Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ubud, Bali and Zihuatanejo

For one person, living is cheaper in Zihuatanejo: $1,131 a month against $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Ubud, Bali outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

66

Cost of Living Index in Ubud, Bali
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Ubud, Bali Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Zihuatanejo
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Zihuatanejo Living Index

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Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,353

/mo nomad

Zihuatanejo

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,131

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,353 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,131 in Zihuatanejo.

Ubud, Bali $1,353
Zihuatanejo $1,131

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,297 in Ubud, Bali versus $1,824 in Zihuatanejo.

Ubud, Bali $2,297
Zihuatanejo $1,824

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,241 in Ubud, Bali versus $2,517 in Zihuatanejo.

Ubud, Bali $3,241
Zihuatanejo $2,517

Living in Ubud, Bali is roughly 20% more expensive than in Zihuatanejo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.23 Rp 58.0K

$10.86 MX$203

-70.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.88 Rp 626.2K

$44.16 MX$827

-21.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.70 Rp 102.3K

$8.74 MX$164

-34.78%

Cappuccino

$2.62 Rp 47.0K

$3.48 MX$65.2

-24.71%

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

$1.72 Rp 30.9K

$1.36 MX$25.45

26.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

$1.02 MX$19.08

-20.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 Rp 47.5K

$2.45 MX$45.89

8.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 Rp 78.4K

$3.98 MX$74.4

9.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 Rp 28.2K

$1.66 MX$31.05

-5.42%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 Rp 39.4K

$2.55 MX$47.69

-14.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 Rp 21.1K

$1.65 MX$30.90

-28.48%

Eggs

$2.16 Rp 38.7K

$2.44 MX$45.61

-11.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.65 Rp 316.9K

$8.11 MX$152

117.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.78 Rp 67.9K

$8.52 MX$159

-55.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.95 Rp 214.6K

$11.56 MX$216

3.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.60 Rp 64.7K

$2.72 MX$51.0

32.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 Rp 28.6K

$1.56 MX$29.27

1.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.31 Rp 41.5K

$1.94 MX$36.39

19.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.91 Rp 34.2K

$1.77 MX$33.10

7.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 Rp 32.0K

$1.94 MX$36.24

-8.25%

Onion (1kg)

$2.33 Rp 41.8K

$1.88 MX$35.15

23.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 Rp 17.9K

$1.43 MX$26.71

-30.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 Rp 9,486

$1.09 MX$20.47

-51.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.29 Rp 41.0K

$4.28 MX$80.1

-46.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.07 Rp 396.4K

$10.27 MX$192

114.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.35 Rp 42.1K

$1.82 MX$34.04

29.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 Rp 53.4K

$3.06 MX$57.3

-2.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 Rp 4,102

$0.68 MX$12.77

-66.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.90 Rp 159.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.47 Rp 8,445

$2.61 MX$48.93

-81.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 Rp 7,718

$2.02 MX$37.88

-78.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.47 Rp 98.2K

$11.18 MX$209

-51.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.83 Rp 14.8K

$1.44 MX$26.93

-42.36%

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

$23.9K Rp 428.7M

$21.3K MX$398.4K

12.16%

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

$32.8K Rp 588.7M

$23.9K MX$447.0K

37.28%

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

$80.0 Rp 1.4M

$57.3 MX$1,072

39.70%

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

$6.56 Rp 117.8K

$23.00 MX$431

-71.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.60 Rp 334.0K

$29.80 MX$558

-37.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.1 Rp 971.7K

$34.76 MX$651

55.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.28 Rp 328.2K

$20.02 MX$375

-8.69%

Cinema Ticket

$4.25 Rp 76.4K

$5.14 MX$96.2

-17.32%

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

$493 Rp 8.8M

$216 MX$4,041

128.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,597 Rp 100.5M

$4,526 MX$84.7K

23.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.58 Rp 818.4K

$55.5 MX$1,038

-17.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.96 Rp 627.8K

$40.25 MX$753

-13.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

$98.5 MX$1,844

-21.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.5 Rp 1.4M

$90.0 MX$1,684

-12.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,131 Rp 20.3M

$596 MX$11.1K

89.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$673 Rp 12.1M

$384 MX$7,182

75.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,613 Rp 64.9M

$1,053 MX$19.7K

243.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,702 Rp 30.6M

$759 MX$14.2K

124.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,717 Rp 48.8M

$1,915 MX$35.8K

41.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 Rp 40.2M

$1,149 MX$21.5K

95.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$166 Rp 3.0M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.78

11.3

21.95%

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

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 19, 2026

Last update for Zihuatanejo: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ubud, Bali

$673 49.7%

Zihuatanejo

$384 34% 43% $289

Groceries & Markets

Ubud, Bali

$287 21.2%

Zihuatanejo

$264 23.3% 8.1% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Ubud, Bali

$107 7.9%

Zihuatanejo

$128 11.3% 20% $21

Eating Out

Ubud, Bali

$106 7.9%

Zihuatanejo

$185 16.3% 73.4% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ubud, Bali

$105 7.8%

Zihuatanejo

$110 9.7% 4.7% $4.9

Sport & Entertainment

Ubud, Bali

$63 4.6%

Zihuatanejo

$45 4% 28.1% $18

Getting Around

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9%

Zihuatanejo

$15 * 1.4% 24.4% $3

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 $596 in Zihuatanejo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35 in Ubud, Bali vs $44 in Zihuatanejo. Groceries flip the comparison at $287 vs $264, with Zihuatanejo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🇲🇽 Zihuatanejo

🕒 Local time

18:56 6:56 PM

04:56 4:56 AM

14 h behind Ubud, Bali

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,800

67,408

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.57 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.96 EUR

100 MXN = 5.34 USD

100 MXN = 4.76 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 26, 2026: 1 USD = 17,956 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.57 USD). 1 EUR = 20,146 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.96 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 18.72 MXN (100 MXN = 5.34 USD). 1 EUR = 21 MXN (100 MXN = 4.76 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ubud, Bali Zihuatanejo 15,910 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Ubud, Bali
Zihuatanejo

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 Zihuatanejo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zihuatanejo wins on cost – living expenses run 16% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Zihuatanejo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,030 in Ubud, Bali and $1,696 in Zihuatanejo 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: $1,131 in Ubud, Bali versus $596 in Zihuatanejo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,353 per month in Ubud, Bali versus $1,131 in Zihuatanejo – a 20% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,500 a month, though Zihuatanejo gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Zihuatanejo is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Ubud, Bali, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Ubud, Bali and Zihuatanejo are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.