Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Xi'an

For one person, living is cheaper in Xi’an: $755 a month against $1,331 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Xi'an
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Xi'an Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,331

/mo nomad

Xi'an

🇨🇳 China

$755

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ubud, Bali and in Xi'an

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,331 in Ubud, Bali versus $755 in Xi’an.

Ubud, Bali $1,331
Xi'an $755

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,255 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,173 in Xi’an.

Ubud, Bali $2,255
Xi'an $1,173

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,180 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,592 in Xi’an.

Ubud, Bali $3,180
Xi'an $1,592

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 76% more expensive than in Xi’an, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ubud, Bali 2% lower, Xi’an 44% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.38 Rp 61.3K

$2.92 ¥19.47

15.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.65 Rp 628.8K

$18.34 ¥122

88.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.57 Rp 101.2K

$4.55 ¥30.32

22.42%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.5K

$2.10 ¥13.96

24.76%

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

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

$0.42 ¥2.78

266.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.64 Rp 11.6K

$0.27 ¥1.80

137.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.67 Rp 48.4K

$1.47 ¥9.76

81.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.26 Rp 77.4K

$1.49 ¥9.90

185.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 Rp 26.5K

$1.46 ¥9.72

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 Rp 41.6K

$1.73 ¥11.53

32.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.11 Rp 20.1K

$0.87 ¥5.77

27.59%

Eggs

$2.10 Rp 38.1K

$1.47 ¥9.76

42.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.94 Rp 289.3K

$11.43 ¥76.1

39.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.88 Rp 70.5K

$4.46 ¥29.74

-13.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.40 Rp 206.9K

$10.65 ¥70.9

7.04%

Apples (1kg)

$3.55 Rp 64.5K

$1.63 ¥10.83

117.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

$1.16 ¥7.71

32.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

$1.14 ¥7.58

95.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

$1.31 ¥8.75

50.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 Rp 33.7K

$0.64 ¥4.27

190.63%

Onion (1kg)

$2.42 Rp 43.9K

$0.79 ¥5.28

206.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 Rp 18.6K

$0.70 ¥4.65

45.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 Rp 9,479

$0.55 ¥3.65

-5.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.20 Rp 39.9K

$3.46 ¥23.07

-36.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.79 Rp 395.4K

$11.13 ¥74.1

95.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.33 Rp 42.2K

$0.81 ¥5.38

187.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

$1.74 ¥11.61

70.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.25 Rp 4,544

$0.31 ¥2.08

-19.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.17 Rp 148.4K

$24.59 ¥164

-66.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 Rp 7,944

$1.25 ¥8.35

-64.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.47 Rp 8,493

$0.29 ¥1.90

62.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.60 Rp 101.6K

$3.55 ¥23.65

57.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

$1.37 ¥9.11

-39.42%

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

$24.4K Rp 443.7M

$19.2K ¥127.9K

27.34%

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

$31.7K Rp 575.2M

$17.5K ¥116.6K

81.10%

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

$77.5 Rp 1.4M

$88.4 ¥589

-12.37%

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

$6.14 Rp 111.5K

$6.47 ¥43.12

-5.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.92 Rp 343.3K

$10.74 ¥71.5

76.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 Rp 925.4K

$29.85 ¥199

70.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.25 Rp 331.2K

$21.42 ¥143

-14.80%

Cinema Ticket

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

$5.70 ¥38.00

-23.16%

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

$492 Rp 8.9M

$908 ¥6,045

-45.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.2K Rp 221.8M

$22.3K ¥148.8K

-45.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.16 Rp 819.6K

$39.32 ¥262

14.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.89 Rp 633.2K

$37.62 ¥251

-7.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 Rp 1.4M

$76.2 ¥508

2.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.9 Rp 1.4M

$109 ¥725

-28.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 Rp 19.6M

$290 ¥1,932

271.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$665 Rp 12.1M

$188 ¥1,250

254.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,510 Rp 63.7M

$715 ¥4,760

391.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,671 Rp 30.3M

$361 ¥2,404

363.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,340 Rp 42.5M

$2,285 ¥15.2K

2.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,236 Rp 40.6M

$1,598 ¥10.6K

39.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

$1,262 ¥8,402

-86.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

3.35

311.34%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: November 1, 2026

Last update for Xi'an: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$665 50%

Xi'an

$188 24.9% 71.8% $477

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$279 21%

Xi'an

$199 26.3% 28.9% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$106 8%

Xi'an

$118 15.6% 10.9% $12

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 8%

Xi'an

$75 10% 28.8% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$103 7.7%

Xi'an

$106 14% 3% $3.1

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$60 4.5%

Xi'an

$41 5.5% 31% $19

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Xi'an

$29 3.8% 139% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,078 in Ubud, Bali and $290 in Xi’an. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Xi’an pays about 7.6 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 $18 in Xi’an for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $279 vs $199 per month, with Xi’an cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇨🇳 Xi'an

🕒 Local time

16:03 4:03 PM

Same time as Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

12,183,280

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, 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).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 6.66 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.47 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ubud, Bali Xi'an 4,800 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Xi'an

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 Xi'an: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Xi’an wins on cost – living expenses run 43% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Xi’an the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 87% 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 $290 in Xi’an. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $492 in Ubud, Bali versus $908 in Xi’an. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

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.