Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Xi'an and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Xi’an: $755 a month against $1,331 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Xi'an
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Xi'an Living Index
64

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

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Xi'an

🇨🇳 China

$755

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,331

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $755 in Xi’an versus $1,331 in Ubud, Bali.

Xi'an $755
Ubud, Bali $1,331

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,173 in Xi’an versus $2,255 in Ubud, Bali.

Xi'an $1,173
Ubud, Bali $2,255

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,592 in Xi’an versus $3,180 in Ubud, Bali.

Xi'an $1,592
Ubud, Bali $3,180

Living in Xi’an costs roughly 43% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Xi’an 44% lower, Ubud, Bali 2% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.92 ¥19.47

$3.38 Rp 61.2K

-13.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.34 ¥122

$34.65 Rp 628.6K

-47.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.55 ¥30.32

$5.57 Rp 101.1K

-18.31%

Cappuccino

$2.10 ¥13.96

$2.62 Rp 47.5K

-19.85%

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

$0.42 ¥2.78

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

-72.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.80

$0.64 Rp 11.6K

-57.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.47 ¥9.76

$2.67 Rp 48.4K

-44.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 ¥9.90

$4.26 Rp 77.3K

-65.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 ¥9.72

$1.46 Rp 26.5K

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 ¥11.53

$2.29 Rp 41.6K

-24.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.87 ¥5.77

$1.11 Rp 20.1K

-21.62%

Eggs

$1.47 ¥9.76

$2.10 Rp 38.1K

-30.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.43 ¥76.1

$15.94 Rp 289.2K

-28.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.46 ¥29.74

$3.88 Rp 70.4K

14.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.65 ¥70.9

$11.40 Rp 206.8K

-6.58%

Apples (1kg)

$1.63 ¥10.83

$3.55 Rp 64.4K

-54.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.16 ¥7.71

$1.54 Rp 27.9K

-24.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.14 ¥7.58

$2.23 Rp 40.5K

-48.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.31 ¥8.75

$1.97 Rp 35.8K

-33.50%

Potato (1kg)

$0.64 ¥4.27

$1.86 Rp 33.7K

-65.59%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 ¥5.28

$2.42 Rp 43.9K

-67.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.70 ¥4.65

$1.02 Rp 18.6K

-31.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ¥3.65

$0.52 Rp 9,475

5.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.46 ¥23.07

$2.20 Rp 39.9K

57.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.13 ¥74.1

$21.79 Rp 395.2K

-48.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 ¥5.38

$2.33 Rp 42.2K

-65.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 ¥11.61

$2.97 Rp 53.9K

-41.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ¥2.08

$0.25 Rp 4,542

24.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.59 ¥164

$8.17 Rp 148.3K

200.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.25 ¥8.35

$0.44 Rp 7,941

184.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 ¥1.90

$0.47 Rp 8,489

-38.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.55 ¥23.65

$5.60 Rp 101.6K

-36.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 ¥9.11

$0.83 Rp 15.0K

65.06%

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

$19.2K ¥127.9K

$24.4K Rp 443.5M

-21.47%

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

$17.5K ¥116.6K

$31.7K Rp 575.0M

-44.78%

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

$88.4 ¥589

$77.5 Rp 1.4M

14.12%

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

$6.47 ¥43.13

$6.14 Rp 111.5K

5.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.74 ¥71.5

$18.92 Rp 343.1K

-43.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.85 ¥199

$51.0 Rp 925.0K

-41.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.42 ¥143

$18.25 Rp 331.0K

17.37%

Cinema Ticket

$5.70 ¥38.00

$4.38 Rp 79.5K

30.14%

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

$908 ¥6,045

$492 Rp 8.9M

84.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.3K ¥148.8K

$12.2K Rp 221.7M

82.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.32 ¥262

$45.16 Rp 819.2K

-12.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.62 ¥251

$34.89 Rp 632.9K

7.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.2 ¥508

$78.3 Rp 1.4M

-2.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 ¥725

$77.9 Rp 1.4M

39.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$290 ¥1,932

$1,078 Rp 19.5M

-73.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 ¥1,250

$665 Rp 12.1M

-71.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$715 ¥4,761

$3,510 Rp 63.7M

-79.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$361 ¥2,404

$1,671 Rp 30.3M

-78.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,285 ¥15.2K

$2,340 Rp 42.4M

-2.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,598 ¥10.6K

$2,236 Rp 40.6M

-28.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,262 ¥8,403

$166 Rp 3.0M

658.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.35

13.78

-75.69%

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

Last update for Xi'an: November 3, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Xi'an

$199 26.3%

Ubud, Bali

$279 21% 40.7% $81

Accommodation & Living

Xi'an

$188 24.9%

Ubud, Bali

$665 50% 254% $477

Clothing & Footwear

Xi'an

$118 15.6%

Ubud, Bali

$106 8% 9.8% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Xi'an

$106 14%

Ubud, Bali

$103 7.7% 2.9% $3.1

Eating Out

Xi'an

$75 10%

Ubud, Bali

$106 8% 40.5% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Xi'an

$41 5.5%

Ubud, Bali

$60 4.5% 44.8% $19

Getting Around

Xi'an

$29 3.8%

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9% 58.1% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $290 in Xi’an and $1,078 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Xi’an pays about 7.6 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $18 in Xi’an vs $35 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $199 vs $279 per month, with Xi’an cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Xi'an

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

15:36 3:36 PM

Same time as Xi'an

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,183,280

74,800

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to CNY – Chinese Yuan Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇳 Chinese Yuan (¥)

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 6.66 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.47 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 18,140 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,336 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR).

USD to CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Xi'an Ubud, Bali 4,800 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Xi'an
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

Xi'an vs Ubud, Bali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Xi’an wins on cost – living expenses run 43% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Xi’an the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Xi’an is about 7.6 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: $290 in Xi’an versus $1,078 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $908 in Xi’an 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 41% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.