Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Mbarara

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbarara: $488 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 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
23

Cost of Living Index in Mbarara
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Mbarara Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Mbarara

🇺🇬 Uganda

$488

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,349 per month in Ubud, Bali vs $488 in Mbarara, rent included.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Mbarara $488

A couple spends around $2,305 per month in Ubud, Bali vs $776 in Mbarara, rent included.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Mbarara $776

A family of three spends $3,261 per month in Ubud, Bali vs $1,063 in Mbarara, rent included.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Mbarara $1,063

Ubud, Bali costs about 176% more than Mbarara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

$2.35 UGX 10.3K

41.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 648.1K

$24.42 UGX 107.0K

45.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

$7.07 UGX 31.0K

-21.78%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

$2.43 UGX 10.6K

11.93%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$0.34 UGX 1,502

400.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.27 UGX 1,190

181.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.3K

$1.22 UGX 5,332

117.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.7K

$1.83 UGX 8,018

139.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$0.50 UGX 2,177

198.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

$0.93 UGX 4,083

145.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$1.17 UGX 5,130

1.71%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

$1.53 UGX 6,682

33.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.9K

$4.23 UGX 18.5K

318.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 72.1K

$4.51 UGX 19.7K

-12.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.7K

$3.46 UGX 15.1K

252.31%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.5K

$2.00 UGX 8,780

83.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

$1.24 UGX 5,434

22.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$1.30 UGX 5,706

71.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

$1.19 UGX 5,199

65.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

$1.23 UGX 5,389

50.41%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

$1.17 UGX 5,125

106.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$0.72 UGX 3,158

37.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,336

$0.51 UGX 2,218

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

$2.43 UGX 10.6K

-8.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 404.4K

$7.39 UGX 32.4K

200.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

$1.08 UGX 4,730

109.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

$1.81 UGX 7,949

64.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,564

$0.70 UGX 3,056

-64.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,992

$0.46 UGX 2,035

-4.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,821

$0.29 UGX 1,266

48.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.4K

$3.03 UGX 13.3K

78.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$1.37 UGX 5,981

-40.15%

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

$23.8K Rp 433.5M

$7,154 UGX 31.3M

233.26%

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

$31.7K Rp 577.3M

$7,202 UGX 31.5M

340.82%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$69.2 UGX 302.9K

14.33%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

$11.20 UGX 49.1K

-42.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.8K

$33.55 UGX 146.9K

-44.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 899.8K

$17.82 UGX 78.0K

177.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.9K

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

$7.15 UGX 31.3K

-40.28%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$247 UGX 1.1M

98.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.2M

$8,140 UGX 35.7M

-30.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 811.7K

$13.66 UGX 59.8K

226.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 635.6K

$12.69 UGX 55.6K

175.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

$31.67 UGX 138.7K

152.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$42.04 UGX 184.2K

88.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.5M

$83.7 UGX 366.4K

1244.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$73.0 UGX 319.5K

820.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

$231 UGX 1.0M

1442.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$171 UGX 749.8K

906.60%

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

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

20.75

-33.59%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mbarara: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Mbarara

$73 14.9% 89.1% $599

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Mbarara

$138 28.3% 52.1% $150

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Mbarara

$81 16.7% 24.4% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Mbarara

$45 9.2% 58.1% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Mbarara

$114 23.3% 9.4% $9.8

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Mbarara

$32 6.6% 44.6% $26

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Mbarara

$4.7 * 1% 58.8% $6.7

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 $84 in Mbarara. 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 $24 in Mbarara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $288 vs $138 – making Mbarara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇺🇬 Mbarara

🕒 Local time

13:26 1:26 PM

08:26 8:26 AM

5 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

195,013

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UGX, 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).

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 4,380 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD). 1 EUR = 4,876 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Mbarara 9,400 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Mbarara

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 Mbarara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Ubud, Bali is pricier by about 176%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,023 per month in Ubud, Bali and $732 in Mbarara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mbarara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $84 there versus $1,125 in Ubud, Bali.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $36 in Ubud, Bali and $24 in Mbarara. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 109% more in Ubud, Bali, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Mbarara, where all-in costs run around $488, than in Ubud, Bali at $1,349. In Mbarara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ubud, Bali it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Mbarara – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.