Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Richards Bay

For one person, living is cheaper in Richards Bay: $1,027 a month against $1,353 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.

66

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Richards Bay
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Richards Bay Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,353

/mo nomad

Richards Bay

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,027

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ubud, Bali and in Richards Bay

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,353 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,027 in Richards Bay.

Ubud, Bali $1,353
Richards Bay $1,027

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,297 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,610 in Richards Bay.

Ubud, Bali $2,297
Richards Bay $1,610

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,241 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,193 in Richards Bay.

Ubud, Bali $3,241
Richards Bay $2,193

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 32% more expensive than in Richards Bay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubud, Bali is 0% above, Richards Bay is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.23 Rp 58.1K

$7.76 R 128

-58.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.88 Rp 627.8K

$39.61 R 653

-11.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.70 Rp 102.5K

$5.38 R 88.6

5.95%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.1K

$2.11 R 34.82

24.17%

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

$1.72 Rp 31.0K

$1.13 R 18.67

52.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

$0.90 R 14.86

-10.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 47.7K

$1.48 R 24.31

79.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 Rp 78.6K

$1.87 R 30.79

133.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

$1.13 R 18.59

38.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 Rp 39.5K

$0.95 R 15.73

130.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$1.51 R 24.84

-21.85%

Eggs

$2.16 Rp 38.8K

$2.35 R 38.70

-8.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.65 Rp 317.7K

$6.64 R 109

165.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.78 Rp 68.0K

$4.51 R 74.3

-16.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.95 Rp 215.1K

$6.92 R 114

72.69%

Apples (1kg)

$3.60 Rp 64.8K

$1.98 R 32.59

81.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 Rp 28.6K

$1.61 R 26.48

-1.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 Rp 41.6K

$1.97 R 32.49

17.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$1.74 R 28.73

9.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 Rp 32.1K

$0.87 R 14.27

104.60%

Onion (1kg)

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

$1.19 R 19.67

95.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

$1.18 R 19.44

-15.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 Rp 9,509

$1.15 R 18.93

-53.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.29 Rp 41.1K

$2.38 R 39.14

-3.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.07 Rp 397.3K

$4.97 R 81.9

344.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 Rp 42.2K

$1.41 R 23.29

66.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 Rp 53.6K

$1.85 R 30.44

61.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 Rp 4,112

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.90 Rp 160.2K

$104 R 1,711

-91.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 Rp 8,466

$0.41 R 6.83

14.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,737

$0.71 R 11.65

-39.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.47 Rp 98.4K

$7.51 R 124

-27.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

$1.37 R 22.64

-39.42%

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

$23.9K Rp 429.8M

$21.5K R 354.1K

11.08%

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

$32.8K Rp 590.1M

$29.9K R 492.0K

9.78%

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

$80.0 Rp 1.4M

$130 R 2,149

-38.66%

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

$6.56 Rp 118.1K

$30.05 R 495

-78.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.60 Rp 334.8K

$40.32 R 664

-53.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 Rp 974.1K

$35.79 R 590

51.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.28 Rp 329.0K

Cinema Ticket

$4.25 Rp 76.5K

$7.15 R 118

-40.56%

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

$493 Rp 8.9M

$107 R 1,755

362.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,597 Rp 100.7M

$2,674 R 44.1K

109.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.58 Rp 820.4K

$51.6 R 851

-11.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.96 Rp 629.4K

$18.59 R 306

88.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

$76.7 R 1,263

1.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.5 Rp 1.4M

$86.3 R 1,422

-9.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,131 Rp 20.4M

$371 R 6,107

205.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$673 Rp 12.1M

$261 R 4,293

158.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,613 Rp 65.0M

$695 R 11.4K

420.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,702 Rp 30.6M

$552 R 9,093

208.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,717 Rp 48.9M

$352 R 5,792

672.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

$516 R 8,500

334.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

$1,239 R 20.4K

-86.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

7.5

83.73%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 19, 2026

Last update for Richards Bay: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$673 49.7%

Richards Bay

$261 25.4% 61.3% $412

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$287 21.2%

Richards Bay

$180 17.5% 37.4% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$107 7.9%

Richards Bay

$105 10.2% 1.5% $1.6

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 7.9%

Richards Bay

$123 12% 15.4% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$105 7.8%

Richards Bay

$201 19.6% 90.9% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$63 4.6%

Richards Bay

$50 4.9% 20% $13

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Richards Bay

$108 * 10.5% 768% $95

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 $1,131 in Ubud, Bali and $371 in Richards Bay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Richards Bay pays 645% 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 $40.00 in Richards Bay. Groceries flip the comparison at $287 vs $180, with Richards Bay cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇿🇦 Richards Bay

🕒 Local time

21:23 9:23 PM

15:23 3:23 PM

6 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

57,387

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

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

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Richards Bay 8,890 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Richards Bay

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 Richards Bay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Richards Bay is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and leisure. The 32% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 645% lower in Richards Bay. 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 $371 in Richards Bay. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 60% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Richards Bay – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $35.00 in Ubud, Bali. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,027 in Richards Bay versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Richards Bay but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Richards Bay the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Richards Bay 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 Richards Bay 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 Richards Bay gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.