Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Motherwell

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubud, Bali: $1,331 a month against $2,306 in Motherwell, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Motherwell, United Kingdom
Ubud, Bali
🇮🇩 Indonesia
$1,331
/mo nomad
Motherwell
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$2,306
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,331 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,306 in Motherwell.

  • Ubud, Bali $1,331
  • Motherwell $2,306

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,255 in Ubud, Bali versus $3,342 in Motherwell.

  • Ubud, Bali $2,255
  • Motherwell $3,342

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,180 in Ubud, Bali versus $4,377 in Motherwell.

  • Ubud, Bali $3,180
  • Motherwell $4,377

Living in Ubud, Bali costs roughly 42% less than in Motherwell, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubud, Bali is 2% below, Motherwell is 71% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Ubud, Bali
Motherwell
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$3.38 Rp 61.1K
$19.71 £14.71
-82.85%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$34.65 Rp 627.3K
$66.6 £49.73
-47.98%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.57 Rp 100.9K
$10.52 £7.85
-47.05%
Cappuccino
$2.62 Rp 47.4K
$4.83 £3.61
-45.76%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.54 Rp 27.9K
$2.36 £1.76
-34.75%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.64 Rp 11.6K
$1.89 £1.41
-66.14%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.67 Rp 48.3K
$5.46 £4.07
-51.10%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.26 Rp 77.2K
$6.81 £5.09
-37.44%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Ubud, Bali
Motherwell
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.46 Rp 26.5K
$1.47 £1.10
-0.68%
White Bread (500g)
$2.29 Rp 41.5K
$1.63 £1.22
40.49%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.11 Rp 20.0K
$2.23 £1.66
-50.22%
Eggs
$2.10 Rp 38.0K
$4.06 £3.03
-48.28%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$15.94 Rp 288.6K
$9.25 £6.90
72.32%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.88 Rp 70.3K
$9.29 £6.93
-58.23%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.40 Rp 206.4K
$17.02 £12.71
-33.02%
Apples (1kg)
$3.55 Rp 64.3K
$2.96 £2.21
19.93%
Banana (1kg)
$1.54 Rp 27.8K
$1.50 £1.12
2.67%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.23 Rp 40.4K
$2.80 £2.09
-20.36%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.97 Rp 35.7K
$3.16 £2.36
-37.66%
Potato (1kg)
$1.86 Rp 33.6K
$2.00 £1.49
-7.00%
Onion (1kg)
$2.42 Rp 43.8K
$1.37 £1.02
76.64%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.02 Rp 18.6K
$1.14 £0.85
-10.53%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.52 Rp 9,456
$1.66 £1.24
-68.67%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.20 Rp 39.8K
$22.09 £16.49
-90.04%
Wine (Bottle)
$21.79 Rp 394.4K
$10.53 £7.86
106.93%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.33 Rp 42.1K
$3.27 £2.44
-28.75%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.97 Rp 53.8K
$3.34 £2.49
-11.08%
🚌 Getting Around
Ubud, Bali
Motherwell
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.25 Rp 4,533
$3.99 £2.98
-93.73%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$8.17 Rp 148.0K
$98.6 £73.6
-91.71%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.44 Rp 7,925
$5.85 £4.37
-92.48%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.47 Rp 8,472
$1.87 £1.40
-74.87%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.60 Rp 101.4K
$23.71 £17.70
-76.38%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$0.83 Rp 15.0K
$2.19 £1.63
-62.10%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$24.4K Rp 442.6M
$39.4K £29.4K
-37.97%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.7K Rp 573.8M
$41.1K £30.6K
-22.79%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Ubud, Bali
Motherwell
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$77.5 Rp 1.4M
$236 £176
-67.23%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$6.14 Rp 111.2K
$20.05 £14.96
-69.38%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$18.92 Rp 342.4K
$43.38 £32.38
-56.39%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Ubud, Bali
Motherwell
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$51.0 Rp 923.1K
$44.11 £32.93
15.60%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.25 Rp 330.4K
$6.62 £4.94
175.68%
Cinema Ticket
$4.38 Rp 79.3K
$12.09 £9.03
-63.77%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Ubud, Bali
Motherwell
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$492 Rp 8.9M
$1,128 £842
-56.34%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$12.2K Rp 221.2M
$22.8K £17.0K
-46.40%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Ubud, Bali
Motherwell
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$45.16 Rp 817.6K
$120 £89.9
-62.49%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$34.89 Rp 631.6K
$47.45 £35.42
-26.47%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$78.3 Rp 1.4M
$103 £77.2
-24.28%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$77.9 Rp 1.4M
$92.1 £68.7
-15.43%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Ubud, Bali
Motherwell
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,078 Rp 19.5M
$1,268 £947
-15.03%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$665 Rp 12.0M
$1,030 £769
-35.45%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$3,510 Rp 63.5M
$2,090 £1,560
67.95%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,671 Rp 30.2M
$1,620 £1,209
3.16%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,340 Rp 42.4M
$5,310 £3,964
-55.93%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,236 Rp 40.5M
$3,380 £2,523
-33.85%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Ubud, Bali
Motherwell
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$166 Rp 3.0M
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
13.78
5
175.60%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: November 1, 2026

Last update for Motherwell: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Ubud, Bali
$665
Motherwell
$1K 54.9% $365
Groceries & Markets
Ubud, Bali
$279
Motherwell
$310 10.8% $30
Clothing & Footwear
Ubud, Bali
$106
Motherwell
$164 53.8% $57
Eating Out
Ubud, Bali
$106
Motherwell
$305 189% $199
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Ubud, Bali
$103
Motherwell
$300 192% $197
Sport & Entertainment
Ubud, Bali
$60
Motherwell
$68 14.3% $8.5
Getting Around
Ubud, Bali
$12
Motherwell
$130 986% $118

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,078 in Ubud, Bali and $1,268 in Motherwell. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35 in Ubud, Bali vs $67 in Motherwell for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $279 vs $310 per month, with Ubud, Bali cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali
🇬🇧 Motherwell
🕒 Local time
04:37 4:37 AM
20:37 8:37 PM
8 h behind Ubud, Bali
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
74,800
32,120
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18,103 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.52 USD). 1 EUR = 20,231 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Ubud, Bali Motherwell 12,590 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Ubud, Bali
  • Motherwell

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 Motherwell: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ubud, Bali cheaper than Motherwell?
Ubud, Bali is about 42% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, transport, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
What income do you need for each city?
You’d need roughly $1,996 in Ubud, Bali and $3,459 in Motherwell to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.
What is the rent difference between Ubud, Bali and Motherwell?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,078 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,268 in Motherwell. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
How do food prices compare in Ubud, Bali and in Motherwell?
Supermarket bills run roughly 11% higher in Motherwell. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Is eating out cheaper in Ubud, Bali or in Motherwell?
Dining out is cheaper in Ubud, Bali – a meal for two runs $35 versus $67 in Motherwell. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Is $1,000 enough to cover costs in Ubud, Bali or in Motherwell?
Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Ubud, Bali is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.
Is it better to live in Ubud, Bali or in Motherwell?
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.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Ubud, Bali gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Motherwell. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Ubud, Bali vs other spots: cost of living compared

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