Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Song Be

For one person, living is cheaper in Song Be: $839 a month against $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 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 Song Be
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Song Be Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,353

/mo nomad

Song Be

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ubud, Bali and in Song Be

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,353 in Ubud, Bali versus $839 in Song Be.

Ubud, Bali $1,353
Song Be $839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,297 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,363 in Song Be.

Ubud, Bali $2,297
Song Be $1,363

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,241 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,887 in Song Be.

Ubud, Bali $3,241
Song Be $1,887

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 61% more expensive than in Song Be, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubud, Bali is 0% above, Song Be is 38% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.23 Rp 58.1K

$1.92 ₫49.6K

68.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.88 Rp 627.8K

$23.01 ₫595.6K

51.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.70 Rp 102.5K

$4.75 ₫123.1K

20.00%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.1K

$1.85 ₫47.9K

41.62%

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

$1.72 Rp 31.0K

$0.55 ₫14.3K

212.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

$0.34 ₫8,819

138.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 47.7K

$1.08 ₫28.0K

145.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 Rp 78.6K

$1.70 ₫44.1K

157.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

$1.64 ₫42.5K

-4.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 Rp 39.5K

$1.06 ₫27.4K

106.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$1.06 ₫27.4K

11.32%

Eggs

$2.16 Rp 38.8K

$1.62 ₫41.8K

33.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.65 Rp 317.7K

$11.93 ₫309.0K

47.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.78 Rp 68.0K

$3.66 ₫94.7K

3.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.95 Rp 215.1K

$10.42 ₫269.7K

14.68%

Apples (1kg)

$3.60 Rp 64.8K

$2.98 ₫77.2K

20.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 Rp 28.6K

$1.26 ₫32.6K

26.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 Rp 41.6K

$1.57 ₫40.7K

47.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$1.25 ₫32.4K

52.80%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 Rp 32.1K

$1.18 ₫30.6K

50.85%

Onion (1kg)

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

$1.19 ₫30.9K

95.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

$0.73 ₫18.8K

36.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 Rp 9,509

$0.52 ₫13.5K

1.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.29 Rp 41.1K

$1.25 ₫32.4K

83.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.07 Rp 397.3K

$12.87 ₫333.1K

71.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 Rp 42.2K

$0.89 ₫23.1K

164.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 Rp 53.6K

$1.47 ₫38.0K

102.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 Rp 4,112

$0.35 ₫9,126

-34.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.90 Rp 160.2K

$6.85 ₫177.5K

29.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 Rp 8,466

$0.74 ₫19.3K

-36.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,737

$0.62 ₫16.0K

-30.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.47 Rp 98.4K

$3.00 ₫77.7K

82.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

$0.90 ₫23.4K

-7.78%

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

$23.9K Rp 429.8M

$31.4K ₫812.5M

-23.92%

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

$32.8K Rp 590.1M

$29.7K ₫769.5M

10.30%

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

$80.0 Rp 1.4M

$105 ₫2.7M

-23.97%

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

$6.56 Rp 118.1K

$5.87 ₫152.1K

11.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.60 Rp 334.8K

$10.60 ₫274.4K

75.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 Rp 974.1K

$25.41 ₫657.8K

112.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.28 Rp 329.0K

$7.53 ₫195.0K

142.76%

Cinema Ticket

$4.25 Rp 76.5K

$3.82 ₫98.9K

11.26%

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

$493 Rp 8.9M

$448 ₫11.6M

9.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,597 Rp 100.7M

$24.1K ₫622.7M

-76.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.58 Rp 820.4K

$52.2 ₫1.4M

-12.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.96 Rp 629.4K

$34.58 ₫895.3K

1.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

$90.9 ₫2.4M

-14.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.5 Rp 1.4M

$94.9 ₫2.5M

-17.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,131 Rp 20.4M

$362 ₫9.4M

212.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$673 Rp 12.1M

$280 ₫7.2M

140.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,613 Rp 65.0M

$836 ₫21.6M

332.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,702 Rp 30.6M

$675 ₫17.5M

152.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,717 Rp 48.9M

$1,961 ₫50.8M

38.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

$1,360 ₫35.2M

64.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

8.64

59.49%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 19, 2026

Last update for Song Be: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$673 49.7%

Song Be

$280 33.3% 58.5% $393

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$287 21.2%

Song Be

$206 24.6% 28.2% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$107 7.9%

Song Be

$123 14.6% 15.1% $16

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 7.9%

Song Be

$64 7.7% 39.7% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$105 7.8%

Song Be

$122 14.5% 15.7% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$63 4.6%

Song Be

$33 3.9% 47.2% $30

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Song Be

$12 1.4% 2.7% $0.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,131 in Ubud, Bali and $362 in Song Be. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Ubud, Bali vs $23.00 in Song Be for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $287 vs $206 per month, with Song Be cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇻🇳 Song Be

🕒 Local time

00:12 12:12 AM

23:12 11:12 PM

1 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, 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).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,105 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Song Be 2,420 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Song Be

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 Song Be: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ubud, Bali and Song Be differ by about 61% in total monthly costs ($1,353 vs $839 including rent). Song Be is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,030 in Ubud, Bali and $1,259 in Song Be 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 $362 in Song Be. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Song Be runs roughly 30% less than in Ubud, Bali. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $493 in Ubud, Bali versus $448 in Song Be. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $839 in Song Be versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Song Be but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Song Be 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 Song Be 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 Song Be gentler on the wallet – expenses run 61% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.