Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Trincomalee

For one person, living is cheaper in Trincomalee: $509 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $10,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
Learn more

Ubud, Bali Living Index
24

Cost of Living Index in Trincomalee
Learn more

Trincomalee Living Index

Jump to prices

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Trincomalee

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$509

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $509 in Trincomalee.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Trincomalee $509

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $826 in Trincomalee.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Trincomalee $826

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,143 in Trincomalee.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Trincomalee $1,143

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 165% more expensive than in Trincomalee, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

$3.91 LKR 1,300

-15.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 647.8K

$25.21 LKR 8,380

41.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

$7.75 LKR 2,575

-28.65%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

$2.53 LKR 840

7.51%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$0.73 LKR 242

132.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.25 LKR 82.3

204.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

$2.25 LKR 749

17.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.6K

$2.98 LKR 992

46.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$1.62 LKR 538

-8.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

$0.52 LKR 174

338.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$0.74 LKR 247

60.81%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

$1.64 LKR 545

24.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.7K

$14.05 LKR 4,670

25.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 72.0K

$4.98 LKR 1,655

-20.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.6K

$7.30 LKR 2,425

66.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.4K

$6.62 LKR 2,201

-44.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

$0.87 LKR 289

74.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$4.46 LKR 1,481

-50.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

$1.33 LKR 441

48.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

$1.03 LKR 344

79.61%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

$0.76 LKR 254

218.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$0.95 LKR 315

4.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,332

$0.42 LKR 140

21.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

$10.11 LKR 3,362

-78.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 404.2K

$13.10 LKR 4,354

69.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

$1.90 LKR 631

18.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

$2.90 LKR 965

2.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,562

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,989

$0.40 LKR 134

10.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,817

$0.35 LKR 116

22.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.3K

$0.88 LKR 293

514.77%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$1.34 LKR 446

-38.81%

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

$23.8K Rp 433.3M

$44.0K LKR 14.6M

-45.80%

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

$31.7K Rp 577.0M

$40.1K LKR 13.3M

-20.82%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$58.2 LKR 19.3K

35.89%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

$4.17 LKR 1,388

54.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.7K

$20.63 LKR 6,858

-9.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 899.4K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.8K

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

$4.45 LKR 1,479

-4.04%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$38.13 LKR 12.7K

1186.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.1M

$1,193 LKR 396.6K

375.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 811.4K

$17.98 LKR 5,976

148.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 635.3K

$16.87 LKR 5,608

107.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

$80.5 LKR 26.8K

-0.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$42.56 LKR 14.1K

86.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

12.69

8.59%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Trincomalee: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Trincomalee

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Trincomalee

$238 46.7% 17.6% $51

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Trincomalee

$106 20.8% 1.6% $1.7

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Trincomalee

$71 14% 33.9% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Trincomalee

$83 16.3% 20.3% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Trincomalee

$8.9 * 1.8% 84.7% $49

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Trincomalee

$2.1 * 0.4% 81.3% $9.3

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $36 in Ubud, Bali vs $25 in Trincomalee for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $238 per month, with Trincomalee cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇱🇰 Trincomalee

🕒 Local time

06:27 6:27 AM

03:57 3:57 AM

2 h 30 min behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

99,100

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, 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).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Trincomalee 4,220 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Trincomalee

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 Trincomalee: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Trincomalee is about 62% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,023 in Ubud, Bali and $763 in Trincomalee 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.

Childcare runs $491 in Ubud, Bali versus $38 in Trincomalee. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Trincomalee – a meal for two runs $25 versus $36 in Ubud, Bali. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $509 in Trincomalee versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Trincomalee but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Trincomalee 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 Trincomalee are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.