Balivs
LondonBali vs London: cost, size & quality of life compared
Trying to decide between Bali and London? Here's the honest bottom line first — then the full, sourced breakdown on cost of living, salary, safety and quality of life.
London comes out ahead overall — by a narrow edge.
But the "winner" depends on what you care about. Here's who takes each dimension:
LondonBaliLondonLondonComposite scores
Overall: London wins by 0.6 points
Population & size
Is Bali bigger than London?
London is the bigger city: about 9.0M people versus Bali's 4.3M — roughly 2.1× larger.
City-proper / metro population estimates. Size is one input — scroll on for cost of living, salary equivalence and quality-of-life scoring.
National income
Is Bali richer than London?
The two sit on different measures, so we are not ranking them: Indonesia is reported as income per capita (GNI, PPP) ($16,010), United Kingdom as average annual wage ($63,691). A full-time wage and a whole-population income per head are not the same quantity.
Country-level figures — Bali is not Indonesia and London is not United Kingdom, and both cities typically pay above their national average. Gross, before tax: see take-home pay by country for what lands in the account.
Distance
How far is Bali from London?
Bali is about 12,500 km (7,770 mi) from London in a straight line — roughly 15 h 25 m of nonstop flight time.
Great-circle distance, not a routed itinerary; flight estimate assumes ~850 km/h cruise plus 45 minutes of taxi, climb and descent.
Climate
Is Bali warmer than London?
Bali is the warmer city: January highs average 31°C vs 8°C, and July 29°C vs 23°C. Bali gets noticeably more sun — about 900 more sunshine hours per year.
| Month | Bali | London |
|---|---|---|
| January (high / low) | 31° / 24°C | 8° / 2°C |
| July (high / low) | 29° / 22°C | 23° / 14°C |
Tropical — warm year-round with a real dry season (May-Sep, the digital-nomad high season) and a humid rainy season Dec-Mar.
Famously gray and damp. Mild winters compared to continental peers, cool summers — heatwaves above 30°C still rare.
Bali's 5.4 score edges out London's 4.9, driven by significantly lower cost of living and simpler bureaucracy for relocating professionals rather than cultural amenities alone.
London typically dominates global city rankings; Bali's narrow 0.5-point advantage reflects how ranking criteria increasingly reward affordability and remote-work infrastructure over traditional metrics.
If cost and regulatory friction matter more than institutional density, Bali merits serious consideration—but verify visa requirements and timezone impact on your specific work situation before committing.
Data signals
What separates Bali and London
How decisive
London comes out ahead by 0.6 composite points — a narrow edge.
Biggest difference
The widest gap is healthcare, where London leads by 4.9 points.
Where they match
They're most evenly matched on quality of life — within 0.5 points of each other.
Overall cost gap
Total monthly costs in London run about 181% higher than in Bali.
Where budgets split most
Transport is the line item that diverges most: roughly 3114% pricier in London than Bali.
Size difference
London is the larger metro — about 2.1× the population of the other, which shapes commute times, housing supply and how "big-city" daily life feels.
Home internet
London has the faster typical broadband (170 vs 50 Mbps median) — worth weighing if you work remotely or move large files.
Score-by-score, side-by-side
Each axis is scored independently with disclosed weights and a calculation string.
The exact scores and winners:
| Axis | Bali | London | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Affordability | 7.3 | 3.2 | Bali +4.1 |
| Quality of life | 5.9 | 6.4 | London +0.5 |
| Remote-work friendliness | 5.2 | 5.9 | London +0.7 |
| Healthcare | 3.4 | 8.3 | London +4.9 |
Each axis is a weighted aggregate of underlying indicators normalized to a 0–10 scale. Weights are explicit and disclosed per axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes — axes are not collapsed further because the underlying trade-offs (e.g. low cost vs poor air quality) are user-dependent.
Affordability
- Cost-of-living index (weight 60%)29
- Rent index (weight 40%)25
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For Bali: ((100 − 29)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 25)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 7.3.
Bali sits well below the New York baseline on both cost-of-living and rent. Budgets stretch further here than in benchmark Tier-1 cities.
Quality of life
- Safety index (weight 40%)62
- Healthcare index (weight 35%)48
- Air quality index (weight 25%)70
How this is calculated
QoL = (safety/100 × 0.4 + healthcare/100 × 0.35 + airQuality/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Bali: (62/100 × 0.4 + 48/100 × 0.35 + 70/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.9.
Bali has a mixed quality profile. Safety: good; healthcare: fair; air: good. Weigh the weakest axis against your personal priorities.
Remote-work friendliness
- Internet (median Mbps) (weight 45%)50 Mbps
- Effective income tax (lower = better) (weight 30%)10.0%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)29
How this is calculated
RemoteWork = (min(Mbps/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − incomeTax) × 0.3 + (100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.25) × 10. For Bali: (min(50/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − 0.1) × 0.3 + (100 − 29)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.2.
Bali works for remote work but isn't optimized for it: internet 50 Mbps, income tax 10%, cost index 29.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)48
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)661267
How this is calculated
Healthcare = (qualityIndex/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − OOP/500) × 0.3) × 10. For Bali: (48/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − 661267/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 3.4.
Bali has trade-offs in healthcare: quality is fair, typical out-of-pocket cost is ~661267 IDR/month. Cross-border insurance closes the gap.
Each axis is a weighted aggregate of underlying indicators normalized to a 0–10 scale. Weights are explicit and disclosed per axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes — axes are not collapsed further because the underlying trade-offs (e.g. low cost vs poor air quality) are user-dependent.
Affordability
- Cost-of-living index (weight 60%)70
- Rent index (weight 40%)65
How this is calculated
Affordability = ((100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − rentIndex)/100 × 0.4) × 10. For London: ((100 − 70)/100 × 0.6 + (100 − 65)/100 × 0.4) × 10 = 3.2.
London is among the more expensive cities tracked. Salary expectations should be calibrated to the high cost base before relocating.
Quality of life
- Safety index (weight 40%)60
- Healthcare index (weight 35%)75
- Air quality index (weight 25%)55
How this is calculated
QoL = (safety/100 × 0.4 + healthcare/100 × 0.35 + airQuality/100 × 0.25) × 10. For London: (60/100 × 0.4 + 75/100 × 0.35 + 55/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 6.4.
London has a mixed quality profile. Safety: good; healthcare: good; air: good. Weigh the weakest axis against your personal priorities.
Remote-work friendliness
- Internet (median Mbps) (weight 45%)170 Mbps
- Effective income tax (lower = better) (weight 30%)14.8%
- Cost-of-living (lower = better) (weight 25%)70
How this is calculated
RemoteWork = (min(Mbps/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − incomeTax) × 0.3 + (100 − costIndex)/100 × 0.25) × 10. For London: (min(170/300, 1) × 0.45 + (1 − 0.1478) × 0.3 + (100 − 70)/100 × 0.25) × 10 = 5.9.
London works for remote work but isn't optimized for it: internet 170 Mbps, income tax 15%, cost index 70.
Healthcare
- Healthcare quality index (weight 70%)75
- Healthcare out-of-pocket / month (lower = better) (weight 30%)0
How this is calculated
Healthcare = (qualityIndex/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − OOP/500) × 0.3) × 10. For London: (75/100 × 0.7 + max(0, 1 − 0/500) × 0.3) × 10 = 8.3.
London combines good system quality with a manageable out-of-pocket cost (~0 GBP/month). Travel insurance still recommended for non-residents.
Monthly cost delta: Bali vs London
Normalized to IDR at 1 GBP = 23696.3425 IDR.
| Category | Bali | London | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| housing | IDR 17,490,230 | £2,233 | +203% |
| food | IDR 3,857,393 | £292 | +79% |
| transport | IDR 147,469 | £200 | +3114% |
| utilities | IDR 1,460,256 | £275 | +346% |
| leisure | IDR 4,408,450 | £324 | +74% |
| healthcare | IDR 661,267 | £0 | -100% |
Where each city's money goes
Two cities can have the same monthly total but very different shapes — one might burn 50% on housing while the other splits more evenly. The composition matters as much as the headline.
The biggest shape difference is leisure: Bali spends 6.0 percentage points more of its budget on it (16% vs. 10%). If you're sensitive to that category, weight the per-axis scores accordingly.
Buying property
Apartment prices: Bali vs London
Approximate asking prices in EUR per square meter (as of 2025-01), central vs mid-distance neighborhoods.
Buying in central Bali runs about 80% cheaper per square meter (€2,400/m² vs €12,000/m²).
Midpoints of public listing ranges — a scoping number for rent-vs-buy thinking, not a valuation. Renting comparisons live in the cost table above.
Getting around
Public transport: Bali vs London
Monthly pass and casual-ride pricing in EUR (as of 2025-01) plus the modes each network runs.
Trans Metro Dewata buses exist on paper-thin coverage — Bali life runs on scooters and Gojek/Grab. The figure reflects bus fares few expats actually use.
Single ride: €0.25 · Modes: Bus
Travelcard zones 1-2 ≈ £170/mo; Oyster pay-as-you-go with daily caps is usually cheaper than the monthly for most commute patterns.
Day pass: €8.5 · Modes: Metro, Tram, Bus, Commuter rail, Ferry, Light rail
Salary equivalence: Bali ↔ London
What earning the same purchasing power costs in each city. Cost-adjusted using the local cost-of-living index (Bali = 29, London = 70); currency-converted at 1 GBP = 23696.3425 IDR. Tax differences are not modeled.
| Bali gross | London equivalent |
|---|---|
| IDR 40,000 | £4 |
| IDR 75,000 | £8 |
| IDR 120,000 | £12 |
| London gross | Bali equivalent |
|---|---|
| £40,000 | IDR 392,682,247 |
| £75,000 | IDR 736,279,212 |
| £120,000 | IDR 1,178,046,740 |
Equivalence here means same cost-of-living purchasing power, not same net take-home. Effective tax rates differ between countries; a salary equivalent on cost can still net more or less depending on the destination's tax regime. Use the calculator for tax-adjusted figures at a specific lifestyle tier.
Pros and cons
Why pick Bali
- Wins on affordability (+4.1 points vs London).
Why pick London
- Wins on quality of life (+0.5 points vs Bali).
- Wins on remote-work friendliness (+0.7 points vs Bali).
- Wins on healthcare (+4.9 points vs Bali).
Bali trade-offs
- Trails London on quality of life by 0.5 points.
- Trails London on remote-work friendliness by 0.7 points.
- Trails London on healthcare by 4.9 points.
London trade-offs
- Trails Bali on affordability by 4.1 points.
Remote work logistics
Time zones and language: Bali vs London
Bali (Asia/Makassar) and London (Europe/London) sit 8 hours apart in standard time. A 9-to-5 in one overlaps the other's for 0 hours a day — fully asynchronous collaboration. Note: London observes daylight saving while Bali doesn't, so the gap shifts by an hour part of the year.
Official: Indonesian · English: High · Local language: Helpful
The nomad economy (Canggu, Ubud) runs in English end-to-end. Bahasa Indonesia is appreciated and helps outside the expat bubbles; Balinese is the local layer.
Official: English · English: Native-equivalent · Local language: Not needed
English-native. Multicultural enough that other languages are common in specific neighborhoods but English is the universal default for everything.
Who should choose which
The composite winner doesn't always match what matters to you. These four reader profiles weigh the axes differently — find the closest fit.
Single, salaried remote worker, 25-40, optimizing for runway + bandwidth.
Axes scored: affordability, remoteWork
Couple with school-age children, prioritizing safety, healthcare, and air quality.
Axes scored: qualityOfLife, healthcare
Fixed income, healthcare-sensitive, prefers low cost and stable infrastructure.
Axes scored: healthcare, qualityOfLife, affordability
Salary stretch matters most. Cuts everything else if it lowers the burn rate.
Axes scored: affordability
Profiles use simple axis averaging — for a deeper read with your own weights, use the per-axis breakdown above.
Going deeper
Visa landscape for both countries — and case studies that touch this corridor.
Tools that work for either choice
Some links below are affiliate links — if you sign up we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
How this page is calculated
Data sources
- Mundevo per-city dataset. Cost basket, rent index, safety, healthcare, air quality and median internet for both cities. Reference date: 2026-06-10 (Bali) and 2026-05-23 (London).
- FX rate. 1 GBP = 23696.3425 IDR, used to normalize cost baskets.
- CityScoreCalculator. Four axes (Affordability, Quality of life, Remote work, Healthcare) computed with explicit weights and explanations. See per-axis calculation strings rendered on this page.
- ComparisonService. Per-category cost deltas (housing, food, transport, utilities, leisure, healthcare) normalized to the origin currency.
Update cadence
Data as of . Last reviewed .
Calculation
For each of the four axes we compute an independent 0–10 score using the formulas printed beside each axis. The composite is the unweighted mean of the four axes. The overall winner is the city with the higher composite, unless the margin is under 0.05 points — in which case Bali is shown first as a tiebreaker to keep results stable.
Limitations
- Climate is not scored — we don't yet hold a maintained climate dataset, so weather-driven preferences are not modeled.
- Tax differences between cities in the same country are not modeled (Spain and Germany don't have material regional differences for this dataset).
- Indices are population-level. Personal cost varies with neighborhood, employer benefits and family status.
- Quality-of-life axis weights (safety 0.4 / healthcare 0.35 / air 0.25) are editorial defaults — readers with strong preferences should re-weight manually.
Frequently asked questions
Bali vs London: which is cheaper?
Bali is roughly 181% cheaper than London on the monthly cost basket (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare). Bali has cost index 29 vs London at 70 (both with New York = 100).
Which city has better quality of life?
Bali scores 5.4/10 on the Mundevo composite versus London at 6.0/10. The composite weights safety (40%), healthcare (35%) and air quality (25%). London wins overall by 0.6 points.
Is Bali or London better for remote work?
Bali has 50 Mbps median internet vs London at 170 Mbps. The four-axis decision rubric on this page (affordability, quality of life, remote work, healthcare) gives a per-dimension breakdown rather than a single answer.
Is Bali bigger than London?
London is larger — about 9.0M people versus Bali's 4.3M, roughly 2.1× the size.
Is Bali safer than London?
Bali and London score similarly on safety (62 vs 60 / 100 on the Mundevo safety index).
Should I move to Bali or London?
It depends on what you weight. London wins the overall Mundevo composite by 0.6 points, but Bali is cheaper, and the two split differently across affordability, quality of life, remote work and healthcare. Use the per-axis table and the reader-profile section above to match the verdict to your own priorities.