Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Sandton

For one person, living is cheaper in Sandton: $1,235 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ubud, Bali outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

65

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Sandton
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Sandton Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Sandton

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,235

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,235 in Sandton.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Sandton $1,235

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,888 in Sandton.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Sandton $1,888

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,540 in Sandton.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Sandton $2,540

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 9% more expensive than in Sandton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.3K

$10.73 R 179

-69.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 646.5K

$45.71 R 763

-22.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.4K

$5.62 R 93.9

-1.60%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

$2.44 R 40.76

11.48%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$1.07 R 17.83

58.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.84 R 13.94

-9.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.1K

$2.45 R 40.97

8.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

$2.97 R 49.65

47.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.0K

$1.20 R 20.05

24.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.3K

$1.07 R 17.84

113.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$1.76 R 29.33

-32.39%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 36.9K

$2.72 R 45.45

-25.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.1K

$8.86 R 148

99.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 71.9K

$4.86 R 81.2

-18.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.1K

$7.07 R 118

72.42%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.3K

$2.09 R 34.86

75.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.5K

$1.75 R 29.22

-13.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

$1.75 R 29.13

27.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

$1.81 R 30.13

8.84%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.5K

$1.50 R 25.11

23.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.0K

$1.78 R 29.71

35.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$1.23 R 20.47

-19.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,313

$1.30 R 21.65

-60.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.3K

$3.16 R 52.8

-29.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 403.4K

$6.18 R 103

259.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.0K

$1.55 R 25.94

45.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

$1.89 R 31.60

57.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,553

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 141.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,972

$0.29 R 4.83

51.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,801

$0.88 R 14.62

-51.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.1K

$14.21 R 237

-61.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$1.49 R 24.92

-44.97%

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

$23.8K Rp 432.4M

$36.0K R 601.2K

-33.80%

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

$31.7K Rp 575.9M

$34.0K R 567.0K

-6.53%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$165 R 2,760

-52.18%

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

$6.45 Rp 116.9K

$38.25 R 639

-83.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.0K

$37.39 R 624

-50.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 897.5K

$36.75 R 613

34.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.1K

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.5K

$7.10 R 119

-39.86%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$266 R 4,441

84.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 102.9M

$7,302 R 121.9K

-22.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 809.7K

$59.7 R 997

-25.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 634.0K

$45.22 R 755

-22.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

$94.9 R 1,584

-15.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$89.4 R 1,492

-11.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

$540 R 9,015

108.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$448 R 7,475

49.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.7M

$970 R 16.2K

267.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$844 R 14.1K

104.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.5M

$842 R 14.1K

224.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.4M

$733 R 12.2K

211.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$1,865 R 31.1K

-91.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

25.27%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sandton: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Sandton

$448 36.3% 33.3% $224

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Sandton

$202 16.4% 29.9% $86

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Sandton

$158 12.8% 46.6% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Sandton

$130 10.5% 21% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Sandton

$241 19.5% 132% $137

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Sandton

$51 4.1% 12.2% $7.1

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Sandton

$4.7 * 0.4% 59.1% $6.8

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 $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $540 in Sandton. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sandton pays about 11 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 $46 in Sandton. Groceries flip the comparison at $288 vs $202, with Sandton cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇿🇦 Sandton

🕒 Local time

17:22 5:22 PM

11:22 11:22 AM

6 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

222,415

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 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 November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 18,138 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,241 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.69 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.63 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Sandton 9,320 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Sandton

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 Sandton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sandton wins on cost – living expenses run 8% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Sandton the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 91% 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 $540 in Sandton. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $491 in Ubud, Bali versus $266 in Sandton. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ubud, Bali – a meal for two runs $36 versus $46 in Sandton. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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

For families, Sandton 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 Sandton are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.