Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and San Cristobal de las Casas

For one person, living is cheaper in San Cristobal de las Casas: $897 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 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
43

Cost of Living Index in San Cristobal de las Casas
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San Cristobal de las Casas Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

San Cristobal de las Casas

🇲🇽 Mexico

$897

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ubud, Bali and in San Cristobal de las Casas

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 San Cristobal de las Casas actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $897 in San Cristobal de las Casas.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
San Cristobal de las Casas $897

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,399 in San Cristobal de las Casas.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
San Cristobal de las Casas $1,399

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,900 in San Cristobal de las Casas.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
San Cristobal de las Casas $1,900

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 50% more expensive than in San Cristobal de las Casas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.3K

$5.30 MX$99.3

-37.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 646.7K

$27.46 MX$515

29.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.4K

$5.84 MX$109

-5.31%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

$2.56 MX$47.95

6.25%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$1.59 MX$29.86

6.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.98 MX$18.42

-22.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

$2.72 MX$51.0

-2.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

$3.22 MX$60.3

36.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$1.45 MX$27.14

2.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.3K

$3.45 MX$64.7

-33.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$1.50 MX$28.19

-20.67%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 36.9K

$2.23 MX$41.73

-8.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.2K

$6.39 MX$120

177.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 71.9K

$4.19 MX$78.6

-5.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.2K

$6.14 MX$115

98.53%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.3K

$3.28 MX$61.5

11.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.5K

$2.04 MX$38.23

-25.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

$2.14 MX$40.05

4.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

$1.41 MX$26.44

39.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.5K

$1.64 MX$30.79

12.80%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.0K

$1.78 MX$33.36

35.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$1.80 MX$33.66

-45.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,316

$1.53 MX$28.64

-66.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.3K

$1.83 MX$34.37

21.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 403.6K

$10.26 MX$192

116.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.0K

$2.39 MX$44.79

-5.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

$1.85 MX$34.69

60.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,555

$0.56 MX$10.48

-55.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.0K

$26.64 MX$499

-70.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,975

$2.71 MX$50.7

-83.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,804

$2.72 MX$51.0

-84.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.2K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$1.35 MX$25.33

-39.26%

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

$23.8K Rp 432.6M

$18.7K MX$351.2K

27.22%

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

$31.7K Rp 576.1M

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$31.80 MX$596

148.62%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.0K

$14.22 MX$267

-54.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.1K

$19.82 MX$372

-6.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 897.9K

$22.13 MX$415

123.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.2K

$22.94 MX$430

-23.06%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.6K

$6.92 MX$130

-38.29%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$198 MX$3,718

147.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.0M

$2,631 MX$49.3K

115.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 810.0K

$18.93 MX$355

135.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 634.2K

$27.46 MX$515

27.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

$96.0 MX$1,799

-16.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$54.0 MX$1,012

47.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

$424 MX$7,941

165.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$304 MX$5,700

120.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.7M

$847 MX$15.9K

320.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$534 MX$9,998

223.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

$799 MX$15.0K

241.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.4M

$658 MX$12.3K

246.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$403 MX$7,556

-59.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

9.8

40.61%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for San Cristobal de las Casas: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

San Cristobal de las Casas

$304 33.9% 54.7% $367

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

San Cristobal de las Casas

$237 26.4% 17.9% $52

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

San Cristobal de las Casas

$121 13.5% 12.3% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

San Cristobal de las Casas

$88 9.9% 17.8% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

San Cristobal de las Casas

$66 7.3% 36.7% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

San Cristobal de las Casas

$36 4% 38% $22

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

San Cristobal de las Casas

$45 5% 296% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $424 in San Cristobal de las Casas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Cristobal de las Casas pays about 2.5 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 $27 in San Cristobal de las Casas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $237 per month, with San Cristobal de las Casas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇲🇽 San Cristobal de las Casas

🕒 Local time

00:24 12:24 AM

10:24 10:24 AM

14 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

183,509

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18,145 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,249 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18.74 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 20.91 MXN (100 MXN = 4.78 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali San Cristobal de las Casas 16,860 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
San Cristobal de las Casas

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 San Cristobal de las Casas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Cristobal de las Casas wins on cost – living expenses run 33% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making San Cristobal de las Casas the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 59% 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 $424 in San Cristobal de las Casas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Ubud, Bali runs roughly 71% less than in San Cristobal de las Casas. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $491 in Ubud, Bali versus $198 in San Cristobal de las Casas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. San Cristobal de las Casas is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, San Cristobal de las Casas 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 San Cristobal de las Casas are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.