Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Nanjing

For one person, living is cheaper in Nanjing: $838 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Nanjing
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Nanjing Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Nanjing

🇨🇳 China

$838

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $838 in Nanjing.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Nanjing $838

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,317 in Nanjing.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Nanjing $1,317

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,797 in Nanjing.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Nanjing $1,797

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 61% more expensive than in Nanjing, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.2K

$3.84 ¥25.52

-13.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 645.8K

$22.82 ¥152

56.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.3K

$4.78 ¥31.74

15.69%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

$3.17 ¥21.05

-14.20%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.8K

$0.54 ¥3.59

214.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.27 ¥1.81

181.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.1K

$1.54 ¥10.25

72.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.4K

$2.27 ¥15.07

92.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.0K

$2.09 ¥13.88

-28.71%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.2K

$2.07 ¥13.76

10.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$0.91 ¥6.05

30.77%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 36.9K

$1.36 ¥9.04

50.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 320.8K

$10.45 ¥69.4

69.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 71.8K

$2.96 ¥19.69

33.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 220.9K

$8.81 ¥58.5

38.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.2K

$2.09 ¥13.90

75.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.5K

$1.30 ¥8.61

16.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

$1.81 ¥12.02

23.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.7K

$1.06 ¥7.06

85.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.5K

$0.90 ¥5.96

105.56%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 43.9K

$0.95 ¥6.32

154.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 17.9K

$0.93 ¥6.19

6.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,303

$0.53 ¥3.50

-3.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.3K

$3.85 ¥25.60

-42.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 403.0K

$13.42 ¥89.2

65.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.0K

$1.00 ¥6.66

126.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.8K

$1.51 ¥10.04

96.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,548

$0.31 ¥2.06

-19.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 141.8K

$30.16 ¥200

-74.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,964

$1.70 ¥11.28

-74.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,793

$0.38 ¥2.54

13.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.0K

$9.16 ¥60.9

-40.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 14.9K

$1.36 ¥9.02

-39.71%

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

$23.8K Rp 432.0M

$19.6K ¥130.5K

21.43%

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

$31.7K Rp 575.3M

$17.7K ¥117.4K

79.77%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$53.8 ¥358

46.95%

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

$6.45 Rp 116.8K

$7.62 ¥50.6

-15.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 336.7K

$7.14 ¥47.43

160.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 896.7K

$28.75 ¥191

72.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 319.8K

$34.96 ¥232

-49.51%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.4K

$6.17 ¥41.03

-30.79%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$1,461 ¥9,708

-66.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 102.8M

$22.8K ¥151.8K

-75.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 808.9K

$43.23 ¥287

3.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 633.4K

$34.43 ¥229

1.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

$64.2 ¥427

24.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$88.8 ¥590

-10.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

$490 ¥3,254

129.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$287 ¥1,910

133.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.6M

$1,031 ¥6,848

245.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.2M

$531 ¥3,528

224.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.5M

$4,837 ¥32.1K

-43.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.4M

$3,107 ¥20.6K

-26.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$1,450 ¥9,632

-88.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

3.42

302.92%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Nanjing: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Nanjing

$287 34.3% 57.2% $384

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Nanjing

$204 24.3% 29.4% $85

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Nanjing

$99 11.8% 8.5% $9.1

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Nanjing

$104 12.4% 3.4% $3.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Nanjing

$69 8.2% 34.1% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Nanjing

$41 4.9% 29.2% $17

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Nanjing

$35 4.2% 207% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $490 in Nanjing. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nanjing pays about 8.8 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 $23 in Nanjing for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $204 per month, with Nanjing cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇨🇳 Nanjing

🕒 Local time

17:04 5:04 PM

Same time as Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

9,314,685

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.52 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 18,120 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.52 USD). 1 EUR = 20,232 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ubud, Bali Nanjing 4,520 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Nanjing

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 Nanjing: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nanjing is about 38% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

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 $490 in Nanjing. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Nanjing – a meal for two runs $23 versus $36 in Ubud, Bali. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,349 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $838 in Nanjing – Nanjing is about 38% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $838 in Nanjing versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Nanjing but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Nanjing the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.