Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Xalapa, Veracruz

For one person, living is cheaper in Xalapa, Veracruz: $807 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Xalapa, Veracruz
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Xalapa, Veracruz Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Xalapa, Veracruz

🇲🇽 Mexico

$807

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ubud, Bali and in Xalapa, Veracruz

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Ubud, Bali versus $807 in Xalapa, Veracruz.

Ubud, Bali $1,349
Xalapa, Veracruz $807

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,305 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,355 in Xalapa, Veracruz.

Ubud, Bali $2,305
Xalapa, Veracruz $1,355

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,261 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,904 in Xalapa, Veracruz.

Ubud, Bali $3,261
Xalapa, Veracruz $1,904

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 67% more expensive than in Xalapa, Veracruz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.32 Rp 60.4K

$5.79 MX$108

-42.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.64 Rp 647.8K

$43.41 MX$809

-17.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.53 Rp 100.6K

$6.44 MX$120

-14.13%

Cappuccino

$2.72 Rp 49.4K

$3.66 MX$68.2

-25.68%

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

$1.70 Rp 30.9K

$1.00 MX$18.56

70.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 Rp 13.8K

$0.74 MX$13.82

2.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 48.2K

$2.16 MX$40.28

22.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.38 Rp 79.6K

$3.25 MX$60.6

34.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 Rp 27.1K

$1.29 MX$24.12

15.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.28 Rp 41.4K

$2.17 MX$40.40

5.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$1.66 MX$30.90

-28.31%

Eggs

$2.04 Rp 37.0K

$2.24 MX$41.77

-8.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.70 Rp 321.7K

$6.22 MX$116

184.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 Rp 72.0K

$7.10 MX$132

-44.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 221.6K

$9.83 MX$183

24.01%

Apples (1kg)

$3.66 Rp 66.4K

$3.21 MX$59.8

14.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.52 Rp 27.6K

$1.31 MX$24.45

16.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$1.52 MX$28.26

46.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.9K

$1.43 MX$26.61

37.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 Rp 33.6K

$1.94 MX$36.16

-4.64%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 44.1K

$1.17 MX$21.81

106.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 18.0K

$1.12 MX$20.85

-11.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 Rp 9,332

$0.92 MX$17.11

-44.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.22 Rp 40.4K

$4.12 MX$76.9

-46.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.24 Rp 404.2K

$9.49 MX$177

134.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 Rp 41.1K

$1.22 MX$22.69

85.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 54.0K

$1.54 MX$28.70

92.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,562

$0.53 MX$9.85

-52.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.82 Rp 142.2K

$14.76 MX$275

-47.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,989

$1.95 MX$36.27

-77.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,817

$0.50 MX$9.29

-14.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.41 Rp 98.3K

$5.48 MX$102

-1.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 15.0K

$1.43 MX$26.64

-42.66%

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

$23.8K Rp 433.3M

$21.5K MX$401.1K

10.79%

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

$31.7K Rp 577.0M

$24.0K MX$446.6K

32.51%

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

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$62.3 MX$1,162

26.82%

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

$6.45 Rp 117.2K

$22.85 MX$426

-71.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.58 Rp 337.7K

$23.76 MX$443

-21.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.48 Rp 899.4K

$24.71 MX$461

100.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.65 Rp 320.8K

$19.63 MX$366

-10.09%

Cinema Ticket

$4.27 Rp 77.7K

$6.39 MX$119

-33.18%

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

$491 Rp 8.9M

$137 MX$2,550

258.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,674 Rp 103.1M

$11.5K MX$215.1K

-50.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.64 Rp 811.4K

$36.67 MX$683

21.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.95 Rp 635.3K

$54.8 MX$1,021

-36.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.9 Rp 1.5M

$107 MX$2,001

-25.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

$73.6 MX$1,371

7.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,125 Rp 20.4M

$230 MX$4,296

388.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$671 Rp 12.2M

$160 MX$2,982

319.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,565 Rp 64.8M

$563 MX$10.5K

532.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,723 Rp 31.3M

$367 MX$6,836

369.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,732 Rp 49.6M

$1,979 MX$36.9K

38.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,284 Rp 41.5M

$1,025 MX$19.1K

122.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

$815 MX$15.2K

-79.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

9.8

40.61%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Last update for Xalapa, Veracruz: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8%

Xalapa, Veracruz

$160 19.8% 76.2% $512

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4%

Xalapa, Veracruz

$223 27.6% 22.8% $66

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Xalapa, Veracruz

$134 16.6% 24.3% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 8%

Xalapa, Veracruz

$123 15.2% 14% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7%

Xalapa, Veracruz

$109 13.5% 4.7% $4.9

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3%

Xalapa, Veracruz

$37 4.7% 35.4% $21

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9%

Xalapa, Veracruz

$21 2.6% 86.6% $9.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,125 in Ubud, Bali and $230 in Xalapa, Veracruz. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Xalapa, Veracruz pays about 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: $36 in Ubud, Bali vs $43 in Xalapa, Veracruz. Groceries flip the comparison at $288 vs $223, with Xalapa, Veracruz cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇲🇽 Xalapa, Veracruz

🕒 Local time

08:18 8:18 AM

18:18 6:18 PM

14 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

443,063

💱 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 29, 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 29, 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 Xalapa, Veracruz 16,340 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Xalapa, Veracruz

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 Xalapa, Veracruz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Xalapa, Veracruz wins on cost – living expenses run 40% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Xalapa, Veracruz the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 80% 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 $230 in Xalapa, Veracruz. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $491 in Ubud, Bali versus $137 in Xalapa, Veracruz. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 29% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $807 in Xalapa, Veracruz versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Xalapa, Veracruz but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Xalapa, Veracruz 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 Xalapa, Veracruz are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.