswatini Lilangeni exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.59 SZL (100 SZL = 6.03 USD). 1 EUR = 18.51 SZL (100 SZL = 5.4 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Mbabane 9,010 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Mbabane

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 Mbabane: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ubud, Bali costs about 79% more than Mbabane, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,023 per month in Ubud, Bali and $1,130 in Mbabane. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mbabane, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $272 there versus $1,125 in Ubud, Bali.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,349 in Ubud, Bali and $753 in Mbabane. That makes Mbabane about 44% cheaper.

Groceries cost about 59% more in Ubud, Bali, though the gap depends on what you buy.

It depends on your priorities. Ubud, Bali has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $753 in Mbabane to $1,349 in Ubud, Bali. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.