Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Varkala and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Varkala: $383 a month against $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $11,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

19

Cost of Living Index in Varkala
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Varkala Living Index
65

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

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Varkala

🇮🇳 India

$383

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,349

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Varkala and in Ubud, Bali actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $383 in Varkala versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali.

Varkala $383
Ubud, Bali $1,349

Estimated couple costs with rent: $611 in Varkala versus $2,305 in Ubud, Bali.

Varkala $611
Ubud, Bali $2,305

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $839 in Varkala versus $3,261 in Ubud, Bali.

Varkala $839
Ubud, Bali $3,261

Living in Varkala costs roughly 72% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.30 ₹219

$3.32 Rp 59.9K

-30.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$10.55 ₹1,003

$35.64 Rp 642.4K

-70.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.55 ₹338

$5.53 Rp 99.7K

-35.80%

Cappuccino

$1.51 ₹143

$2.72 Rp 49.0K

-44.49%

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

$0.40 ₹38.47

$1.70 Rp 30.7K

-76.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.17 ₹15.96

$0.76 Rp 13.7K

-77.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 ₹169

$2.65 Rp 47.8K

-32.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 ₹292

$4.38 Rp 79.0K

-29.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.71 ₹67.8

$1.49 Rp 26.9K

-52.35%

White Bread (500g)

$0.45 ₹42.48

$2.28 Rp 41.0K

-80.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.67 ₹64.0

$1.19 Rp 21.5K

-43.70%

Eggs

$0.94 ₹89.6

$2.04 Rp 36.7K

-53.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.02 ₹477

$17.70 Rp 319.1K

-71.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.04 ₹289

$3.96 Rp 71.4K

-23.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.19 Rp 219.7K

Apples (1kg)

$2.03 ₹193

$3.66 Rp 65.9K

-44.54%

Banana (1kg)

$0.75 ₹71.0

$1.52 Rp 27.4K

-50.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.94 ₹89.7

$2.23 Rp 40.2K

-57.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.54 ₹51.7

$1.97 Rp 35.6K

-72.59%

Potato (1kg)

$0.36 ₹33.86

$1.85 Rp 33.3K

-80.54%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 ₹43.33

$2.42 Rp 43.7K

-80.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.45 ₹43.05

$0.99 Rp 17.8K

-54.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.31 ₹29.93

$0.51 Rp 9,255

-39.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.98 ₹379

$2.22 Rp 40.0K

79.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.30 ₹694

$22.24 Rp 400.9K

-67.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 ₹162

$2.26 Rp 40.7K

-24.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 ₹272

$2.97 Rp 53.5K

-3.70%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$5.52 ₹525

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.28 ₹26.44

$0.25 Rp 4,525

12.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.50 ₹808

$7.82 Rp 141.0K

8.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.84 ₹79.9

$0.44 Rp 7,923

90.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.25 ₹23.76

$0.43 Rp 7,753

-41.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.49 ₹141

$5.41 Rp 97.5K

-72.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 ₹111

$0.82 Rp 14.9K

42.68%

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

$13.8K ₹1.3M

$23.8K Rp 429.7M

-42.03%

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

$21.9K ₹2.1M

$31.7K Rp 572.3M

-31.09%

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

$38.84 ₹3,694

$79.1 Rp 1.4M

-50.87%

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

$3.53 ₹335

$6.45 Rp 116.2K

-45.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.21 ₹686

$18.58 Rp 334.9K

-61.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.07 ₹1,528

$49.48 Rp 892.0K

-67.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.04 ₹670

$17.65 Rp 318.1K

-60.11%

Cinema Ticket

$2.86 ₹272

$4.27 Rp 77.0K

-33.02%

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

$50.6 ₹4,810

$491 Rp 8.8M

-89.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,531 ₹145.6K

$5,674 Rp 102.3M

-73.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$24.03 ₹2,286

$44.64 Rp 804.7K

-46.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.85 ₹2,364

$34.95 Rp 630.1K

-28.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$42.77 ₹4,068

$79.9 Rp 1.4M

-46.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$30.58 ₹2,909

$79.4 Rp 1.4M

-61.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$122 ₹11.6K

$1,125 Rp 20.3M

-89.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$75.1 ₹7,138

$671 Rp 12.1M

-88.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$275 ₹26.1K

$3,565 Rp 64.3M

-92.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$182 ₹17.3K

$1,723 Rp 31.1M

-89.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,076 ₹102.3K

$2,732 Rp 49.2M

-60.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$611 ₹58.1K

$2,284 Rp 41.2M

-73.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$164 Rp 3.0M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.67

13.78

-37.08%

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

Last update for Varkala: October 26, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Varkala

$106 27.6%

Ubud, Bali

$288 21.4% 173% $183

Accommodation & Living

Varkala

$75 19.6%

Ubud, Bali

$672 49.8% 795% $596

Eating Out

Varkala

$64 16.8%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 67% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Varkala

$55 14.3%

Ubud, Bali

$108 8% 95.4% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Varkala

$50 12.9%

Ubud, Bali

$104 7.7% 110% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Varkala

$22 5.7%

Ubud, Bali

$58 4.3% 166% $36

Getting Around

Varkala

$12 3.1%

Ubud, Bali

$11 0.9% 2.4% $0.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $122 in Varkala and $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $11 in Varkala vs $36 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $106 vs $288 per month, with Varkala cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇳 Varkala

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

16:40 4:40 PM

19:10 7:10 PM

2 h 30 min ahead of Varkala

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

50,000

74,800

💱 Currency

Indian Rupee INR ₹

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 INR = 10.51 USD

1,000 INR = 9.45 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.55 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to INR – Indian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇳 Indian Rupee (₹)

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 95.1 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.45 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18,025 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.55 USD). 1 EUR = 20,061 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.98 EUR).

USD to INR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Varkala Ubud, Bali 4,680 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Varkala
Ubud, Bali

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

Varkala vs Ubud, Bali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Varkala wins on cost – living expenses run 72% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Varkala the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $575 in Varkala and $2,023 in Ubud, Bali 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: $122 in Varkala versus $1,125 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $51 in Varkala versus $491 in Ubud, Bali. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 173% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $383 in Varkala versus $1,349 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Varkala but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Varkala the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Varkala delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $383 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Varkala hard to pass up.

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