Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,208 a month against $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ubud, Bali outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

66

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

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,353

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,208

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,353 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,208 in Phuket.

Ubud, Bali $1,353
Phuket $1,208

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,297 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,027 in Phuket.

Ubud, Bali $2,297
Phuket $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,241 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,845 in Phuket.

Ubud, Bali $3,241
Phuket $2,845

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 12% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubud, Bali is 0% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.23 Rp 58.1K

$4.40 ฿147

-26.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.88 Rp 627.8K

$32.26 ฿1,078

8.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.70 Rp 102.5K

$8.76 ฿293

-34.93%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.1K

$2.83 ฿94.5

-7.42%

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

$1.72 Rp 31.0K

$0.90 ฿30.14

91.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

$0.47 ฿15.56

72.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 47.7K

$2.55 ฿85.2

3.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 Rp 78.6K

$3.83 ฿128

14.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

$1.73 ฿57.7

-9.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 Rp 39.5K

$1.47 ฿49.11

48.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$1.51 ฿50.6

-21.85%

Eggs

$2.16 Rp 38.8K

$2.17 ฿72.7

-0.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.65 Rp 317.7K

$19.70 ฿658

-10.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.78 Rp 68.0K

$3.34 ฿112

13.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.95 Rp 215.1K

$11.16 ฿373

7.08%

Apples (1kg)

$3.60 Rp 64.8K

$2.85 ฿95.1

26.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 Rp 28.6K

$1.70 ฿56.9

-6.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 Rp 41.6K

$2.19 ฿73.3

5.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$2.05 ฿68.4

-6.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 Rp 32.1K

$1.45 ฿48.57

22.76%

Onion (1kg)

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

$1.38 ฿46.16

68.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

$1.07 ฿35.69

-6.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 Rp 9,509

$0.51 ฿16.91

3.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.29 Rp 41.1K

$4.26 ฿142

-46.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.07 Rp 397.3K

$18.58 ฿621

18.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 Rp 42.2K

$1.78 ฿59.7

32.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 Rp 53.6K

$2.85 ฿95.2

4.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 Rp 4,112

$2.26 ฿75.6

-89.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.90 Rp 160.2K

$22.10 ฿738

-59.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 Rp 8,466

$3.01 ฿101

-84.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,737

$1.06 ฿35.34

-59.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.47 Rp 98.4K

$3.86 ฿129

41.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

$1.45 ฿48.45

-42.76%

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

$23.9K Rp 429.8M

$26.3K ฿879.9K

-9.31%

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

$32.8K Rp 590.1M

$26.9K ฿900.4K

21.68%

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

$80.0 Rp 1.4M

$96.4 ฿3,221

-17.01%

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

$6.56 Rp 118.1K

$11.04 ฿369

-40.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.60 Rp 334.8K

$17.14 ฿573

8.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 Rp 974.1K

$52.2 ฿1,744

3.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.28 Rp 329.0K

$11.16 ฿373

63.80%

Cinema Ticket

$4.25 Rp 76.5K

$7.81 ฿261

-45.58%

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

$493 Rp 8.9M

$556 ฿18.6K

-11.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,597 Rp 100.7M

$11.6K ฿387.0K

-51.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.58 Rp 820.4K

$64.2 ฿2,146

-29.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.96 Rp 629.4K

$28.69 ฿959

21.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

$95.4 ฿3,187

-18.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.5 Rp 1.4M

$88.0 ฿2,940

-10.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,131 Rp 20.4M

$737 ฿24.6K

53.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$673 Rp 12.1M

$462 ฿15.5K

45.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,613 Rp 65.0M

$2,095 ฿70.0K

72.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,702 Rp 30.6M

$1,201 ฿40.1K

41.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,717 Rp 48.9M

$3,488 ฿116.6K

-22.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

$2,523 ฿84.3K

-11.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

$501 ฿16.7K

-66.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

5.57

147.40%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 19, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$673 49.7%

Phuket

$462 38.3% 31.3% $211

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$287 21.2%

Phuket

$269 22.2% 6.5% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$107 7.9%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 16.7% $18

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 7.9%

Phuket

$121 10% 13.9% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$105 7.8%

Phuket

$125 10.3% 18.4% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$63 4.6%

Phuket

$68 5.6% 8.3% $5.2

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Phuket

$39 3.3% 217% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,131 in Ubud, Bali and $737 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phuket pays 201% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35.00 in Ubud, Bali vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $287 vs $269 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

12:01 12:01 PM

11:01 11:01 AM

1 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

79,308

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Phuket 2,610 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Phuket

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 Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in groceries. The 12% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 201% lower in Phuket. 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: $1,131 in Ubud, Bali versus $737 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $493 in Ubud, Bali versus $556 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 7% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,208 in Phuket versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket 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 Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.