Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Pondicherry

For one person, living is cheaper in Pondicherry: $390 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $11,500 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
19

Cost of Living Index in Pondicherry
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Pondicherry Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Pondicherry

🇮🇳 India

$390

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $390 in Pondicherry.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Pondicherry $390

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $585 in Pondicherry.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Pondicherry $585

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $780 in Pondicherry.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Pondicherry $780

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 246% more expensive than in Pondicherry, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

$3.17 ₹302

4.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 647.8K

$8.76 ₹834

306.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

$4.26 ₹406

29.81%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

$1.70 ₹162

60.00%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$0.43 ₹41.42

295.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.14 ₹13.05

442.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

$1.43 ₹136

85.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.6K

$2.25 ₹214

94.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$0.47 ₹44.93

217.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

$0.39 ₹37.43

484.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$0.69 ₹65.4

72.46%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

$0.76 ₹72.0

168.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.7K

$4.35 ₹414

306.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 72.0K

$2.68 ₹255

47.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.6K

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.4K

$1.73 ₹165

111.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

$0.78 ₹73.8

94.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$1.25 ₹119

78.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

$0.42 ₹39.73

369.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

$0.35 ₹33.79

428.57%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

$0.37 ₹34.88

554.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$0.31 ₹29.39

219.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,332

$0.32 ₹30.65

59.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

$4.49 ₹428

-50.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 404.2K

$8.26 ₹786

169.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

$1.41 ₹134

60.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

$1.70 ₹162

74.71%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$5.01 ₹477

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,562

$0.12 ₹11.70

108.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.2K

$6.23 ₹593

25.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,989

$1.03 ₹98.1

-57.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,817

$0.18 ₹17.06

138.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.3K

$2.12 ₹202

155.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$1.04 ₹99.3

-21.15%

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

$23.8K Rp 433.3M

$11.2K ₹1.1M

112.60%

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

$31.7K Rp 577.0M

$18.9K ₹1.8M

68.18%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$30.69 ₹2,922

157.61%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

$3.40 ₹323

89.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.7K

$6.70 ₹638

177.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 899.4K

$7.97 ₹759

520.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.8K

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

$1.82 ₹173

134.62%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$36.96 ₹3,519

1227.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.1M

$1,353 ₹128.8K

319.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 811.4K

$24.79 ₹2,361

80.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 635.3K

$21.21 ₹2,020

64.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

$52.4 ₹4,985

52.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$37.33 ₹3,555

112.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

$142 ₹13.5K

692.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$101 ₹9,572

567.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

$217 ₹20.7K

1538.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$168 ₹16.0K

922.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

$931 ₹88.6K

193.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

$619 ₹59.0K

268.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$377 ₹35.9K

-56.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

8.47

62.69%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Pondicherry: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Pondicherry

$101 25.7% 85% $571

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Pondicherry

$95 24.4% 67% $193

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Pondicherry

$73 18.6% 32.7% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Pondicherry

$61 15.7% 43.2% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Pondicherry

$41 10.5% 60.8% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Pondicherry

$12 3% 80% $46

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Pondicherry

$8.7 2.2% 24.3% $2.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $142 in Pondicherry. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Pondicherry pays about 2.3 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 $9 in Pondicherry for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $95 per month, with Pondicherry cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇮🇳 Pondicherry

🕒 Local time

05:36 5:36 AM

03:06 3:06 AM

2 h 30 min behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

100,000

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.5 USD

1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, 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 = 20,233 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 95.22 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Pondicherry 4,530 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Pondicherry

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 Pondicherry: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,349 in Ubud, Bali and $390 in Pondicherry, so Pondicherry is about 71% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 57% 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 $142 in Pondicherry. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,349 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $390 in Pondicherry – Pondicherry is about 71% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Pondicherry runs roughly 20% less than in Ubud, Bali. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $390 in Pondicherry versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Pondicherry but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Pondicherry the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Pondicherry 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 Pondicherry are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Pondicherry gentler on the wallet – expenses run 71% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.