Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Varanasi

For one person, living is cheaper in Varanasi: $293 a month against $1,331 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $12,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

64

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
14

Cost of Living Index in Varanasi
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Varanasi Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,331

/mo nomad

Varanasi

🇮🇳 India

$293

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,331 in Ubud, Bali versus $293 in Varanasi.

Ubud, Bali $1,331
Varanasi $293

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,255 in Ubud, Bali versus $483 in Varanasi.

Ubud, Bali $2,255
Varanasi $483

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,180 in Ubud, Bali versus $672 in Varanasi.

Ubud, Bali $3,180
Varanasi $672

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 354% more expensive than in Varanasi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ubud, Bali 2% lower, Varanasi 78% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.38 Rp 61.3K

$1.89 ₹179

78.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.65 Rp 628.8K

$8.02 ₹760

332.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.57 Rp 101.2K

$3.21 ₹304

73.52%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.5K

$1.65 ₹156

58.79%

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

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

$0.41 ₹38.77

275.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.64 Rp 11.6K

$0.11 ₹10.11

481.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.67 Rp 48.4K

$1.62 ₹153

64.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.26 Rp 77.4K

$2.12 ₹201

100.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 Rp 26.5K

$0.66 ₹62.7

121.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 Rp 41.6K

$0.29 ₹27.25

689.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.11 Rp 20.1K

$0.54 ₹50.7

105.56%

Eggs

$2.10 Rp 38.1K

$0.83 ₹78.6

153.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.94 Rp 289.3K

$3.28 ₹310

385.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.88 Rp 70.5K

$2.13 ₹202

82.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.40 Rp 206.9K

Apples (1kg)

$3.55 Rp 64.5K

$1.43 ₹135

148.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

$0.65 ₹61.3

136.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$0.89 ₹84.5

150.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

$0.35 ₹32.74

462.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 Rp 33.7K

$0.26 ₹24.69

615.38%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 43.9K

$0.24 ₹22.73

908.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 Rp 18.6K

$0.46 ₹43.31

121.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 Rp 9,479

$0.28 ₹26.59

85.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.20 Rp 39.9K

$3.20 ₹303

-31.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.79 Rp 395.4K

$5.83 ₹553

273.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 Rp 42.2K

$1.61 ₹153

44.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

$1.98 ₹187

50.00%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$4.24 ₹402

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,544

$0.55 ₹52.5

-54.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.17 Rp 148.4K

$9.71 ₹920

-15.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,944

$0.24 ₹22.72

83.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 Rp 8,493

$0.12 ₹10.98

291.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.60 Rp 101.6K

$1.04 ₹98.8

438.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

$1.05 ₹99.9

-20.95%

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

$24.4K Rp 443.7M

$11.3K ₹1.1M

116.94%

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

$31.7K Rp 575.2M

$22.2K ₹2.1M

42.72%

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

$77.5 Rp 1.4M

$12.68 ₹1,202

511.04%

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

$6.14 Rp 111.5K

$3.63 ₹344

69.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.92 Rp 343.3K

$6.84 ₹648

176.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 Rp 925.4K

$12.72 ₹1,205

300.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.25 Rp 331.2K

Cinema Ticket

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

$2.91 ₹275

50.52%

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

$492 Rp 8.9M

$38.77 ₹3,673

1170.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K Rp 221.8M

$1,088 ₹103.1K

1023.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.16 Rp 819.6K

$23.62 ₹2,238

91.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.89 Rp 633.2K

$25.11 ₹2,379

38.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 Rp 1.4M

$38.81 ₹3,676

101.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.9 Rp 1.4M

$25.32 ₹2,398

207.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 Rp 19.6M

$114 ₹10.8K

845.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 Rp 12.1M

$46.99 ₹4,452

1314.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,510 Rp 63.7M

$200 ₹18.9K

1659.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,671 Rp 30.3M

$140 ₹13.3K

1094.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,340 Rp 42.5M

$560 ₹53.0K

318.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,236 Rp 40.6M

$340 ₹32.2K

557.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

$575 ₹54.4K

-71.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

8.53

61.55%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: November 1, 2026

Last update for Varanasi: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$665 50%

Varanasi

$47 16% 92.9% $618

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$279 21%

Varanasi

$82 28% 70.7% $198

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$106 8%

Varanasi

$51 17.3% 52.2% $56

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 8%

Varanasi

$59 20.1% 44.3% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$103 7.7%

Varanasi

$23 7.9% 77.4% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$60 4.5%

Varanasi

$19 6.3% 69% $41

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Varanasi

$13 4.4% 6.7% $0.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,078 in Ubud, Bali and $114 in Varanasi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Varanasi pays about 3.5 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35 in Ubud, Bali vs $8 in Varanasi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $279 vs $82 per month, with Varanasi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇮🇳 Varanasi

🕒 Local time

16:43 4:43 PM

14:13 2:13 PM

2 h 30 min behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

3,100,000

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.56 USD

1,000 INR = 9.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18,148 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,345 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 94.73 INR (100 INR = 1.06 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.42 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Varanasi 5,130 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Varanasi

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 Varanasi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Varanasi wins on cost – living expenses run 78% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Varanasi the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 71% 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: $1,078 in Ubud, Bali versus $114 in Varanasi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $492 in Ubud, Bali versus $39 in Varanasi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 241% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $293 in Varanasi versus $1,331 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Varanasi but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Varanasi 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.