Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Tulum

For one person, living is cheaper in Tulum: $1,238 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Tulum
Learn more

Tulum Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Tulum

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,238

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,238 in Tulum.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Tulum $1,238

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,052 in Tulum.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Tulum $2,052

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,866 in Tulum.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Tulum $2,866

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 9% more expensive than in Tulum, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

$7.91 MX$147

-58.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 647.8K

$54.9 MX$1,023

-35.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

$8.28 MX$154

-33.21%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

$3.76 MX$70.1

-27.66%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$1.12 MX$20.91

51.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$1.16 MX$21.62

-34.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

$2.90 MX$54.1

-8.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.6K

$3.70 MX$69.0

18.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$1.58 MX$29.46

-5.70%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

$1.95 MX$36.30

16.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$1.71 MX$31.96

-30.41%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

$1.92 MX$35.82

6.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.7K

$5.42 MX$101

226.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 72.0K

$7.57 MX$141

-47.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.6K

$8.70 MX$162

40.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.4K

$2.56 MX$47.81

42.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

$1.36 MX$25.29

11.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$1.43 MX$26.61

55.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

$1.52 MX$28.34

29.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

$2.18 MX$40.55

-15.14%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

$1.82 MX$33.87

32.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$1.47 MX$27.40

-32.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,332

$0.81 MX$15.11

-37.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

$4.32 MX$80.6

-48.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 404.2K

$7.90 MX$147

181.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

$1.35 MX$25.20

67.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

$1.31 MX$24.50

126.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,562

$1.33 MX$24.88

-81.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,989

$2.66 MX$49.53

-83.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,817

$2.43 MX$45.31

-82.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.3K

$5.27 MX$98.2

2.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$1.43 MX$26.58

-42.66%

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

$23.8K Rp 433.3M

$21.5K MX$401.2K

10.77%

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

$31.7K Rp 577.0M

$23.4K MX$436.2K

35.66%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$102 MX$1,897

-22.29%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

$16.11 MX$300

-59.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.7K

$33.35 MX$622

-44.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 899.4K

$33.19 MX$619

49.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.8K

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

$6.56 MX$122

-34.91%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$264 MX$4,912

86.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.1M

$2,955 MX$55.1K

92.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 811.4K

$41.07 MX$766

8.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 635.3K

$32.83 MX$612

6.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

$93.6 MX$1,745

-14.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$58.7 MX$1,094

35.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

$599 MX$11.2K

87.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$539 MX$10.1K

24.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

$1,511 MX$28.2K

135.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$1,241 MX$23.1K

38.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

$3,150 MX$58.7K

-13.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

$1,783 MX$33.2K

28.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$780 MX$14.5K

-78.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

10.8

27.59%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Tulum: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Tulum

$539 43.6% 19.7% $132

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Tulum

$215 17.4% 25.4% $73

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Tulum

$164 13.3% 52.6% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Tulum

$102 8.2% 5.3% $5.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Tulum

$151 12.2% 45.3% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Tulum

$46 3.7% 20.2% $12

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Tulum

$20 * 1.6% 76.4% $8.7

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 $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $599 in Tulum. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tulum pays about 4.8 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 $55 in Tulum. Groceries flip the comparison at $288 vs $215, with Tulum cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇲🇽 Tulum

🕒 Local time

04:28 4:28 AM

15:28 3:28 PM

13 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

46,721

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.5 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, 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).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Tulum 17,220 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Tulum

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 Tulum: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tulum wins on cost – living expenses run 8% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Tulum the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 79% 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 $599 in Tulum. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $491 in Ubud, Bali versus $264 in Tulum. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ubud, Bali – a meal for two runs $36 versus $55 in Tulum. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Tulum 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.