Last update: Nov 2026

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

For one person, living is cheaper in Middelburg: $1,099 a month against $1,331 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

64

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Middelburg
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Middelburg Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,331

/mo nomad

Middelburg

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,099

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,331 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,099 in Middelburg.

Ubud, Bali $1,331
Middelburg $1,099

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,255 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,695 in Middelburg.

Ubud, Bali $2,255
Middelburg $1,695

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,180 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,291 in Middelburg.

Ubud, Bali $3,180
Middelburg $2,291

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 21% more expensive than in Middelburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ubud, Bali 2% lower, Middelburg 19% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.38 Rp 61.3K

$9.53 R 157

-64.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.65 Rp 629.1K

$35.98 R 592

-3.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.57 Rp 101.2K

$5.87 R 96.5

-5.11%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.6K

$1.29 R 21.26

103.10%

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

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

$0.83 R 13.58

85.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.64 Rp 11.6K

$0.64 R 10.54

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.67 Rp 48.4K

$1.17 R 19.28

128.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.26 Rp 77.4K

$1.52 R 25.01

180.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 Rp 26.5K

$1.17 R 19.20

24.79%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 Rp 41.6K

$1.04 R 17.14

120.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.11 Rp 20.1K

$1.46 R 24.09

-23.97%

Eggs

$2.10 Rp 38.1K

$1.70 R 28.00

23.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.94 Rp 289.4K

$5.76 R 94.8

176.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.88 Rp 70.5K

$4.96 R 81.6

-21.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.40 Rp 207.0K

$6.60 R 109

72.73%

Apples (1kg)

$3.55 Rp 64.5K

$1.66 R 27.35

113.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

$1.08 R 17.79

42.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$1.12 R 18.42

99.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

$1.24 R 20.35

58.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 Rp 33.7K

$1.73 R 28.38

7.51%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 43.9K

$1.23 R 20.27

96.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 Rp 18.6K

$1.24 R 20.37

-17.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 Rp 9,483

$1.04 R 17.10

-50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.20 Rp 39.9K

$2.39 R 39.37

-7.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.79 Rp 395.6K

$4.80 R 78.9

353.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 Rp 42.2K

$1.76 R 28.99

32.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

$2.06 R 33.85

44.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,546

$1.42 R 23.40

-82.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.17 Rp 148.4K

$42.88 R 705

-80.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,947

$0.94 R 15.45

-53.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 Rp 8,496

$0.74 R 12.24

-36.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.60 Rp 101.7K

$11.57 R 190

-51.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

$1.33 R 21.95

-37.59%

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

$24.4K Rp 443.8M

$34.3K R 563.7K

-28.65%

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

$31.7K Rp 575.5M

$31.9K R 525.0K

-0.68%

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

$77.5 Rp 1.4M

$151 R 2,487

-48.75%

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

$6.14 Rp 111.6K

$35.28 R 580

-82.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.92 Rp 343.4K

$37.41 R 615

-49.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 Rp 925.8K

$32.36 R 532

57.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.25 Rp 331.3K

$12.35 R 203

47.77%

Cinema Ticket

$4.38 Rp 79.6K

$6.25 R 103

-29.92%

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

$492 Rp 8.9M

$236 R 3,879

108.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K Rp 221.9M

$6,077 R 100.0K

101.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.16 Rp 819.9K

$53.1 R 874

-14.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.89 Rp 633.4K

$31.79 R 523

9.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 Rp 1.4M

$98.9 R 1,626

-20.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.9 Rp 1.4M

$86.8 R 1,427

-10.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 Rp 19.6M

$398 R 6,546

170.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 Rp 12.1M

$361 R 5,944

84.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,510 Rp 63.7M

$719 R 11.8K

388.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,671 Rp 30.3M

$728 R 12.0K

129.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,340 Rp 42.5M

$757 R 12.5K

209.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,236 Rp 40.6M

$670 R 11.0K

233.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

$1,193 R 19.6K

-86.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

10.92

26.19%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: November 1, 2026

Last update for Middelburg: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$665 50%

Middelburg

$361 32.9% 45.7% $304

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$279 21%

Middelburg

$170 15.4% 39.3% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$106 8%

Middelburg

$122 11.1% 14.5% $15

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 8%

Middelburg

$124 11.3% 17.4% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$103 7.7%

Middelburg

$224 20.4% 118% $121

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$60 4.5%

Middelburg

$45 4.1% 24.9% $15

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Middelburg

$53 4.8% 345% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,078 in Ubud, Bali and $398 in Middelburg. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Middelburg pays about 7.2 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35 in Ubud, Bali vs $36 in Middelburg. Groceries flip the comparison at $279 vs $170, with Middelburg cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇿🇦 Middelburg

🕒 Local time

00:55 12:55 AM

18:55 6:55 PM

6 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

87,348

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.91 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.08 USD

100 ZAR = 5.42 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 November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18,155 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,353 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.91 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 16.45 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.08 USD). 1 EUR = 18.44 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Middelburg 9,180 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Middelburg

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 Middelburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Middelburg wins on cost – living expenses run 17% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Middelburg the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 86% 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: $1,078 in Ubud, Bali versus $398 in Middelburg. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Ubud, Bali runs roughly 81% less than in Middelburg. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $492 in Ubud, Bali versus $236 in Middelburg. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Middelburg 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.