Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zhongshan and Ubud, Bali

For one person, living is cheaper in Zhongshan: $695 a month against $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

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Cost of Living Index in Zhongshan
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Zhongshan Living Index
66

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

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Zhongshan

🇨🇳 China

$695

/mo nomad

Ubud, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$1,353

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $695 in Zhongshan versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali.

Zhongshan $695
Ubud, Bali $1,353

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,110 in Zhongshan versus $2,297 in Ubud, Bali.

Zhongshan $1,110
Ubud, Bali $2,297

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,525 in Zhongshan versus $3,241 in Ubud, Bali.

Zhongshan $1,525
Ubud, Bali $3,241

Living in Zhongshan costs roughly 49% less than in Ubud, Bali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Zhongshan is 49% below, Ubud, Bali is 0% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.01 ¥20.14

$3.23 Rp 58.1K

-6.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.23 ¥162

$34.88 Rp 627.8K

-30.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.45 ¥29.76

$5.70 Rp 102.5K

-21.93%

Cappuccino

$2.83 ¥18.91

$2.62 Rp 47.1K

8.02%

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

$0.47 ¥3.11

$1.72 Rp 31.0K

-72.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ¥1.91

$0.81 Rp 14.6K

-64.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.77 ¥5.13

$2.65 Rp 47.7K

-70.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 ¥12.05

$4.37 Rp 78.6K

-58.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 ¥10.26

$1.57 Rp 28.3K

-2.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 ¥10.99

$2.19 Rp 39.5K

-25.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.68 ¥4.56

$1.18 Rp 21.2K

-42.37%

Eggs

$1.24 ¥8.29

$2.16 Rp 38.8K

-42.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$20.87 ¥140

$17.65 Rp 317.7K

18.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.80 ¥18.72

$3.78 Rp 68.0K

-25.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.54 ¥90.5

$11.95 Rp 215.1K

13.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.14 ¥14.34

$3.60 Rp 64.8K

-40.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 ¥7.20

$1.59 Rp 28.6K

-32.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.68 ¥4.56

$2.31 Rp 41.6K

-70.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.46 ¥9.76

$1.91 Rp 34.3K

-23.56%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 ¥3.89

$1.78 Rp 32.1K

-67.42%

Onion (1kg)

$0.72 ¥4.84

$2.33 Rp 41.9K

-69.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.43 ¥2.86

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

-57.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 ¥3.56

$0.53 Rp 9,509

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.93 ¥19.58

$2.29 Rp 41.1K

27.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.80 ¥78.9

$22.07 Rp 397.3K

-46.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 ¥4.62

$2.35 Rp 42.2K

-70.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 ¥12.12

$2.98 Rp 53.6K

-39.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 ¥1.91

$0.23 Rp 4,112

26.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.11 ¥101

$8.90 Rp 160.2K

69.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.45 ¥9.68

$0.47 Rp 8,466

208.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.41 ¥2.75

$0.43 Rp 7,737

-4.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.01 ¥46.88

$5.47 Rp 98.4K

28.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 ¥8.70

$0.83 Rp 14.9K

56.63%

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

$19.6K ¥131.2K

$23.9K Rp 429.8M

-17.79%

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

$18.2K ¥121.6K

$32.8K Rp 590.1M

-44.51%

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

$40.99 ¥274

$80.0 Rp 1.4M

-48.76%

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

$10.15 ¥67.9

$6.56 Rp 118.1K

54.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.59 ¥84.2

$18.60 Rp 334.8K

-32.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.0 ¥448

$54.1 Rp 974.1K

23.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.62 ¥50.9

$18.28 Rp 329.0K

-58.32%

Cinema Ticket

$5.81 ¥38.88

$4.25 Rp 76.5K

36.71%

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

$317 ¥2,117

$493 Rp 8.9M

-35.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.4K ¥89.4K

$5,597 Rp 100.7M

138.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.42 ¥324

$45.58 Rp 820.4K

6.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.64 ¥265

$34.96 Rp 629.4K

13.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.9 ¥401

$77.7 Rp 1.4M

-22.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$75.5 ¥505

$78.5 Rp 1.4M

-3.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$210 ¥1,407

$1,131 Rp 20.4M

-81.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$125 ¥834

$673 Rp 12.1M

-81.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$376 ¥2,517

$3,613 Rp 65.0M

-89.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$217 ¥1,453

$1,702 Rp 30.6M

-87.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,531 ¥16.9K

$2,717 Rp 48.9M

-6.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,509 ¥10.1K

$2,241 Rp 40.3M

-32.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$956 ¥6,391

$166 Rp 3.0M

474.52%

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 Zhongshan: October 19, 2026

Last update for Ubud, Bali: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Zhongshan

$226 32.5%

Ubud, Bali

$287 21.2% 27.1% $61

Accommodation & Living

Zhongshan

$125 17.9%

Ubud, Bali

$673 49.7% 440% $548

Clothing & Footwear

Zhongshan

$101 14.5%

Ubud, Bali

$107 7.9% 5.9% $6

Eating Out

Zhongshan

$82 11.8%

Ubud, Bali

$106 7.9% 30.1% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Zhongshan

$79 11.3%

Ubud, Bali

$63 4.6% 20.4% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zhongshan

$64 9.2%

Ubud, Bali

$105 7.8% 65% $41

Getting Around

Zhongshan

$20 2.8%

Ubud, Bali

$12 0.9% 37.1% $7.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $210 in Zhongshan and $1,131 in Ubud, Bali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zhongshan pays 475% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $24.00 in Zhongshan vs $35.00 in Ubud, Bali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $226 vs $287 per month, with Zhongshan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇳 Zhongshan

🇮🇩 Ubud, Bali

🕒 Local time

07:25 7:25 AM

Same time as Zhongshan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,209,600

74,800

💱 Currency

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.56 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.94 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 October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 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 CNY in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Zhongshan Ubud, Bali 3,460 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Zhongshan
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

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

Zhongshan wins on cost – living expenses run 95% lower than in Ubud, Bali. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Zhongshan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 475% higher in Zhongshan, 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: $210 in Zhongshan versus $1,131 in Ubud, Bali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $317 in Zhongshan 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 27% higher in Ubud, Bali. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $695 in Zhongshan versus $1,353 in Ubud, Bali, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Zhongshan but tight or insufficient in Ubud, Bali. The gap between the two cities makes Zhongshan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Zhongshan delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $695 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Zhongshan hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Zhongshan 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 Zhongshan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 95% less than in Ubud, Bali. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.