Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Vanderbijlpark

For one person, living is cheaper in Vanderbijlpark: $1,036 a month against $1,368 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
Learn more

Ubud, Bali Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Vanderbijlpark
Learn more

Vanderbijlpark Living Index

Jump to prices

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,368

/mo nomad

Vanderbijlpark

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,036

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,368 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,036 in Vanderbijlpark.

Ubud, Bali $1,368
Vanderbijlpark $1,036

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,314 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,610 in Vanderbijlpark.

Ubud, Bali $2,314
Vanderbijlpark $1,610

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,260 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,184 in Vanderbijlpark.

Ubud, Bali $3,260
Vanderbijlpark $2,184

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 32% more expensive than in Vanderbijlpark, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubud, Bali is 1% above, Vanderbijlpark is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.33 Rp 59.9K

$7.17 R 118

-53.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.18 Rp 633.2K

$37.65 R 620

-6.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.80 Rp 104.5K

$5.53 R 91.1

4.88%

Cappuccino

$2.73 Rp 49.1K

$2.23 R 36.77

22.42%

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

$1.64 Rp 29.5K

$1.05 R 17.38

56.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

$0.88 R 14.42

-5.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.70 Rp 48.6K

$1.72 R 28.29

56.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.30 Rp 77.4K

$2.37 R 39.09

81.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 Rp 27.1K

$1.15 R 19.00

30.43%

White Bread (500g)

$2.30 Rp 41.4K

$1.08 R 17.82

112.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$1.77 R 29.16

-33.33%

Eggs

$2.14 Rp 38.6K

$2.55 R 42.01

-16.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.48 Rp 314.6K

$6.79 R 112

157.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.03 Rp 72.5K

$4.27 R 70.4

-5.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.23 Rp 220.1K

$5.93 R 97.7

106.24%

Apples (1kg)

$3.55 Rp 63.9K

$1.73 R 28.45

105.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

$1.60 R 26.29

-1.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.24 Rp 40.2K

$1.72 R 28.33

30.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.93 Rp 34.7K

$1.58 R 26.06

22.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 Rp 33.9K

$1.13 R 18.57

66.37%

Onion (1kg)

$2.29 Rp 41.3K

$1.23 R 20.32

86.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 17.9K

$1.17 R 19.20

-15.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 Rp 9,475

$1.28 R 21.06

-58.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.28 Rp 41.1K

$3.09 R 50.9

-26.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.01 Rp 414.2K

$4.29 R 70.6

436.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.34 Rp 42.2K

$1.56 R 25.76

50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 Rp 52.4K

$1.99 R 32.77

46.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.24 Rp 4,315

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.82 Rp 158.7K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.48 Rp 8,684

$0.29 R 4.77

65.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.46 Rp 8,233

$0.66 R 10.80

-30.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 Rp 98.2K

$3.71 R 61.2

46.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 Rp 15.9K

$1.51 R 24.91

-41.72%

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

$24.6K Rp 442.2M

$34.9K R 575.7K

-29.69%

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

$31.2K Rp 561.4M

$33.6K R 553.1K

-7.11%

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

$83.0 Rp 1.5M

$150 R 2,473

-44.70%

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

$6.45 Rp 116.0K

$24.65 R 406

-73.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.57 Rp 334.2K

$36.79 R 606

-49.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.8 Rp 1.0M

$32.86 R 541

69.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.11 Rp 326.0K

$15.02 R 247

20.57%

Cinema Ticket

$4.38 Rp 78.9K

$5.98 R 98.5

-26.76%

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

$493 Rp 8.9M

$119 R 1,960

314.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,754 Rp 103.6M

$1,506 R 24.8K

282.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.19 Rp 831.4K

$46.14 R 760

0.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.33 Rp 636.0K

$32.82 R 541

7.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$91.4 R 1,505

-13.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.4 Rp 1.4M

$76.2 R 1,256

2.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,142 Rp 20.6M

$370 R 6,093

208.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$676 Rp 12.2M

$365 R 6,021

84.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,503 Rp 63.1M

$605 R 9,961

479.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,700 Rp 30.6M

$748 R 12.3K

127.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,784 Rp 50.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$165 Rp 3.0M

$1,953 R 32.2K

-91.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

25.27%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 11, 2026

Last update for Vanderbijlpark: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$676 49.4%

Vanderbijlpark

$365 35.3% 45.9% $310

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$290 21.2%

Vanderbijlpark

$178 17.2% 38.6% $112

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$109 8%

Vanderbijlpark

$122 11.8% 11.9% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$108 7.9%

Vanderbijlpark

$212 20.4% 95.8% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 7.9%

Vanderbijlpark

$111 10.7% 3.2% $3.4

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$65 4.7%

Vanderbijlpark

$45 4.3% 30.6% $20

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$13 0.9%

Vanderbijlpark

$3.6 * 0.3% 71.6% $9

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 $1,142 in Ubud, Bali and $370 in Vanderbijlpark. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Vanderbijlpark pays 1087% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35.00 in Ubud, Bali vs $38.00 in Vanderbijlpark. Groceries flip the comparison at $290 vs $178, with Vanderbijlpark cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇿🇦 Vanderbijlpark

🕒 Local time

01:29 1:29 AM

19:29 7:29 PM

6 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

95,840

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18,000 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD). 1 EUR = 20,236 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Vanderbijlpark 9,330 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Vanderbijlpark

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 Vanderbijlpark: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Vanderbijlpark wins on cost – living expenses run 32% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Vanderbijlpark the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 1087% lower in Vanderbijlpark. 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: $1,142 in Ubud, Bali versus $370 in Vanderbijlpark. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 63% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,368 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $1,036 in Vanderbijlpark – a 32% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,036 in Vanderbijlpark versus $1,368 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Vanderbijlpark but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Vanderbijlpark the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Vanderbijlpark delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,036 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Vanderbijlpark hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ubud, Bali and Vanderbijlpark 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 Vanderbijlpark gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.