Cost of living comparison
Cape Town vs. Ubud Cost of Living Summary
Cape Town is 54.5% more expensive than Ubud.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.7 times more in Cape Town
- Groceries
-
pay 4.9% less in Cape Town
- Transportation
-
pay 99.1% more in Cape Town
- Housing
-
pay 75.3% more in Cape Town
- Childcare
-
pay 11.7% less in Cape Town
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 44.2% more in Cape Town
- Clothing
-
pay 42.2% more in Cape Town
The cost of restaurants, transportation, housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Cape Town are more expensive than in Ubud. Expenses including childcare and groceries are lower in Cape Town. Notably, restaurants, transportation, and housing are significantly more expensive in Cape Town.
Cape Town vs. Ubud Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Cape Town instead of Ubud, you would:
pay 2.7 times more for restaurants
|
Ubud
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$2.79
IDR50,439.02
|
$12.02
ZAR198.22
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$3.07
IDR55,482.92
|
$6.01
ZAR99.11
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.30
IDR23,538.21
|
$1.30
ZAR21.44
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.41
IDR7,439.76
|
$0.99
ZAR16.37
|
|
pay 4.9% less for groceries
|
Ubud
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.84
IDR33,289.75
|
$1.23
ZAR20.34
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.31
IDR150K
|
$4.39
ZAR72.41
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.50
IDR99,284.90
|
$4.99
ZAR82.36
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.22
IDR40,149.46
|
$3.14
ZAR51.78
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.69
IDR30,566.05
|
$3.07
ZAR50.65
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.55
IDR28,033.46
|
$0.85
ZAR13.99
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.68
IDR12,214.68
|
$0.87
ZAR14.35
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.00
IDR17,971.05
|
$0.77
ZAR12.72
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.56
IDR10,135.30
|
$0.95
ZAR15.70
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.66
IDR11,839.77
|
$0.70
ZAR11.51
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.96
IDR17,342.12
|
$0.68
ZAR11.29
|
|
pay 99.1% more for transportation
|
Ubud
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.76
IDR49,852.48
|
$5.86
ZAR96.61
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$60.09
ZAR991.09
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,199.28
IDR437M
|
$35,391.94
ZAR584K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$3.14
IDR56,651.73
|
$12.62
ZAR208.13
|
|
pay 75.3% more for housing
|
Ubud
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$18.63
IDR336K
|
$39.98
ZAR659.39
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$544.82
IDR10M
|
$1,017.49
ZAR16,782.53
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$407.10
IDR7M
|
$706.64
ZAR11,655.27
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$62.40
IDR1M
|
$88.53
ZAR1,460.27
|
|
pay 11.7% less for childcare
|
Ubud
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$440.88
IDR8M
|
$262.39
ZAR4,327.78
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$5,207.68
IDR94M
|
$6,820.14
ZAR112K
|
|
pay 44.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Ubud
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.24
IDR40,351.22
|
$3.00
ZAR49.55
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.00
IDR36,147.97
|
$2.43
ZAR40.04
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.12
IDR38,333.66
|
$3.61
ZAR59.47
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.69
IDR933K
|
$49.37
ZAR814.26
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.63
IDR65,570.73
|
$9.01
ZAR148.66
|
|
pay 42.2% more for clothing
|
Ubud
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$43.44
IDR784K
|
$55.49
ZAR915.30
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$22.35
IDR404K
|
$32.30
ZAR532.71
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$76.00
IDR1M
|
$119.84
ZAR1,976.68
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$75.10
IDR1M
|
$105.58
ZAR1,741.49
|
|
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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