Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Nara, Japan

For one person, living is cheaper in Nara: $1,233 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ubud, Bali outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

65

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Nara
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Nara Living Index

Jump to prices

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Nara

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,233

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,233 in Nara.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Nara $1,233

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,851 in Nara.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Nara $1,851

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,468 in Nara.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Nara $2,468

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 9% more expensive than in Nara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.3K

$6.33 ¥997

-47.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 646.5K

$32.27 ¥5,089

10.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.4K

$4.99 ¥786

10.82%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

$2.50 ¥394

8.80%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$1.26 ¥198

34.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.71 ¥112

7.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.1K

$3.21 ¥507

-17.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

$3.10 ¥489

41.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.0K

$1.57 ¥248

-5.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.3K

$1.30 ¥205

75.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$4.12 ¥649

-71.12%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 36.9K

$2.23 ¥352

-8.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.1K

$9.75 ¥1,538

81.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 71.9K

$7.07 ¥1,115

-43.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.1K

$18.13 ¥2,858

-32.76%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.3K

$3.30 ¥521

10.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.5K

$1.93 ¥304

-21.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

$2.12 ¥334

5.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

$4.08 ¥643

-51.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.5K

$1.50 ¥236

23.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.0K

$1.14 ¥179

112.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$1.13 ¥179

-12.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,313

$0.88 ¥138

-42.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.3K

$3.88 ¥612

-42.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 403.4K

$9.54 ¥1,504

133.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.0K

$1.87 ¥295

20.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

$2.15 ¥339

38.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,553

$1.48 ¥234

-83.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 141.9K

$74.3 ¥11.7K

-89.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,972

$3.15 ¥497

-86.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,801

$2.92 ¥461

-85.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.1K

$15.66 ¥2,469

-65.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$1.08 ¥170

-24.07%

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

$23.8K Rp 432.4M

$21.8K ¥3.4M

9.55%

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

$31.7K Rp 575.9M

$15.3K ¥2.4M

107.29%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$118 ¥18.6K

-32.94%

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

$6.45 Rp 116.9K

$24.81 ¥3,913

-74.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.0K

$30.74 ¥4,848

-39.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 897.5K

$83.2 ¥13.1K

-40.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.1K

$7.58 ¥1,196

132.85%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.5K

$12.57 ¥1,982

-66.03%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$693 ¥109.2K

-29.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 102.9M

$13.3K ¥2.1M

-57.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 809.7K

$47.11 ¥7,428

-5.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 634.0K

$30.96 ¥4,882

12.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

$61.8 ¥9,738

29.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$89.9 ¥14.2K

-11.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

$411 ¥64.8K

173.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$340 ¥53.6K

97.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.7M

$832 ¥131.2K

328.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$547 ¥86.2K

215.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.5M

$2,671 ¥421.1K

2.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.4M

$2,040 ¥321.7K

11.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$1,123 ¥177.0K

-85.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

2.02

582.18%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Nara: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Nara

$340 27.6% 49.4% $332

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Nara

$285 23.1% 1.3% $3.9

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Nara

$126 10.2% 16.7% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Nara

$103 8.4% 3.9% $4.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Nara

$173 14.1% 66.7% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Nara

$108 8.8% 86.6% $50

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Nara

$98 8% 759% $87

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $411 in Nara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nara pays about 6.9 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 $32 in Nara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $285 per month, with Nara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇯🇵 Nara

🕒 Local time

13:33 1:33 PM

14:33 2:33 PM

1 h ahead of Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

355,280

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18,138 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,252 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.34 USD). 1 EUR = 176 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.68 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ubud, Bali Nara 5,270 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Nara

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 Nara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nara is about 9% cheaper overall, especially in clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 85% 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 $411 in Nara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Ubud, Bali runs roughly 89% less than in Nara. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

All in, you’ll spend $1,349 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $1,233 in Nara – Nara is about 9% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Nara gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.