Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Zhangjiagang

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhangjiagang: $740 a month against $1,368 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
36

Cost of Living Index in Zhangjiagang
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Zhangjiagang Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,368

/mo nomad

Zhangjiagang

🇨🇳 China

$740

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,368 in Ubud, Bali versus $740 in Zhangjiagang.

Ubud, Bali $1,368
Zhangjiagang $740

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,314 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,149 in Zhangjiagang.

Ubud, Bali $2,314
Zhangjiagang $1,149

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,260 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,558 in Zhangjiagang.

Ubud, Bali $3,260
Zhangjiagang $1,558

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 85% more expensive than in Zhangjiagang, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ubud, Bali is 1% above, Zhangjiagang is 45% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.33 Rp 59.9K

$3.80 ¥25.42

-12.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.18 Rp 633.2K

$22.20 ¥148

58.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.80 Rp 104.5K

$4.98 ¥33.31

16.47%

Cappuccino

$2.73 Rp 49.1K

$3.04 ¥20.32

-10.20%

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

$1.64 Rp 29.5K

$0.49 ¥3.29

234.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

$0.27 ¥1.81

207.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.70 Rp 48.6K

$1.51 ¥10.09

78.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.30 Rp 77.4K

$2.22 ¥14.84

93.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 Rp 27.1K

$2.08 ¥13.89

-27.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.30 Rp 41.4K

$2.09 ¥13.95

10.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

$0.84 ¥5.64

40.48%

Eggs

$2.14 Rp 38.6K

$1.36 ¥9.09

57.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.48 Rp 314.6K

$10.64 ¥71.1

64.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.03 Rp 72.5K

$2.93 ¥19.59

37.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.23 Rp 220.1K

$9.12 ¥61.0

34.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.55 Rp 63.9K

$2.04 ¥13.65

74.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

$1.29 ¥8.64

21.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.24 Rp 40.2K

$1.80 ¥12.03

24.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.93 Rp 34.7K

$1.11 ¥7.39

73.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 Rp 33.9K

$0.90 ¥5.99

108.89%

Onion (1kg)

$2.29 Rp 41.3K

$0.90 ¥6.03

154.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 Rp 17.9K

$0.87 ¥5.80

13.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 Rp 9,475

$0.53 ¥3.51

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.28 Rp 41.1K

$3.64 ¥24.37

-37.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.01 Rp 414.2K

$13.44 ¥89.9

71.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.34 Rp 42.2K

$0.94 ¥6.27

148.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 Rp 52.4K

$1.56 ¥10.44

86.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.24 Rp 4,315

$0.30 ¥1.99

-20.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.82 Rp 158.7K

$17.58 ¥118

-49.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.48 Rp 8,684

$1.76 ¥11.78

-72.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.46 Rp 8,233

$0.39 ¥2.60

17.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 Rp 98.2K

$8.76 ¥58.6

-37.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.88 Rp 15.9K

$1.37 ¥9.14

-35.77%

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

$24.6K Rp 442.2M

$19.2K ¥128.2K

28.11%

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

$31.2K Rp 561.4M

$16.9K ¥112.7K

85.04%

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

$83.0 Rp 1.5M

$55.8 ¥373

48.90%

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

$6.45 Rp 116.0K

$7.76 ¥51.9

-16.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.57 Rp 334.2K

$7.32 ¥48.97

153.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.8 Rp 1.0M

$36.15 ¥242

54.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.11 Rp 326.0K

$16.01 ¥107

13.12%

Cinema Ticket

$4.38 Rp 78.9K

$6.07 ¥40.60

-27.84%

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

$493 Rp 8.9M

$418 ¥2,793

18.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,754 Rp 103.6M

$22.3K ¥149.4K

-74.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.19 Rp 831.4K

$42.99 ¥287

7.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.33 Rp 636.0K

$34.04 ¥228

3.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

$65.7 ¥439

20.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.4 Rp 1.4M

$88.5 ¥591

-11.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,142 Rp 20.6M

$280 ¥1,869

308.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$676 Rp 12.2M

$194 ¥1,295

248.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,503 Rp 63.1M

$719 ¥4,808

387.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,700 Rp 30.6M

$324 ¥2,167

424.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,784 Rp 50.1M

$3,266 ¥21.8K

-14.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

$1,685 ¥11.3K

32.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$165 Rp 3.0M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

3.42

302.92%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 11, 2026

Last update for Zhangjiagang: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$676 49.4%

Zhangjiagang

$194 26.2% 71.3% $482

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$290 21.2%

Zhangjiagang

$204 27.6% 29.7% $86

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$109 8%

Zhangjiagang

$97 13.1% 10.9% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$108 7.9%

Zhangjiagang

$71 9.6% 34.4% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$108 7.9%

Zhangjiagang

$104 14.1% 3.3% $3.5

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$65 4.7%

Zhangjiagang

$48 6.5% 25.2% $16

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$13 0.9%

Zhangjiagang

$22 3% 79.1% $9.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,142 in Ubud, Bali and $280 in Zhangjiagang. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Ubud, Bali vs $22.00 in Zhangjiagang for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $290 vs $204 per month, with Zhangjiagang cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇨🇳 Zhangjiagang

🕒 Local time

13:32 1:32 PM

Same time as Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

1,432,044

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 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 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).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ubud, Bali Zhangjiagang 4,530 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Zhangjiagang

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 Zhangjiagang: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zhangjiagang wins on cost – living expenses run 85% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Zhangjiagang the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,051 in Ubud, Bali and $1,110 in Zhangjiagang 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,142 in Ubud, Bali versus $280 in Zhangjiagang. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $493 in Ubud, Bali versus $418 in Zhangjiagang. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $740 in Zhangjiagang versus $1,368 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zhangjiagang but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Zhangjiagang the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Zhangjiagang delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $740 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Zhangjiagang hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Ubud, Bali and Zhangjiagang 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 Zhangjiagang gentler on the wallet – expenses run 85% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.