Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Penang

For one person, living is cheaper in Penang: $913 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Penang
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Penang Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Penang

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$913

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $913 in Penang.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Penang $913

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,403 in Penang.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Penang $1,403

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,894 in Penang.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Penang $1,894

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 48% more expensive than in Penang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

$3.73 MYR 15.18

-10.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 647.8K

$19.91 MYR 81.1

79.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

$4.78 MYR 19.47

15.69%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

$2.98 MYR 12.15

-8.72%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$0.75 MYR 3.07

126.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.37 MYR 1.50

105.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

$4.06 MYR 16.55

-34.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.6K

$4.38 MYR 17.83

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$1.86 MYR 7.60

-19.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

$1.08 MYR 4.41

111.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$1.76 MYR 7.19

-32.39%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

$2.22 MYR 9.04

-8.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.7K

$13.46 MYR 54.9

31.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 72.0K

$4.45 MYR 18.13

-11.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.6K

$8.70 MYR 35.45

40.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.4K

$2.92 MYR 11.89

25.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

$1.65 MYR 6.72

-7.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$2.61 MYR 10.63

-14.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

$1.40 MYR 5.70

40.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

$1.05 MYR 4.28

76.19%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

$1.12 MYR 4.55

116.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$1.10 MYR 4.47

-10.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,332

$0.59 MYR 2.39

-13.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

$4.69 MYR 19.09

-52.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 404.2K

$19.31 MYR 78.7

15.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

$3.00 MYR 12.24

-24.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

$5.41 MYR 22.04

-45.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,562

$0.50 MYR 2.04

-50.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.2K

$12.03 MYR 49.00

-35.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,989

$1.66 MYR 6.78

-73.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,817

$0.38 MYR 1.54

13.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.3K

$7.47 MYR 30.44

-27.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$0.95 MYR 3.85

-13.68%

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

$23.8K Rp 433.3M

$44.2K MYR 180.1K

-46.05%

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

$31.7K Rp 577.0M

$35.8K MYR 145.7K

-11.22%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$36.68 MYR 149

115.54%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

$9.56 MYR 38.94

-32.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.7K

$29.49 MYR 120

-37.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 899.4K

$39.20 MYR 160

26.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.8K

$4.85 MYR 19.78

263.92%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

$4.78 MYR 19.47

-10.67%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$398 MYR 1,620

23.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.1M

$10.6K MYR 43.2K

-46.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 811.4K

$60.9 MYR 248

-26.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 635.3K

$35.45 MYR 144

-1.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

$83.6 MYR 340

-4.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$70.2 MYR 286

13.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

$408 MYR 1,662

175.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$287 MYR 1,170

133.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

$698 MYR 2,842

411.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$534 MYR 2,176

222.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

$2,117 MYR 8,624

29.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

$1,261 MYR 5,137

81.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$931 MYR 3,795

-82.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

4.04

241.09%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Penang: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Penang

$287 31.5% 57.2% $384

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Penang

$257 28.2% 10.8% $31

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Penang

$113 12.4% 5.4% $5.8

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Penang

$113 12.3% 4.7% $5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Penang

$76 8.3% 27.2% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Penang

$49 5.3% 16% $9.3

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Penang

$18 1.9% 54% $6.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $408 in Penang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Penang pays about 5.7 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 $20 in Penang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $257 per month, with Penang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇲🇾 Penang

🕒 Local time

00:06 12:06 AM

Same time as Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

158,336

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18,175 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20,228 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.53 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Penang 2,270 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Penang

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 Penang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Penang is cheaper overall, especially in groceries and leisure. The 48% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 82% 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 $408 in Penang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Penang – a meal for two runs $20 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 $913 in Penang – a 48% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

For families, Penang is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Ubud, Bali, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Ubud, Bali and Penang are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.