Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Santa Barbara

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubud, Bali: $1,353 a month against $1,721 in Santa Barbara, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. The total is higher in Santa Barbara despite lower rent and utilities.

66

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
84

Cost of Living Index in Santa Barbara
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Santa Barbara Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,353

/mo nomad

Santa Barbara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,721

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ubud, Bali and in Santa Barbara

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,353 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,721 in Santa Barbara.

Ubud, Bali $1,353
Santa Barbara $1,721

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,297 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,727 in Santa Barbara.

Ubud, Bali $2,297
Santa Barbara $2,727

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,241 in Ubud, Bali versus $3,734 in Santa Barbara.

Ubud, Bali $3,241
Santa Barbara $3,734

Living in Ubud, Bali costs roughly 21% less than in Santa Barbara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ubud, Bali 0% above, Santa Barbara 27% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.23 Rp 58.1K

$12.38 ₡5,551

-73.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.88 Rp 627.8K

$60.3 ₡27.0K

-42.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.70 Rp 102.5K

$11.41 ₡5,116

-50.04%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.1K

$4.57 ₡2,048

-42.67%

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

$1.72 Rp 31.0K

$2.76 ₡1,240

-37.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

$1.87 ₡837

-56.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 47.7K

$3.20 ₡1,436

-17.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 Rp 78.6K

$4.33 ₡1,942

0.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

$2.41 ₡1,082

-34.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 Rp 39.5K

$3.01 ₡1,352

-27.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$2.49 ₡1,118

-52.61%

Eggs

$2.16 Rp 38.8K

$3.46 ₡1,552

-37.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.65 Rp 317.7K

$10.63 ₡4,766

66.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.78 Rp 68.0K

$10.31 ₡4,625

-63.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.95 Rp 215.1K

$14.23 ₡6,383

-16.02%

Apples (1kg)

$3.60 Rp 64.8K

$4.98 ₡2,232

-27.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 Rp 28.6K

$1.64 ₡736

-3.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 Rp 41.6K

$4.84 ₡2,170

-52.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$3.92 ₡1,760

-51.28%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 Rp 32.1K

$3.75 ₡1,682

-52.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

$3.62 ₡1,622

-35.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

$1.12 ₡500

-10.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 Rp 9,509

$3.18 ₡1,424

-83.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.29 Rp 41.1K

$5.87 ₡2,632

-60.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.07 Rp 397.3K

$19.77 ₡8,864

11.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 Rp 42.2K

$2.88 ₡1,293

-18.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 Rp 53.6K

$3.65 ₡1,637

-18.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 Rp 4,112

$1.29 ₡578

-82.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.90 Rp 160.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 Rp 8,466

$2.41 ₡1,081

-80.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,737

$1.64 ₡734

-73.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.47 Rp 98.4K

$8.69 ₡3,896

-37.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

$1.55 ₡694

-46.45%

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

$23.9K Rp 429.8M

$22.4K ₡10.0M

6.62%

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

$32.8K Rp 590.1M

$34.7K ₡15.6M

-5.66%

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

$80.0 Rp 1.4M

$94.1 ₡42.2K

-14.96%

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

$6.56 Rp 118.1K

$35.37 ₡15.9K

-81.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.60 Rp 334.8K

$59.4 ₡26.7K

-68.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 Rp 974.1K

$74.0 ₡33.2K

-26.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.28 Rp 329.0K

Cinema Ticket

$4.25 Rp 76.5K

$7.63 ₡3,422

-44.30%

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

$493 Rp 8.9M

$978 ₡438.7K

-49.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,597 Rp 100.7M

$17.0K ₡7.6M

-67.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.58 Rp 820.4K

$71.1 ₡31.9K

-35.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.96 Rp 629.4K

$56.1 ₡25.2K

-37.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

$130 ₡58.3K

-40.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.5 Rp 1.4M

$133 ₡59.8K

-41.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,131 Rp 20.4M

$799 ₡358.5K

41.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$673 Rp 12.1M

$620 ₡278.0K

8.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,613 Rp 65.0M

$1,921 ₡861.5K

88.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,702 Rp 30.6M

$1,240 ₡556.2K

37.22%

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

8.62

59.86%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 19, 2026

Last update for Santa Barbara: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$673 49.7%

Santa Barbara

$620 36% 7.9% $53

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$287 21.2%

Santa Barbara

$400 23.3% 39.4% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$107 7.9%

Santa Barbara

$176 10.2% 65% $69

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 7.9%

Santa Barbara

$231 13.4% 117% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$105 7.8%

Santa Barbara

$189 11% 79.6% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$63 4.6%

Santa Barbara

$89 5.2% 42.5% $27

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Santa Barbara

$16 * 0.9% 26.7% $3.3

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 $1,131 in Ubud, Bali and $799 in Santa Barbara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Ubud, Bali vs $60.0 in Santa Barbara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $287 vs $400 per month, with Ubud, Bali cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇨🇷 Santa Barbara

🕒 Local time

19:39 7:39 PM

05:39 5:39 AM

14 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

8,000

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, 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).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Santa Barbara 17,880 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Santa Barbara

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 Santa Barbara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ubud, Bali is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 27% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,030 in Ubud, Bali and $2,582 in Santa Barbara 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,131 in Ubud, Bali versus $799 in Santa Barbara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 39% higher in Santa Barbara. 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 $1,721 in Santa Barbara – a 27% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,353 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,721 in Santa Barbara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ubud, Bali but tight or insufficient in Santa Barbara. The gap between the two cities makes Ubud, Bali the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Ubud, Bali is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Santa Barbara, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Ubud, Bali and Santa Barbara 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 Ubud, Bali gentler on the wallet – expenses run 27% less than in Santa Barbara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.