Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Ruse

For one person, living is cheaper in Ruse: $990 a month against $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
48

Cost of Living Index in Ruse
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Ruse Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,353

/mo nomad

Ruse

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$990

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,353 in Ubud, Bali versus $990 in Ruse.

Ubud, Bali $1,353
Ruse $990

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,297 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,470 in Ruse.

Ubud, Bali $2,297
Ruse $1,470

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,241 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,949 in Ruse.

Ubud, Bali $3,241
Ruse $1,949

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 37% more expensive than in Ruse, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubud, Bali is 0% above, Ruse is 27% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.23 Rp 58.1K

$9.07 BGN 15.77

-64.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.88 Rp 627.8K

$34.26 BGN 59.6

1.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.70 Rp 102.5K

$9.55 BGN 16.62

-40.31%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.1K

$1.68 BGN 2.93

55.95%

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

$1.72 Rp 31.0K

$1.48 BGN 2.58

16.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

$0.83 BGN 1.45

-2.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 47.7K

$1.76 BGN 3.07

50.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 Rp 78.6K

$2.80 BGN 4.88

56.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

$1.75 BGN 3.04

-10.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 Rp 39.5K

$1.01 BGN 1.76

116.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$2.28 BGN 3.96

-48.25%

Eggs

$2.16 Rp 38.8K

$2.55 BGN 4.43

-15.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.65 Rp 317.7K

$8.93 BGN 15.54

97.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.78 Rp 68.0K

$7.77 BGN 13.52

-51.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.95 Rp 215.1K

$14.42 BGN 25.10

-17.13%

Apples (1kg)

$3.60 Rp 64.8K

$1.40 BGN 2.44

157.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 Rp 28.6K

$1.85 BGN 3.21

-14.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 Rp 41.6K

$2.01 BGN 3.50

14.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$2.02 BGN 3.52

-5.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 Rp 32.1K

$1.08 BGN 1.87

64.81%

Onion (1kg)

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

$1.06 BGN 1.84

119.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

$1.21 BGN 2.11

-17.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 Rp 9,509

$0.66 BGN 1.15

-19.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.29 Rp 41.1K

$3.40 BGN 5.91

-32.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.07 Rp 397.3K

$6.12 BGN 10.66

260.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 Rp 42.2K

$1.13 BGN 1.97

107.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 Rp 53.6K

$1.17 BGN 2.04

154.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 Rp 4,112

$0.84 BGN 1.46

-72.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.90 Rp 160.2K

$15.93 BGN 27.71

-44.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 Rp 8,466

$1.25 BGN 2.17

-62.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,737

$0.61 BGN 1.06

-29.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.47 Rp 98.4K

$10.22 BGN 17.79

-46.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

$1.51 BGN 2.63

-45.03%

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

$23.9K Rp 429.8M

$30.2K BGN 52.5K

-20.82%

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

$32.8K Rp 590.1M

$22.6K BGN 39.3K

45.23%

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

$80.0 Rp 1.4M

$104 BGN 182

-23.33%

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

$6.56 Rp 118.1K

$17.91 BGN 31.17

-63.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.60 Rp 334.8K

$12.89 BGN 22.44

44.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 Rp 974.1K

$31.68 BGN 55.1

70.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.28 Rp 329.0K

$8.80 BGN 15.32

107.73%

Cinema Ticket

$4.25 Rp 76.5K

$5.60 BGN 9.74

-24.11%

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

$493 Rp 8.9M

$518 BGN 902

-4.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,597 Rp 100.7M

$5,381 BGN 9,363

4.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.58 Rp 820.4K

$50.9 BGN 88.6

-10.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.96 Rp 629.4K

$28.15 BGN 48.99

24.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

$72.0 BGN 125

7.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.5 Rp 1.4M

$87.2 BGN 152

-9.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,131 Rp 20.4M

$348 BGN 606

225.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$673 Rp 12.1M

$305 BGN 531

120.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,613 Rp 65.0M

$526 BGN 914

587.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,702 Rp 30.6M

$409 BGN 712

315.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,717 Rp 48.9M

$1,660 BGN 2,889

63.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

$1,210 BGN 2,105

85.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

$966 BGN 1,681

-82.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

3.1

344.52%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 19, 2026

Last update for Ruse: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$673 49.7%

Ruse

$305 30.9% 54.6% $367

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$287 21.2%

Ruse

$230 23.3% 19.8% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$107 7.9%

Ruse

$107 10.8% 0.6% $0.7

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 7.9%

Ruse

$145 14.7% 36.3% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$105 7.8%

Ruse

$135 13.7% 28.5% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$63 4.6%

Ruse

$43 4.3% 31.5% $20

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Ruse

$24 2.4% 89.9% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,131 in Ubud, Bali and $348 in Ruse. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ruse pays 481% 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 $34.00 in Ruse for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $287 vs $230 per month, with Ruse cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇧🇬 Ruse

🕒 Local time

01:00 1:00 AM

20:00 8:00 PM

5 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

159,798

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BGN, 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).

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Ruse 10,610 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Ruse

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 Ruse: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ruse wins on cost – living expenses run 37% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ruse the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 481% lower in Ruse. 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 $348 in Ruse. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Ruse runs roughly 79% less than in Ubud, Bali. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $493 in Ubud, Bali versus $518 in Ruse. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $990 in Ruse versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ruse but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Ruse the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ruse delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $990 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ruse hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ubud, Bali and Ruse 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 Ruse gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.