Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Sao Luis

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Luis: $832 a month against $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Sao Luis
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Sao Luis Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,353

/mo nomad

Sao Luis

🇧🇷 Brazil

$832

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ubud, Bali and in Sao Luis

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,353 in Ubud, Bali versus $832 in Sao Luis.

Ubud, Bali $1,353
Sao Luis $832

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,297 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,317 in Sao Luis.

Ubud, Bali $2,297
Sao Luis $1,317

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,241 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,802 in Sao Luis.

Ubud, Bali $3,241
Sao Luis $1,802

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 63% more expensive than in Sao Luis, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubud, Bali is 0% above, Sao Luis is 39% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.23 Rp 58.1K

$6.64 R$33.64

-51.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.88 Rp 627.8K

$40.14 R$203

-13.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.70 Rp 102.5K

$6.89 R$34.93

-17.27%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.1K

$2.13 R$10.80

23.00%

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

$1.72 Rp 31.0K

$1.22 R$6.20

40.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

$0.71 R$3.60

14.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 47.7K

$1.95 R$9.87

35.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 Rp 78.6K

$2.43 R$12.31

79.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

$1.05 R$5.33

49.52%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 Rp 39.5K

$1.98 R$10.06

10.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$1.14 R$5.80

3.51%

Eggs

$2.16 Rp 38.8K

$2.21 R$11.21

-2.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.65 Rp 317.7K

$9.82 R$49.77

79.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.78 Rp 68.0K

$4.31 R$21.87

-12.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.95 Rp 215.1K

$7.89 R$39.99

51.46%

Apples (1kg)

$3.60 Rp 64.8K

$2.17 R$11.02

65.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 Rp 28.6K

$1.38 R$7.02

15.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 Rp 41.6K

$1.20 R$6.08

92.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$1.69 R$8.58

13.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 Rp 32.1K

$1.39 R$7.03

28.06%

Onion (1kg)

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

$1.27 R$6.45

83.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

$0.88 R$4.46

13.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 Rp 9,509

$0.77 R$3.88

-31.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.29 Rp 41.1K

$2.36 R$11.97

-2.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.07 Rp 397.3K

$8.07 R$40.90

173.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 Rp 42.2K

$1.27 R$6.44

85.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 Rp 53.6K

$2.25 R$11.42

32.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 Rp 4,112

$0.85 R$4.30

-72.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.90 Rp 160.2K

$37.93 R$192

-76.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 Rp 8,466

$0.95 R$4.83

-50.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,737

$0.92 R$4.66

-53.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.47 Rp 98.4K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

$1.24 R$6.29

-33.06%

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

$23.9K Rp 429.8M

$23.8K R$120.7K

0.27%

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

$32.8K Rp 590.1M

$30.7K R$155.9K

6.63%

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

$80.0 Rp 1.4M

$95.3 R$483

-16.02%

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

$6.56 Rp 118.1K

$17.60 R$89.2

-62.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.60 Rp 334.8K

$21.13 R$107

-11.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 Rp 974.1K

$20.40 R$103

165.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.28 Rp 329.0K

$15.06 R$76.4

21.38%

Cinema Ticket

$4.25 Rp 76.5K

$6.76 R$34.25

-37.13%

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

$493 Rp 8.9M

$184 R$935

167.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,597 Rp 100.7M

$2,903 R$14.7K

92.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.58 Rp 820.4K

$64.5 R$327

-29.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.96 Rp 629.4K

$54.2 R$275

-35.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

$76.1 R$386

2.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.5 Rp 1.4M

$59.2 R$300

32.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,131 Rp 20.4M

$360 R$1,824

214.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$673 Rp 12.1M

$184 R$930

266.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,613 Rp 65.0M

$577 R$2,923

526.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,702 Rp 30.6M

$322 R$1,635

427.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,717 Rp 48.9M

$1,529 R$7,749

77.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

$717 R$3,633

212.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

$394 R$1,998

-57.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 19, 2026

Last update for Sao Luis: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$673 49.7%

Sao Luis

$184 22.1% 72.7% $489

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$287 21.2%

Sao Luis

$197 23.7% 31.3% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$107 7.9%

Sao Luis

$114 13.8% 7.3% $7.8

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 7.9%

Sao Luis

$122 14.6% 14.3% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$105 7.8%

Sao Luis

$134 16.1% 27.4% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$63 4.6%

Sao Luis

$34 4.1% 45.8% $29

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Sao Luis

$47 5.6% 277% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,131 in Ubud, Bali and $360 in Sao Luis. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sao Luis pays 137% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35.00 in Ubud, Bali vs $40.00 in Sao Luis. Groceries flip the comparison at $287 vs $197, with Sao Luis cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇧🇷 Sao Luis

🕒 Local time

19:39 7:39 PM

08:39 8:39 AM

11 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

1,037,775

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, 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).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Sao Luis 17,440 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Sao Luis

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 Sao Luis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ubud, Bali and Sao Luis differ by about 63% in total monthly costs ($1,353 vs $832 including rent). Sao Luis is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 137% lower in Sao Luis. 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: $1,131 in Ubud, Bali versus $360 in Sao Luis. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 46% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Sao Luis – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $35.00 in Ubud, Bali. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $832 in Sao Luis versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sao Luis but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Sao Luis the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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 Sao Luis 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 Sao Luis gentler on the wallet – expenses run 63% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.