Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Secunda

For one person, living is cheaper in Secunda: $1,027 a month against $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Ubud, Bali
🇮🇩 Indonesia
$1,353
/mo nomad
Secunda
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,027
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,353 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,027 in Secunda.

  • Ubud, Bali $1,353
  • Secunda $1,027

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,297 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,667 in Secunda.

  • Ubud, Bali $2,297
  • Secunda $1,667

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,241 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,306 in Secunda.

  • Ubud, Bali $3,241
  • Secunda $2,306

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 32% more expensive than in Secunda, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubud, Bali is 0% above, Secunda is 24% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Ubud, Bali
Secunda
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$3.23 Rp 58.1K
$6.20 R 102
-47.90%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$34.88 Rp 627.8K
$30.52 R 503
14.29%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.70 Rp 102.5K
$5.22 R 86.0
9.20%
Cappuccino
$2.62 Rp 47.1K
$2.27 R 37.42
15.42%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.72 Rp 31.0K
$0.81 R 13.38
112.35%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.81 Rp 14.6K
$0.51 R 8.33
58.82%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.65 Rp 47.7K
$1.07 R 17.59
147.66%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.37 Rp 78.6K
$1.38 R 22.72
216.67%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Ubud, Bali
Secunda
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.57 Rp 28.3K
$1.16 R 19.14
35.34%
White Bread (500g)
$2.19 Rp 39.5K
$0.87 R 14.33
151.72%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.18 Rp 21.2K
$1.84 R 30.33
-35.87%
Eggs
$2.16 Rp 38.8K
$2.43 R 40.04
-11.11%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$17.65 Rp 317.7K
$8.53 R 141
106.92%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.78 Rp 68.0K
$4.88 R 80.4
-22.54%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$11.95 Rp 215.1K
$7.11 R 117
68.07%
Apples (1kg)
$3.60 Rp 64.8K
$1.75 R 28.78
105.71%
Banana (1kg)
$1.59 Rp 28.6K
$1.68 R 27.69
-5.36%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.31 Rp 41.6K
$1.80 R 29.60
28.33%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.91 Rp 34.3K
$1.65 R 27.15
15.76%
Potato (1kg)
$1.78 Rp 32.1K
$1.12 R 18.50
58.93%
Onion (1kg)
$2.33 Rp 41.9K
$1.18 R 19.52
97.46%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.00 Rp 18.0K
$1.24 R 20.38
-19.35%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.53 Rp 9,509
$1.30 R 21.48
-59.23%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.29 Rp 41.1K
$3.35 R 55.3
-31.64%
Wine (Bottle)
$22.07 Rp 397.3K
$5.01 R 82.6
340.52%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.35 Rp 42.2K
$1.53 R 25.21
53.59%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.98 Rp 53.6K
$1.92 R 31.66
55.21%
🚌 Getting Around
Ubud, Bali
Secunda
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.23 Rp 4,112
$1.37 R 22.65
-83.21%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$8.90 Rp 160.2K
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.47 Rp 8,466
$0.29 R 4.74
62.07%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.43 Rp 7,737
$0.76 R 12.51
-43.42%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.47 Rp 98.4K
$14.36 R 237
-61.91%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$0.83 Rp 14.9K
$1.57 R 25.85
-47.13%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$23.9K Rp 429.8M
$35.7K R 587.4K
-33.03%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$32.8K Rp 590.1M
$35.5K R 584.4K
-7.58%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Ubud, Bali
Secunda
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$80.0 Rp 1.4M
$156 R 2,569
-48.71%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$6.56 Rp 118.1K
$38.00 R 626
-82.74%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$18.60 Rp 334.8K
$37.12 R 612
-49.89%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Ubud, Bali
Secunda
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$54.1 Rp 974.1K
$32.65 R 538
65.76%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.28 Rp 329.0K
$10.92 R 180
67.40%
Cinema Ticket
$4.25 Rp 76.5K
$7.33 R 121
-42.02%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Ubud, Bali
Secunda
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$493 Rp 8.9M
$91.7 R 1,510
437.58%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,597 Rp 100.7M
$5,457 R 89.9K
2.56%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Ubud, Bali
Secunda
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$45.58 Rp 820.4K
$54.3 R 895
-16.07%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$34.96 Rp 629.4K
$32.82 R 541
6.52%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$77.7 Rp 1.4M
$94.2 R 1,553
-17.52%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$78.5 Rp 1.4M
$82.6 R 1,360
-4.90%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Ubud, Bali
Secunda
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,131 Rp 20.4M
$403 R 6,638
180.84%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$673 Rp 12.1M
$324 R 5,336
107.74%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$3,613 Rp 65.0M
$708 R 11.7K
410.47%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,702 Rp 30.6M
$841 R 13.8K
102.46%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,717 Rp 48.9M
$839 R 13.8K
223.87%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,241 Rp 40.3M
$602 R 9,912
272.50%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Ubud, Bali
Secunda
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$166 Rp 3.0M
$1,466 R 24.2K
-88.65%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
13.78
11.34
21.52%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 19, 2026

Last update for Secunda: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Ubud, Bali
$673
Secunda
$324 51.9% $349
Groceries & Markets
Ubud, Bali
$287
Secunda
$191 33.6% $96
Clothing & Footwear
Ubud, Bali
$107
Secunda
$119 11.5% $12
Eating Out
Ubud, Bali
$106
Secunda
$106 0.5% $0.5
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Ubud, Bali
$105
Secunda
$231 120% $126
Sport & Entertainment
Ubud, Bali
$63
Secunda
$47 24.4% $15
Getting Around
Ubud, Bali
$12
Secunda
$9.6 * 22.9% $2.8

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 $1,131 in Ubud, Bali and $403 in Secunda. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Secunda pays 781% 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 $31.00 in Secunda for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $287 vs $191 per month, with Secunda cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali
🇿🇦 Secunda
🕒 Local time
22:18 10:18 PM
16:18 4:18 PM
6 h behind Ubud, Bali
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
74,800
40,198
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

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).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Ubud, Bali Secunda 9,200 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Ubud, Bali
  • Secunda

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 Secunda: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Secunda cheaper than Ubud, Bali?
Secunda is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 32% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Ubud, Bali or Secunda?
On paper, salaries run 781% lower in Secunda. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.
What is the rent difference between Ubud, Bali and Secunda?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,131 in Ubud, Bali versus $403 in Secunda. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
Which city has cheaper kindergarten?
Childcare runs $493 in Ubud, Bali versus $91.7 in Secunda. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Is eating out cheaper in Ubud, Bali or in Secunda?
Dining out is cheaper in Secunda – a meal for two runs $31.00 versus $35.00 in Ubud, Bali. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Ubud, Bali or in Secunda?
At $1,027 in Secunda versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Secunda but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Secunda the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is Ubud, Bali or Secunda more family-friendly?
For families, Secunda 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.
Which city is safer, Ubud, Bali or Secunda?
Safety-wise, Ubud, Bali and Secunda are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Secunda gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Ubud, Bali vs other spots: cost of living compared

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