Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Zanzibar

For one person, living is cheaper in Zanzibar: $579 a month against $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in Zanzibar
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Zanzibar Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,353

/mo nomad

Zanzibar

🇹🇿 Tanzania

$579

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,353 in Ubud, Bali versus $579 in Zanzibar.

Ubud, Bali $1,353
Zanzibar $579

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,297 in Ubud, Bali versus $864 in Zanzibar.

Ubud, Bali $2,297
Zanzibar $864

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,241 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,148 in Zanzibar.

Ubud, Bali $3,241
Zanzibar $1,148

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 134% more expensive than in Zanzibar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubud, Bali is 0% above, Zanzibar is 57% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.23 Rp 58.1K

$4.70 TZS 12.3K

-31.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.88 Rp 627.8K

$22.08 TZS 57.8K

57.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.70 Rp 102.5K

$5.59 TZS 14.6K

1.97%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.1K

$2.20 TZS 5,769

19.09%

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

$1.72 Rp 31.0K

$0.58 TZS 1,520

196.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

$0.30 TZS 776

170.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 47.7K

$1.86 TZS 4,879

42.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 Rp 78.6K

$2.58 TZS 6,764

69.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

$2.11 TZS 5,521

-25.59%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 Rp 39.5K

$0.71 TZS 1,859

208.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$0.79 TZS 2,058

49.37%

Eggs

$2.16 Rp 38.8K

$2.71 TZS 7,092

-20.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.65 Rp 317.7K

$7.58 TZS 19.9K

132.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.78 Rp 68.0K

$2.21 TZS 5,776

71.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.95 Rp 215.1K

$5.87 TZS 15.4K

103.58%

Apples (1kg)

$3.60 Rp 64.8K

$2.78 TZS 7,271

29.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 Rp 28.6K

$1.15 TZS 3,001

38.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 Rp 41.6K

$0.78 TZS 2,050

196.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

$0.55 TZS 1,428

247.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 Rp 32.1K

$0.90 TZS 2,351

97.78%

Onion (1kg)

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

$1.55 TZS 4,063

50.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

$0.76 TZS 2,003

31.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 Rp 9,509

$0.49 TZS 1,274

8.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.29 Rp 41.1K

$2.08 TZS 5,445

10.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.07 Rp 397.3K

$9.55 TZS 25.0K

131.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 Rp 42.2K

$1.50 TZS 3,921

56.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 Rp 53.6K

$1.35 TZS 3,536

120.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 Rp 4,112

$0.31 TZS 825

-25.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.90 Rp 160.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 Rp 8,466

$3.69 TZS 9,672

-87.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,737

$0.73 TZS 1,920

-41.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.47 Rp 98.4K

$2.66 TZS 6,964

105.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

$1.21 TZS 3,180

-31.40%

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

$23.9K Rp 429.8M

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

$32.8K Rp 590.1M

$48.9K TZS 128.1M

-32.99%

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

$80.0 Rp 1.4M

$74.3 TZS 194.6K

7.64%

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

$6.56 Rp 118.1K

$11.29 TZS 29.6K

-41.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.60 Rp 334.8K

$48.43 TZS 126.8K

-61.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 Rp 974.1K

$28.77 TZS 75.3K

88.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.28 Rp 329.0K

Cinema Ticket

$4.25 Rp 76.5K

$9.26 TZS 24.3K

-54.10%

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

$493 Rp 8.9M

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,597 Rp 100.7M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.58 Rp 820.4K

$13.12 TZS 34.3K

247.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.96 Rp 629.4K

$16.88 TZS 44.2K

107.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

$15.05 TZS 39.4K

416.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.5 Rp 1.4M

$13.05 TZS 34.2K

501.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,131 Rp 20.4M

$147 TZS 385.1K

669.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$673 Rp 12.1M

$100 TZS 262.1K

572.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,613 Rp 65.0M

$198 TZS 518.2K

1725.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,702 Rp 30.6M

$148 TZS 388.8K

1046.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,717 Rp 48.9M

$37.8K TZS 99.1M

-92.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

$11.5K TZS 30.1M

-80.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

$312 TZS 816.7K

-46.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

37.80%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 19, 2026

Last update for Zanzibar: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$673 49.7%

Zanzibar

$100 17.3% 85.1% $573

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$287 21.2%

Zanzibar

$164 28.3% 42.9% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$107 7.9%

Zanzibar

$26 4.5% 75.5% $80

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 7.9%

Zanzibar

$99 17.1% 7.2% $7.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$105 7.8%

Zanzibar

$134 23.2% 27.5% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$63 4.6%

Zanzibar

$47 8.2% 24.5% $15

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Zanzibar

$8.6 * 1.5% 30.7% $3.8

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 $1,131 in Ubud, Bali and $147 in Zanzibar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zanzibar pays 87% 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 $22.00 in Zanzibar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $287 vs $164 per month, with Zanzibar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇹🇿 Zanzibar

🕒 Local time

00:12 12:12 AM

19:12 7:12 PM

5 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

709,809

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Tanzanian Shilling TZS Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

10,000 TZS = 3.82 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TZS, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

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

Tanzanian Shilling exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 2,619 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.82 USD). 1 EUR = 2,944 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Zanzibar 8,380 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Zanzibar

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 Zanzibar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zanzibar wins on cost – living expenses run 134% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Zanzibar the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 87% lower in Zanzibar. 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: $1,131 in Ubud, Bali versus $147 in Zanzibar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,353 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $579 in Zanzibar – a 134% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Supermarket bills run roughly 75% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $579 in Zanzibar versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zanzibar but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Zanzibar the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Zanzibar delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $579 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Zanzibar hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ubud, Bali and Zanzibar 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 Zanzibar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 134% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.