Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Seri Iskandar

For one person, living is cheaper in Seri Iskandar: $708 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Seri Iskandar
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Seri Iskandar Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Seri Iskandar

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$708

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ubud, Bali and in Seri Iskandar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $708 in Seri Iskandar.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Seri Iskandar $708

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $917 in Seri Iskandar.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Seri Iskandar $917

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,126 in Seri Iskandar.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Seri Iskandar $1,126

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 91% more expensive than in Seri Iskandar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

$2.74 MYR 11.18

21.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 647.8K

$29.75 MYR 121

19.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

$4.72 MYR 19.24

17.16%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

$1.02 MYR 4.15

166.67%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$0.52 MYR 2.13

226.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.26 MYR 1.06

192.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

$2.99 MYR 12.19

-11.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.6K

$3.62 MYR 14.73

20.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$1.58 MYR 6.43

-5.70%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

$0.95 MYR 3.88

140.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$0.51 MYR 2.09

133.33%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

$2.03 MYR 8.25

0.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.7K

$5.31 MYR 21.65

233.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 72.0K

$1.94 MYR 7.89

104.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.6K

$4.47 MYR 18.21

172.71%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.4K

$2.16 MYR 8.80

69.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

$1.69 MYR 6.88

-10.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$1.98 MYR 8.06

12.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

$1.03 MYR 4.19

91.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

$0.63 MYR 2.56

193.65%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

$0.95 MYR 3.89

154.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$1.02 MYR 4.15

-2.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,332

$0.63 MYR 2.56

-19.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

$4.39 MYR 17.87

-49.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 404.2K

$7.42 MYR 30.21

199.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

$2.44 MYR 9.93

-7.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

$3.72 MYR 15.15

-20.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,562

$1.08 MYR 4.41

-76.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.2K

$12.26 MYR 49.96

-36.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,989

$1.02 MYR 4.17

-56.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,817

$1.24 MYR 5.03

-65.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.3K

$4.87 MYR 19.83

11.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$0.61 MYR 2.50

34.43%

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

$23.8K Rp 433.3M

$19.4K MYR 78.9K

23.07%

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

$31.7K Rp 577.0M

$19.6K MYR 79.8K

62.06%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$62.8 MYR 256

25.95%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

$8.98 MYR 36.60

-28.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.7K

$16.79 MYR 68.4

10.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 899.4K

$13.48 MYR 54.9

267.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.8K

$6.76 MYR 27.55

161.09%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

$3.73 MYR 15.21

14.48%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$237 MYR 965

107.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.1M

$13.1K MYR 53.4K

-56.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 811.4K

$16.83 MYR 68.6

165.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 635.3K

$8.68 MYR 35.36

302.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

$60.4 MYR 246

32.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$37.27 MYR 152

113.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

$419 MYR 1,707

168.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$287 MYR 1,169

134.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

$779 MYR 3,175

357.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$162 MYR 659

965.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

$2,030 MYR 8,271

34.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

$1,168 MYR 4,758

95.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$366 MYR 1,489

-55.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

589.00%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Seri Iskandar: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Seri Iskandar

$287 40.6% 57.3% $385

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Seri Iskandar

$158 22.4% 45.1% $130

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Seri Iskandar

$74 10.4% 31.6% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Seri Iskandar

$55 7.8% 48.4% $52

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Seri Iskandar

$89 12.5% 14.9% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Seri Iskandar

$21 3% 63.9% $37

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Seri Iskandar

$24 3.4% 108% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $419 in Seri Iskandar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Seri Iskandar pays about 2.2 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 $30 in Seri Iskandar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $158 per month, with Seri Iskandar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇲🇾 Seri Iskandar

🕒 Local time

07:13 7:13 AM

Same time as Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

14,827

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18,175 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20,233 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Seri Iskandar 2,140 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Seri Iskandar

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 Seri Iskandar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,349 in Ubud, Bali and $708 in Seri Iskandar, so Seri Iskandar is about 48% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 55% 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 $419 in Seri Iskandar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Seri Iskandar – a meal for two runs $30 versus $36 in Ubud, Bali. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,349 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $708 in Seri Iskandar – Seri Iskandar is about 48% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $708 in Seri Iskandar versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Seri Iskandar but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Seri Iskandar 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 Seri Iskandar are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.