Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Upala

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubud, Bali: $1,331 a month against $1,431 in Upala, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. The total is higher in Upala despite lower rent and utilities.

64

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
68

Cost of Living Index in Upala
Learn more

Upala Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,331

/mo nomad

Upala

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,431

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,331 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,431 in Upala.

Ubud, Bali $1,331
Upala $1,431

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,255 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,262 in Upala.

Ubud, Bali $2,255
Upala $2,262

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,180 in Ubud, Bali versus $3,092 in Upala.

Ubud, Bali $3,180
Upala $3,092

Living in Ubud, Bali costs roughly 7% less than in Upala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubud, Bali is 2% below, Upala is 6% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.38 Rp 61.2K

$12.11 ₡5,444

-72.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.65 Rp 628.6K

$54.7 ₡24.6K

-36.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.57 Rp 101.1K

$11.83 ₡5,319

-52.92%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.5K

$3.65 ₡1,641

-28.22%

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

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

$1.81 ₡813

-14.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.64 Rp 11.6K

$1.74 ₡784

-63.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.67 Rp 48.4K

$3.34 ₡1,502

-20.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.26 Rp 77.3K

$4.46 ₡2,005

-4.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 Rp 26.5K

$2.15 ₡967

-32.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 Rp 41.6K

$1.70 ₡762

34.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.11 Rp 20.1K

$2.48 ₡1,114

-55.24%

Eggs

$2.10 Rp 38.1K

$2.67 ₡1,199

-21.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.94 Rp 289.2K

$3.33 ₡1,496

378.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.88 Rp 70.4K

$6.76 ₡3,041

-42.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.40 Rp 206.8K

$8.75 ₡3,934

30.29%

Apples (1kg)

$3.55 Rp 64.4K

$1.81 ₡815

96.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

$0.65 ₡291

136.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$2.87 ₡1,292

-22.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

$2.71 ₡1,221

-27.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 Rp 33.7K

$3.83 ₡1,724

-51.44%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 43.9K

$2.72 ₡1,222

-11.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 Rp 18.6K

$1.12 ₡505

-8.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 Rp 9,475

$2.69 ₡1,210

-80.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.20 Rp 39.9K

$5.86 ₡2,637

-62.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.79 Rp 395.2K

$8.89 ₡3,999

145.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 Rp 42.2K

$2.57 ₡1,156

-9.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

$3.70 ₡1,662

-19.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,542

$1.30 ₡585

-80.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.17 Rp 148.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,941

$2.42 ₡1,087

-81.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 Rp 8,489

$1.63 ₡733

-71.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.60 Rp 101.6K

$6.64 ₡2,984

-15.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

$1.36 ₡612

-38.97%

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

$24.4K Rp 443.5M

$34.1K ₡15.4M

-28.41%

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

$31.7K Rp 575.0M

$42.2K ₡19.0M

-24.90%

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

$77.5 Rp 1.4M

$56.5 ₡25.4K

37.04%

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

$6.14 Rp 111.5K

$36.32 ₡16.3K

-83.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.92 Rp 343.1K

$21.90 ₡9,847

-13.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 Rp 925.0K

$69.0 ₡31.0K

-26.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.25 Rp 331.0K

Cinema Ticket

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

$7.67 ₡3,447

-42.89%

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

$492 Rp 8.9M

$981 ₡441.3K

-49.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K Rp 221.7M

$17.0K ₡7.7M

-28.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.16 Rp 819.2K

$33.10 ₡14.9K

36.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.89 Rp 632.9K

$22.18 ₡9,975

57.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 Rp 1.4M

$129 ₡57.9K

-39.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.9 Rp 1.4M

$32.58 ₡14.6K

139.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 Rp 19.5M

$796 ₡357.8K

35.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 Rp 12.1M

$644 ₡289.4K

3.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,510 Rp 63.7M

$1,869 ₡840.6K

87.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,671 Rp 30.3M

$1,238 ₡556.8K

34.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,340 Rp 42.4M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,236 Rp 40.6M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

8.62

59.86%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: November 1, 2026

Last update for Upala: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$665 50%

Upala

$644 45% 3.2% $21

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$279 21%

Upala

$259 18.1% 7.4% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$106 8%

Upala

$97 6.8% 8.4% $8.9

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 8%

Upala

$216 15.1% 104% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$103 7.7%

Upala

$115 8% 11.9% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$60 4.5%

Upala

$84 5.9% 41.1% $25

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Upala

$16 * 1.1% 32.1% $3.8

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 $1,078 in Ubud, Bali and $796 in Upala. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35 in Ubud, Bali vs $55 in Upala. Groceries flip the comparison at $279 vs $259, with Upala cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇨🇷 Upala

🕒 Local time

05:50 5:50 AM

15:50 3:50 PM

14 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

15,000

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.93 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18,140 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,286 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.93 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Upala 17,780 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Upala

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 Upala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ubud, Bali wins on cost – living expenses run 7% lower than in Upala. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Ubud, Bali the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,996 in Ubud, Bali and $2,146 in Upala 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: $1,078 in Ubud, Bali versus $796 in Upala. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Upala pay roughly 7% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,331 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $1,431 in Upala – Ubud, Bali is about 7% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Ubud, Bali 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.