Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Ruwais

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubud, Bali: $1,349 a month against $1,825 in Ruwais, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Ruwais
Learn more

Ruwais Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Ruwais

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$1,825

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,825 in Ruwais.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Ruwais $1,825

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $3,369 in Ruwais.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Ruwais $3,369

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $4,913 in Ruwais.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Ruwais $4,913

Living in Ubud, Bali costs roughly 26% less than in Ruwais, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

$9.31 AED 34.20

-64.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 648.1K

$55.1 AED 202

-35.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

$8.46 AED 31.08

-34.63%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

$4.69 AED 17.22

-42.00%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$0.70 AED 2.58

142.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.35 AED 1.29

117.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.3K

$8.28 AED 30.39

-68.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.7K

$6.72 AED 24.67

-34.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$1.76 AED 6.48

-15.34%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

$1.66 AED 6.09

37.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$2.29 AED 8.40

-48.03%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

$2.89 AED 10.62

-29.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.9K

$9.33 AED 34.28

89.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 72.1K

$11.37 AED 41.77

-65.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.7K

$9.31 AED 34.18

30.93%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.5K

$2.87 AED 10.54

27.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

$2.01 AED 7.39

-24.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$1.93 AED 7.08

15.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

$1.88 AED 6.90

4.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

$1.19 AED 4.37

55.46%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

$1.28 AED 4.71

89.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$0.80 AED 2.93

23.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,336

$0.52 AED 1.90

-1.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

$6.31 AED 23.17

-64.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 404.4K

$12.05 AED 44.26

84.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

$2.54 AED 9.31

-11.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

$2.78 AED 10.22

6.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,564

$2.15 AED 7.90

-88.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.3K

$34.45 AED 127

-77.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,992

$2.35 AED 8.64

-81.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,821

$1.14 AED 4.17

-62.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.4K

$8.03 AED 29.51

-32.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$0.85 AED 3.13

-3.53%

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

$23.8K Rp 433.5M

$45.6K AED 167.3K

-47.68%

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

$31.7K Rp 577.3M

$21.9K AED 80.3K

45.27%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$114 AED 419

-30.67%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

$48.60 AED 178

-86.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.8K

$96.7 AED 355

-80.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 899.8K

$58.0 AED 213

-14.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.9K

$28.93 AED 106

-38.99%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

$13.58 AED 49.87

-68.56%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$570 AED 2,094

-13.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.2M

$7,432 AED 27.3K

-23.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 811.7K

$43.54 AED 160

2.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 635.6K

$55.6 AED 204

-37.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

$70.1 AED 257

14.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$102 AED 375

-22.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.5M

$811 AED 2,979

38.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$823 AED 3,022

-18.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

$1,854 AED 6,808

92.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$2,715 AED 9,971

-36.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.7M

$4,946 AED 18.2K

-44.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

$2,294 AED 8,424

-0.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$2,760 AED 10.1K

-94.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

175.60%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ruwais: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Ruwais

$823 45.1% 22.5% $151

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Ruwais

$269 14.8% 6.7% $19

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Ruwais

$215 11.8% 99.8% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Ruwais

$122 6.7% 13.6% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Ruwais

$259 14.2% 149% $155

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Ruwais

$85 4.7% 46.8% $27

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Ruwais

$51 2.8% 347% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $811 in Ruwais. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ruwais pays about 17 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $36 in Ubud, Bali vs $55 in Ruwais. Groceries flip the comparison at $288 vs $269, with Ruwais cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇦🇪 Ruwais

🕒 Local time

21:05 9:05 PM

17:05 5:05 PM

4 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

25,000

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.93 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.244 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 18,183 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20,291 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.93 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.1 AED (1 AED = 0.244 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Ruwais 7,690 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Ruwais

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 Ruwais: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ubud, Bali wins on cost – living expenses run 26% lower than in Ruwais. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Ubud, Bali the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 94% 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 $811 in Ruwais. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $491 in Ubud, Bali versus $570 in Ruwais. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Ruwais pay roughly 7% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Ubud, Bali is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Ubud, Bali and Ruwais are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Ubud, Bali wins on affordability, Ruwais on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.