Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Sibu

For one person, living is cheaper in Sibu: $905 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $5,300 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Sibu
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Sibu Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Sibu

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$905

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $905 in Sibu.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Sibu $905

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,406 in Sibu.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Sibu $1,406

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,906 in Sibu.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Sibu $1,906

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 49% more expensive than in Sibu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.3K

$2.26 MYR 9.14

46.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 646.5K

$19.22 MYR 77.9

85.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.4K

$4.23 MYR 17.14

30.73%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.3K

$2.30 MYR 9.31

18.26%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$0.61 MYR 2.48

178.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.23 MYR 0.93

230.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.1K

$2.86 MYR 11.60

-7.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

$4.46 MYR 18.08

-1.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.0K

$1.76 MYR 7.14

-15.34%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.3K

$0.87 MYR 3.54

162.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$1.33 MYR 5.37

-10.53%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 36.9K

$2.18 MYR 8.82

-6.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.1K

$13.35 MYR 54.1

32.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 71.9K

$4.90 MYR 19.88

-19.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.1K

$9.92 MYR 40.23

22.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.3K

$2.86 MYR 11.60

27.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.5K

$1.81 MYR 7.35

-16.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

$2.36 MYR 9.58

-5.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

$1.69 MYR 6.86

16.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.5K

$1.38 MYR 5.59

34.06%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.0K

$1.33 MYR 5.40

81.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$1.06 MYR 4.28

-6.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,313

$0.56 MYR 2.28

-8.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.3K

$4.48 MYR 18.18

-50.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 403.4K

$19.27 MYR 78.1

15.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.0K

$3.02 MYR 12.23

-25.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

$4.61 MYR 18.71

-35.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,553

$0.79 MYR 3.21

-68.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 141.9K

$11.49 MYR 46.59

-31.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,972

$1.04 MYR 4.24

-57.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,801

$0.61 MYR 2.48

-29.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.1K

$7.27 MYR 29.47

-25.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$0.87 MYR 3.51

-5.75%

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

$23.8K Rp 432.4M

$45.5K MYR 184.6K

-47.63%

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

$31.7K Rp 575.9M

$36.2K MYR 146.6K

-12.18%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$48.91 MYR 198

61.64%

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

$6.45 Rp 116.9K

$7.37 MYR 29.86

-12.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.0K

$26.21 MYR 106

-29.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 897.5K

$27.13 MYR 110

82.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.1K

$6.38 MYR 25.88

176.65%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.5K

$3.72 MYR 15.10

14.78%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$243 MYR 984

102.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 102.9M

$6,876 MYR 27.9K

-17.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 809.7K

$56.1 MYR 228

-20.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 634.0K

$36.43 MYR 148

-4.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

$69.2 MYR 281

15.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$78.2 MYR 317

1.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

$390 MYR 1,579

188.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$318 MYR 1,288

111.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.7M

$698 MYR 2,828

410.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$630 MYR 2,552

173.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.5M

$2,136 MYR 8,660

27.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.4M

$1,165 MYR 4,723

96.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$487 MYR 1,974

-66.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

4.06

239.41%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sibu: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Sibu

$318 35.1% 52.7% $354

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Sibu

$258 28.6% 10.4% $30

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Sibu

$85 9.4% 21.2% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Sibu

$108 11.9% 0.4% $0.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Sibu

$82 9.1% 20.7% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Sibu

$35 3.8% 40.4% $23

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Sibu

$19 2.1% 64.4% $7.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $390 in Sibu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sibu pays about 3 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 $19 in Sibu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $258 per month, with Sibu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇲🇾 Sibu

🕒 Local time

15:51 3:51 PM

Same time as Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

198,239

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 MYR = 0.247 USD

1 MYR = 0.221 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 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).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.05 MYR (1 MYR = 0.247 USD). 1 EUR = 4.52 MYR (1 MYR = 0.221 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Sibu 1,260 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Sibu

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 Sibu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sibu wins on cost – living expenses run 33% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Sibu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 66% 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 $390 in Sibu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,349 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $905 in Sibu – Sibu is about 33% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Ubud, Bali runs roughly 32% less than in Sibu. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Sibu is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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