Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wellington and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubud, Bali: $1,331 a month against $2,274 in Wellington, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in Wellington
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Wellington Living Index
64

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

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Wellington

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$2,274

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,331

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Wellington 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 Wellington and in Ubud, Bali actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,274 in Wellington versus $1,331 in Ubud, Bali.

Wellington $2,274
Ubud, Bali $1,331

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,372 in Wellington versus $2,255 in Ubud, Bali.

Wellington $3,372
Ubud, Bali $2,255

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,470 in Wellington versus $3,180 in Ubud, Bali.

Wellington $4,470
Ubud, Bali $3,180

Living in Wellington is roughly 71% more expensive than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Wellington is 68% above, Ubud, Bali is 2% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.09 NZ$25.41

$3.38 Rp 61.1K

316.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.6 NZ$118

$34.65 Rp 627.3K

89.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.40 NZ$16.96

$5.57 Rp 100.9K

68.76%

Cappuccino

$3.32 NZ$5.98

$2.62 Rp 47.4K

26.72%

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

$2.35 NZ$4.24

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

52.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 NZ$3.13

$0.64 Rp 11.6K

170.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.32 NZ$13.20

$2.67 Rp 48.3K

174.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.65 NZ$11.99

$4.26 Rp 77.2K

56.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.83 NZ$3.29

$1.46 Rp 26.5K

25.34%

White Bread (500g)

$2.13 NZ$3.85

$2.29 Rp 41.5K

-6.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.84 NZ$3.31

$1.11 Rp 20.0K

65.77%

Eggs

$6.89 NZ$12.44

$2.10 Rp 38.0K

228.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.32 NZ$16.80

$15.94 Rp 288.6K

-41.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 NZ$17.80

$3.88 Rp 70.3K

154.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.86 NZ$26.80

$11.40 Rp 206.4K

30.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 NZ$5.32

$3.55 Rp 64.3K

-16.90%

Banana (1kg)

$2.21 NZ$3.98

$1.54 Rp 27.8K

43.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.02 NZ$5.44

$2.23 Rp 40.4K

35.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.27 NZ$11.32

$1.97 Rp 35.7K

218.27%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 NZ$3.79

$1.86 Rp 33.6K

12.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.40 NZ$2.52

$2.42 Rp 43.8K

-42.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.04 NZ$3.67

$1.02 Rp 18.6K

100.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 NZ$2.13

$0.52 Rp 9,456

126.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.59 NZ$44.36

$2.20 Rp 39.8K

1017.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.27 NZ$20.33

$21.79 Rp 394.4K

-48.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.23 NZ$5.83

$2.33 Rp 42.1K

38.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.94 NZ$5.30

$2.97 Rp 53.8K

-1.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.78 NZ$5.01

$0.25 Rp 4,533

1012.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$104 NZ$188

$8.17 Rp 148.0K

1174.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.84 NZ$3.31

$0.44 Rp 7,925

318.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 NZ$3.22

$0.47 Rp 8,472

278.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.07 NZ$61.5

$5.60 Rp 101.4K

508.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.82 NZ$3.28

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

119.28%

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

$27.7K NZ$50.0K

$24.4K Rp 442.6M

13.36%

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

$23.6K NZ$42.6K

$31.7K Rp 573.8M

-25.40%

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

$188 NZ$339

$77.5 Rp 1.4M

142.41%

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

$31.98 NZ$57.7

$6.14 Rp 111.2K

420.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.7 NZ$93.3

$18.92 Rp 342.4K

173.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.71 NZ$66.2

$51.0 Rp 923.1K

-28.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.00 NZ$28.86

$18.25 Rp 330.4K

-12.33%

Cinema Ticket

$12.00 NZ$21.65

$4.38 Rp 79.3K

173.97%

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

$1,062 NZ$1,916

$492 Rp 8.9M

115.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.7K NZ$40.9K

$12.2K Rp 221.2M

85.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.3 NZ$141

$45.16 Rp 817.6K

73.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.75 NZ$50.1

$34.89 Rp 631.6K

-20.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 NZ$184

$78.3 Rp 1.4M

29.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 NZ$272

$77.9 Rp 1.4M

93.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,148 NZ$2,070

$1,078 Rp 19.5M

6.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,064 NZ$1,919

$665 Rp 12.0M

60.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,996 NZ$3,601

$3,510 Rp 63.5M

-43.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,796 NZ$3,239

$1,671 Rp 30.2M

7.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,545 NZ$11.8K

$2,340 Rp 42.4M

179.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,561 NZ$6,423

$2,236 Rp 40.5M

59.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,741 NZ$4,944

$166 Rp 3.0M

1547.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.39

13.78

-60.89%

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

Last update for Wellington: November 1, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Wellington

$1.1K 46.8%

Ubud, Bali

$665 50% 37.5% $399

Groceries & Markets

Wellington

$344 15.1%

Ubud, Bali

$279 21% 18.7% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wellington

$272 11.9%

Ubud, Bali

$103 7.7% 62.2% $169

Eating Out

Wellington

$247 10.9%

Ubud, Bali

$106 8% 57.2% $141

Clothing & Footwear

Wellington

$161 7.1%

Ubud, Bali

$106 8% 34.1% $55

Getting Around

Wellington

$126 5.5%

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9% 90.5% $114

Sport & Entertainment

Wellington

$61 2.7%

Ubud, Bali

$60 4.5% 1.6% $1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,148 in Wellington and $1,078 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Wellington pays about 16 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66 in Wellington vs $35 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $344 vs $279 per month, with Ubud, Bali cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇿 Wellington

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

05:04 5:04 AM

00:04 12:04 AM

5 h behind Wellington

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

215,900 Capital

74,800

💱 Currency

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 NZD = 0.554 USD

1 NZD = 0.494 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.52 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to NZD – New Zealand Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar ($)

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.8 NZD (1 NZD = 0.554 USD). 1 EUR = 2.03 NZD (1 NZD = 0.494 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 18,103 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.52 USD). 1 EUR = 20,331 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR).

USD to NZD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Wellington Ubud, Bali 6,860 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Wellington
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

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

Ubud, Bali wins on cost – living expenses run 41% lower than in Wellington. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Ubud, Bali the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Wellington is about 16 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,148 in Wellington versus $1,078 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,062 in Wellington versus $492 in Ubud, Bali. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 23% higher in Wellington. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Ubud, Bali is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ubud, Bali delivers better value at $1,331 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ubud, Bali hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Wellington and Ubud, Bali are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Ubud, Bali gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Wellington. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.