Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Nuku'alofa

For one person, living is cheaper in Nuku’alofa: $1,021 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Nuku'alofa
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Nuku'alofa Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Nuku'alofa

🇹🇴 Tonga

$1,021

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ubud, Bali and in Nuku'alofa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,021 in Nuku’alofa.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Nuku'alofa $1,021

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,865 in Nuku’alofa.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Nuku'alofa $1,865

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,710 in Nuku’alofa.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Nuku'alofa $2,710

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 32% more expensive than in Nuku’alofa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

$8.30 TOP 19.64

-60.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 647.8K

$62.1 TOP 147

-42.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

$10.43 TOP 24.68

-46.98%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

$2.84 TOP 6.72

-4.23%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$2.87 TOP 6.79

-40.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$2.45 TOP 5.80

-68.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

$3.40 TOP 8.05

-22.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.6K

$4.89 TOP 11.57

-10.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$1.54 TOP 3.64

-3.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

$1.01 TOP 2.39

125.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$2.12 TOP 5.01

-43.87%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

$5.03 TOP 11.91

-59.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.7K

$8.80 TOP 20.84

101.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 72.0K

$5.95 TOP 14.08

-33.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.6K

$7.76 TOP 18.36

57.09%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.4K

$2.80 TOP 6.62

30.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

$2.69 TOP 6.38

-43.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$2.86 TOP 6.78

-22.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

$3.84 TOP 9.09

-48.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

$3.22 TOP 7.61

-42.55%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

$2.56 TOP 6.06

-5.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$2.20 TOP 5.21

-55.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,332

$1.34 TOP 3.18

-61.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

$9.99 TOP 23.64

-77.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 404.2K

$17.00 TOP 40.23

30.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

$3.23 TOP 7.66

-30.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

$3.31 TOP 7.83

-10.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,562

$2.11 TOP 4.98

-88.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.2K

$41.11 TOP 97.3

-80.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,989

$2.10 TOP 4.98

-79.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,817

$2.06 TOP 4.88

-79.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.3K

$41.98 TOP 99.4

-87.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$1.48 TOP 3.51

-44.59%

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

$23.8K Rp 433.3M

$5,770 TOP 13.7K

313.20%

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

$31.7K Rp 577.0M

$8,255 TOP 19.5K

284.58%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$188 TOP 445

-57.97%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

$22.11 TOP 52.3

-70.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.7K

$126 TOP 298

-85.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 899.4K

$31.77 TOP 75.2

55.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.8K

$41.37 TOP 97.9

-57.34%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

$41.62 TOP 98.5

-89.74%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$155 TOP 368

215.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.1M

$252 TOP 596

2154.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 811.4K

$14.42 TOP 34.13

209.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 635.3K

$17.89 TOP 42.33

95.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

$20.97 TOP 49.63

281.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$29.14 TOP 69.0

172.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

$619 TOP 1,466

81.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

$814 TOP 1,927

337.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$557 TOP 1,318

209.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

$417 TOP 987

555.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

$251 TOP 594

809.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$692 TOP 1,639

-76.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Nuku'alofa: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Nuku'alofa

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Nuku'alofa

$291 28.5% 0.8% $2.4

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Nuku'alofa

$180 17.6% 67% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Nuku'alofa

$37 3.6% 65.5% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Nuku'alofa

$336 32.9% 223% $232

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Nuku'alofa

$115 11.3% 98.2% $57

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Nuku'alofa

$62 6.1% 443% $51

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $619 in Nuku’alofa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nuku’alofa pays about 4.2 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $36 in Ubud, Bali vs $62 in Nuku’alofa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $291 per month, with Ubud, Bali cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa

🕒 Local time

09:26 9:26 AM

14:26 2:26 PM

5 h ahead of Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

24,500 Capital

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Tongan Paʻanga TOP T$

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 TOP = 0.423 USD

1 TOP = 0.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TOP, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18,175 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20,233 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Tongan Paʻanga exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 2.37 TOP (1 TOP = 0.423 USD). 1 EUR = 2.63 TOP (1 TOP = 0.38 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Nuku'alofa 7,550 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Nuku'alofa

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 Nuku'alofa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,349 in Ubud, Bali and $1,021 in Nuku’alofa, so Nuku’alofa is about 24% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 76% 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 $619 in Nuku’alofa. 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 Nuku’alofa. 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 $1,021 in Nuku’alofa – Nuku’alofa is about 24% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Nuku’alofa 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.

Safety-wise, Ubud, Bali and Nuku’alofa are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.