Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and San José

For one person, living is cheaper in San José: $913 a month against $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 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
44

Cost of Living Index in San José
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San José Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,353

/mo nomad

San José

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$913

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ubud, Bali and in San José

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,353 in Ubud, Bali versus $913 in San José.

Ubud, Bali $1,353
San José $913

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,297 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,449 in San José.

Ubud, Bali $2,297
San José $1,449

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,241 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,985 in San José.

Ubud, Bali $3,241
San José $1,985

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 48% more expensive than in San José, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubud, Bali is 0% above, San José is 33% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.23 Rp 58.1K

$12.95 UYU 520

-75.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.88 Rp 627.8K

$43.87 UYU 1,761

-20.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.70 Rp 102.5K

$13.82 UYU 555

-58.76%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.1K

$4.88 UYU 196

-46.31%

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

$1.72 Rp 31.0K

$2.38 UYU 95.6

-27.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

$2.19 UYU 87.9

-63.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 47.7K

$2.92 UYU 117

-9.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 Rp 78.6K

$3.48 UYU 140

25.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

$0.99 UYU 39.77

58.59%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 Rp 39.5K

$2.01 UYU 80.7

8.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$1.47 UYU 59.0

-19.73%

Eggs

$2.16 Rp 38.8K

$2.62 UYU 105

-17.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.65 Rp 317.7K

$12.01 UYU 482

46.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.78 Rp 68.0K

$7.26 UYU 291

-47.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.95 Rp 215.1K

$12.07 UYU 484

-0.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.60 Rp 64.8K

$1.22 UYU 48.77

195.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 Rp 28.6K

$1.54 UYU 61.8

3.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 Rp 41.6K

$1.21 UYU 48.71

90.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$1.54 UYU 61.7

24.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 Rp 32.1K

$0.98 UYU 39.49

81.63%

Onion (1kg)

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

$1.28 UYU 51.5

82.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

$1.49 UYU 59.7

-32.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 Rp 9,509

$1.99 UYU 79.9

-73.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.29 Rp 41.1K

$9.82 UYU 394

-76.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.07 Rp 397.3K

$8.17 UYU 328

170.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 Rp 42.2K

$3.05 UYU 123

-22.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 Rp 53.6K

$3.35 UYU 135

-11.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 Rp 4,112

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.90 Rp 160.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 Rp 8,466

$3.50 UYU 141

-86.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,737

$3.45 UYU 139

-87.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.47 Rp 98.4K

$9.95 UYU 399

-45.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

$2.15 UYU 86.3

-61.40%

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

$23.9K Rp 429.8M

$36.4K UYU 1.5M

-34.42%

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

$32.8K Rp 590.1M

$40.1K UYU 1.6M

-18.14%

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

$80.0 Rp 1.4M

$113 UYU 4,547

-29.40%

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

$6.56 Rp 118.1K

$23.78 UYU 955

-72.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.60 Rp 334.8K

$47.11 UYU 1,891

-60.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 Rp 974.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.28 Rp 329.0K

Cinema Ticket

$4.25 Rp 76.5K

$12.35 UYU 496

-65.59%

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

$493 Rp 8.9M

$494 UYU 19.8K

-0.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,597 Rp 100.7M

$6,691 UYU 268.6K

-16.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.58 Rp 820.4K

$88.3 UYU 3,542

-48.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.96 Rp 629.4K

$37.57 UYU 1,508

-6.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

$164 UYU 6,601

-52.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.5 Rp 1.4M

$117 UYU 4,699

-32.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,131 Rp 20.4M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$673 Rp 12.1M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,613 Rp 65.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,702 Rp 30.6M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,717 Rp 48.9M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

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 19, 2026

Last update for San José: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$673 49.7%

San José

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$287 21.2%

San José

$256 28.1% 10.7% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$107 7.9%

San José

$183 20.1% 72.1% $77

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 7.9%

San José

$243 26.7% 129% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$105 7.8%

San José

$184 20.2% 75.2% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$63 4.6%

San José

$25 * 2.7% 60.6% $38

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

San José

$21 * 2.3% 67% $8.3

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $35.00 in Ubud, Bali vs $44.00 in San José. Groceries flip the comparison at $287 vs $256, with San José cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇺🇾 San José

🕒 Local time

23:06 11:06 PM

12:06 12:06 PM

11 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

36,747

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.12 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali San José 15,180 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
San José

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 José: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San José wins on cost – living expenses run 48% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making San José the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,030 in Ubud, Bali and $1,369 in San José to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 12% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,353 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $913 in San José – a 48% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $913 in San José versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,000 budget is realistic in San José but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes San José the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but San José delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $913 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes San José hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ubud, Bali and San José 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 San José gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.