Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zalau and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Zalau: $871 a month against $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Zalau
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Zalau Living Index
66

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

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Zalau

🇷🇴 Romania

$871

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,353

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $871 in Zalau versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali.

Zalau $871
Ubud, Bali $1,353

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,327 in Zalau versus $2,297 in Ubud, Bali.

Zalau $1,327
Ubud, Bali $2,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,783 in Zalau versus $3,241 in Ubud, Bali.

Zalau $1,783
Ubud, Bali $3,241

Living in Zalau costs roughly 36% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Zalau is 36% below, Ubud, Bali is 0% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.52 RON 35.59

$3.23 Rp 58.1K

132.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.18 RON 166

$34.88 Rp 627.8K

0.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.25 RON 24.83

$5.70 Rp 102.5K

-7.89%

Cappuccino

$2.18 RON 10.30

$2.62 Rp 47.1K

-16.79%

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

$1.49 RON 7.07

$1.72 Rp 31.0K

-13.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.24 RON 5.86

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

53.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.87 RON 8.83

$2.65 Rp 47.7K

-29.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 RON 11.19

$4.37 Rp 78.6K

-45.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 RON 6.53

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

-12.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.13 RON 5.34

$2.19 Rp 39.5K

-48.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.23 RON 5.84

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

4.24%

Eggs

$1.97 RON 9.31

$2.16 Rp 38.8K

-8.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.88 RON 37.28

$17.65 Rp 317.7K

-55.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.50 RON 26.01

$3.78 Rp 68.0K

45.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.45 RON 49.45

$11.95 Rp 215.1K

-12.55%

Apples (1kg)

$0.80 RON 3.79

$3.60 Rp 64.8K

-77.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.29 RON 6.09

$1.59 Rp 28.6K

-18.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.44 RON 6.83

$2.31 Rp 41.6K

-37.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.89 RON 8.96

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

-1.05%

Potato (1kg)

$0.66 RON 3.13

$1.78 Rp 32.1K

-62.92%

Onion (1kg)

$0.56 RON 2.63

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

-75.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.61 RON 2.89

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

-39.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 RON 3.44

$0.53 Rp 9,509

37.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.94 RON 23.39

$2.29 Rp 41.1K

115.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.20 RON 24.59

$22.07 Rp 397.3K

-76.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 RON 5.06

$2.35 Rp 42.2K

-54.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.14 RON 5.40

$2.98 Rp 53.6K

-61.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 RON 3.84

$0.23 Rp 4,112

252.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.39 RON 101

$8.90 Rp 160.2K

140.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.82 RON 3.89

$0.47 Rp 8,466

74.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.82 RON 3.86

$0.43 Rp 7,737

90.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.61 RON 36.03

$5.47 Rp 98.4K

39.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 RON 7.08

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

80.72%

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

$28.5K RON 135.0K

$23.9K Rp 429.8M

19.51%

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

$25.7K RON 121.8K

$32.8K Rp 590.1M

-21.47%

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

$102 RON 481

$80.0 Rp 1.4M

27.20%

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

$4.27 RON 20.22

$6.56 Rp 118.1K

-34.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$6.29 RON 29.74

$18.60 Rp 334.8K

-66.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.09 RON 157

$54.1 Rp 974.1K

-38.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.48 RON 102

$18.28 Rp 329.0K

17.51%

Cinema Ticket

$5.38 RON 25.46

$4.25 Rp 76.5K

26.59%

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

$420 RON 1,985

$493 Rp 8.9M

-14.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,019 RON 33.2K

$5,597 Rp 100.7M

25.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.5 RON 248

$45.58 Rp 820.4K

15.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.12 RON 143

$34.96 Rp 629.4K

-13.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$56.8 RON 269

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

-26.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$62.1 RON 294

$78.5 Rp 1.4M

-20.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$383 RON 1,812

$1,131 Rp 20.4M

-66.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$288 RON 1,362

$673 Rp 12.1M

-57.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$586 RON 2,772

$3,613 Rp 65.0M

-83.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$445 RON 2,104

$1,702 Rp 30.6M

-73.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,818 RON 8,602

$2,717 Rp 48.9M

-33.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,323 RON 6,257

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

-40.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$621 RON 2,936

$166 Rp 3.0M

273.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.85

13.78

-50.29%

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

Last update for Zalau: October 18, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Zalau

$288 33.1%

Ubud, Bali

$673 49.7% 134% $385

Groceries & Markets

Zalau

$180 20.6%

Ubud, Bali

$287 21.2% 59.9% $108

Eating Out

Zalau

$127 14.6%

Ubud, Bali

$106 7.9% 16.2% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zalau

$112 12.9%

Ubud, Bali

$105 7.8% 6.4% $7.2

Clothing & Footwear

Zalau

$91 10.4%

Ubud, Bali

$107 7.9% 17.5% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Zalau

$44 5%

Ubud, Bali

$63 4.6% 42.8% $19

Getting Around

Zalau

$30 3.4%

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9% 57.9% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $383 in Zalau and $1,131 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zalau pays 273% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $35.00 in Zalau vs $35.00 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $180 vs $287 per month, with Zalau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Zalau

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

13:52 1:52 PM

18:52 6:52 PM

5 h ahead of Zalau

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

56,202

74,800

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

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).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Zalau Ubud, Bali 10,870 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Zalau
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

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

Zalau wins on cost – living expenses run 55% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Zalau the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 273% higher in Zalau, 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: $383 in Zalau versus $1,131 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $420 in Zalau versus $493 in Ubud, Bali. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 60% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $871 in Zalau versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Zalau but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Zalau the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Zalau delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $871 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Zalau hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Zalau 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.

Expats usually find Zalau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.