Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Palawan

For one person, living is cheaper in Palawan: $784 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Palawan
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Palawan Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Palawan

🇵🇭 Philippines

$784

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,349 per month in Ubud, Bali vs $784 in Palawan, rent included.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Palawan $784

A couple spends around $2,305 per month in Ubud, Bali vs $1,223 in Palawan, rent included.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Palawan $1,223

A family of three spends $3,261 per month in Ubud, Bali vs $1,661 in Palawan, rent included.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Palawan $1,661

Ubud, Bali costs about 72% more than Palawan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.3K

$3.48 ₱221

-4.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 646.7K

$19.38 ₱1,231

83.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.4K

$3.31 ₱210

67.07%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

$2.52 ₱160

7.94%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$0.78 ₱49.48

117.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.39 ₱25.05

94.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

$1.31 ₱83.0

102.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

$2.15 ₱136

103.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$1.90 ₱120

-21.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.3K

$1.22 ₱77.2

86.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$1.00 ₱63.4

19.00%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 36.9K

$2.00 ₱127

2.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.2K

$7.91 ₱502

123.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 71.9K

$4.35 ₱276

-8.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.2K

$7.62 ₱484

59.97%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.3K

$2.87 ₱182

27.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.5K

$1.58 ₱100

-3.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

$2.62 ₱166

-14.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

$1.55 ₱98.6

27.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.5K

$2.24 ₱142

-17.41%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.0K

$2.54 ₱161

-4.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$1.11 ₱70.2

-10.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,316

$0.75 ₱47.85

-32.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.3K

$2.89 ₱184

-23.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 403.6K

$6.95 ₱442

220.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.0K

$1.17 ₱74.0

93.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

$1.98 ₱126

50.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,555

$0.26 ₱16.37

-3.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.0K

$11.46 ₱728

-31.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,975

$0.81 ₱51.7

-45.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,804

$0.22 ₱13.95

95.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.2K

$2.08 ₱132

160.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$1.13 ₱72.0

-27.43%

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

$23.8K Rp 432.6M

$26.1K ₱1.7M

-8.73%

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

$31.7K Rp 576.1M

$20.7K ₱1.3M

53.10%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$112 ₱7,092

-29.20%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.0K

$33.36 ₱2,119

-80.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.1K

$27.52 ₱1,748

-32.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 897.9K

$34.20 ₱2,172

44.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.2K

$4.55 ₱289

287.91%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.6K

$5.96 ₱378

-28.36%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$153 ₱9,734

220.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.0M

$4,354 ₱276.5K

30.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 810.0K

$46.66 ₱2,963

-4.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 634.2K

$26.57 ₱1,688

31.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

$74.4 ₱4,726

7.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$54.1 ₱3,437

46.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

$263 ₱16.7K

327.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$174 ₱11.1K

285.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.7M

$576 ₱36.6K

519.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$390 ₱24.8K

341.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

$2,321 ₱147.4K

17.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.4M

$1,122 ₱71.2K

103.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

6.67

106.60%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Palawan: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Palawan

$174 22.2% 74% $497

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Palawan

$202 25.8% 29.8% $86

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Palawan

$84 10.7% 22.4% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Palawan

$91 11.6% 15.6% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Palawan

$173 22% 65.8% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Palawan

$46 5.9% 20.5% $12

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Palawan

$14 1.8% 26.2% $3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali versus $263 in Palawan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $36 in Ubud, Bali versus $19 in Palawan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $288 vs $202 – making Palawan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇵🇭 Palawan

🕒 Local time

16:11 4:11 PM

Same time as Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

939,594

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18,145 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,315 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 63.51 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.1 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Palawan 2,080 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Palawan

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 Palawan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Ubud, Bali is pricier by about 72%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,023 per month in Ubud, Bali and $1,176 in Palawan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Palawan, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $263 there versus $1,125 in Ubud, Bali.

Kindergarten costs $491 per month in Ubud, Bali and $153 in Palawan. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 42% more in Ubud, Bali, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Palawan, where all-in costs run around $784, than in Ubud, Bali at $1,349. In Palawan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ubud, Bali it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Palawan – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.