Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Vavuniya

For one person, living is cheaper in Vavuniya: $511 a month against $1,331 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 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
24

Cost of Living Index in Vavuniya
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Vavuniya Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,331

/mo nomad

Vavuniya

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$511

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,331 in Ubud, Bali versus $511 in Vavuniya.

Ubud, Bali $1,331
Vavuniya $511

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,255 in Ubud, Bali versus $805 in Vavuniya.

Ubud, Bali $2,255
Vavuniya $805

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,180 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,099 in Vavuniya.

Ubud, Bali $3,180
Vavuniya $1,099

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 161% more expensive than in Vavuniya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ubud, Bali 2% lower, Vavuniya 62% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.38 Rp 61.2K

$3.87 LKR 1,286

-12.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.65 Rp 628.6K

$14.87 LKR 4,945

133.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.57 Rp 101.1K

$7.54 LKR 2,509

-26.13%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.5K

$2.53 LKR 841

3.56%

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

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

$0.40 LKR 132

285.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.64 Rp 11.6K

$0.25 LKR 82.5

156.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.67 Rp 48.4K

$2.18 LKR 725

22.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.26 Rp 77.3K

$2.97 LKR 987

43.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 Rp 26.5K

$1.64 LKR 546

-10.98%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 Rp 41.6K

$0.57 LKR 189

301.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.11 Rp 20.1K

$0.77 LKR 255

44.16%

Eggs

$2.10 Rp 38.1K

$1.63 LKR 543

28.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.94 Rp 289.2K

$15.50 LKR 5,156

2.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.88 Rp 70.4K

$5.14 LKR 1,710

-24.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.40 Rp 206.8K

$7.39 LKR 2,460

54.26%

Apples (1kg)

$3.55 Rp 64.4K

$6.66 LKR 2,214

-46.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

$0.88 LKR 293

75.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$4.27 LKR 1,421

-47.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

$1.31 LKR 436

50.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 Rp 33.7K

$1.08 LKR 358

72.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 43.9K

$0.76 LKR 254

218.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 Rp 18.6K

$1.24 LKR 413

-17.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 Rp 9,475

$0.43 LKR 143

20.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.20 Rp 39.9K

$10.16 LKR 3,378

-78.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.79 Rp 395.2K

$13.31 LKR 4,427

63.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 Rp 42.2K

$1.93 LKR 643

20.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

$2.85 LKR 949

4.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,542

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.17 Rp 148.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,941

$0.41 LKR 135

7.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 Rp 8,489

$0.31 LKR 103

51.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.60 Rp 101.6K

$0.88 LKR 294

536.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

$1.31 LKR 436

-36.64%

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

$24.4K Rp 443.5M

$43.3K LKR 14.4M

-43.60%

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

$31.7K Rp 575.0M

$45.6K LKR 15.2M

-30.53%

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

$77.5 Rp 1.4M

$56.4 LKR 18.8K

37.42%

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

$6.14 Rp 111.5K

$4.10 LKR 1,364

49.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.92 Rp 343.1K

$20.92 LKR 6,957

-9.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 Rp 925.0K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.25 Rp 331.0K

Cinema Ticket

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

$4.56 LKR 1,516

-3.95%

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

$492 Rp 8.9M

$39.87 LKR 13.3K

1135.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K Rp 221.7M

$17.5K LKR 5.8M

-30.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.16 Rp 819.2K

$18.42 LKR 6,127

145.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.89 Rp 632.9K

$17.75 LKR 5,904

96.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 Rp 1.4M

$77.5 LKR 25.8K

1.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.9 Rp 1.4M

$41.50 LKR 13.8K

87.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 Rp 19.5M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 Rp 12.1M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,510 Rp 63.7M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,671 Rp 30.3M

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

12.5

10.24%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: November 1, 2026

Last update for Vavuniya: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$665 50%

Vavuniya

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$279 21%

Vavuniya

$245 48% 12.3% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$106 8%

Vavuniya

$70 13.7% 34.3% $36

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 8%

Vavuniya

$103 20.2% 2.3% $2.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$103 7.7%

Vavuniya

$81 15.9% 20.6% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$60 4.5%

Vavuniya

$9.1 * 1.8% 84.8% $51

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Vavuniya

$2 * 0.4% 83.7% $10

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $35 in Ubud, Bali vs $15 in Vavuniya for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $279 vs $245 per month, with Vavuniya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇱🇰 Vavuniya

🕒 Local time

18:07 6:07 PM

15:37 3:37 PM

2 h 30 min behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

99,600

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.91 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.68 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 November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 18,140 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,384 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.91 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 374 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Vavuniya 4,300 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Vavuniya

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 Vavuniya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Vavuniya wins on cost – living expenses run 62% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Vavuniya the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,996 in Ubud, Bali and $766 in Vavuniya 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 14% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,331 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $511 in Vavuniya – Vavuniya is about 62% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $511 in Vavuniya versus $1,331 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Vavuniya but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Vavuniya 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 Vavuniya are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.