In Bali in 2026, a full-time housekeeping job pays 3,500,000 to 4,500,000 IDR a month, a gardener or pool technician 3,000,000 to 4,000,000, a cook 4,000,000 to 6,000,000, a security guard 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 and a villa manager 8,000,000 to 12,000,000 — ranges recorded in February 2026 by a local operator, Bali Villa Hub.
Read those figures against a legal floor. Since 1 January 2026, the monthly minimum wage has been 3,791,003 IDR in the kabupaten of Badung (Canggu, Seminyak, Uluwatu, Jimbaran), 3,499,879 IDR in Denpasar, 3,316,798 IDR in Gianyar (Ubud), 3,287,679 IDR in Tabanan and 3,207,459 IDR across the five regencies with no floor of their own — Bali governor's decree no. 1021/03-M/HK/2025, signed on 23 December 2025. On top of that sit the THR, BPJS contributions and a severance payment of one month's salary per year of service. A large slice of the domestic market pays below that floor: this guide says where, and why.
What is the legal floor in Bali in 2026?
The floor that applies is the one for the regency where the villa stands, not the one where you happen to live. Bali sets a single provincial floor (UMP) and only four local floors (UMK): Badung, Denpasar, Gianyar and Tabanan. The other five regencies have no UMK of their own and default to the UMP. This is the firmest ground in the article: apart from BPJS contributions, also official, everything else here comes from commercial or community sources.
| Area | 2026 floor (IDR/month) | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Kab. Badung | 3,791,002.57 | Canggu, Seminyak, Kuta, Jimbaran, Uluwatu, Nusa Dua |
| Kota Denpasar | 3,499,878.78 | Denpasar, Sanur, Renon |
| Kab. Gianyar | 3,316,798.48 | Ubud, Sukawati, Tegallalang |
| Kab. Tabanan | 3,287,678.87 | Tabanan, Kedungu, Selemadeg |
| Bangli, Buleleng, Jembrana, Karangasem, Klungkung | 3,207,459 | Lovina, Amed, Sidemen, Nusa Penida |
| UMP Bali (provincial floor) | 3,207,459 | any area without a UMK of its own |
The UMP is up 7.04% on the 2,996,561 IDR of 2025, Badung 7.26%, and Denpasar gains 201,762.28 IDR in a year. Legal basis: governor's decrees no. 1011/03-M/HK/2025 (UMP) and no. 1021/03-M/HK/2025 (UMK).
A word on method: the official announcement from the province of Bali (ref. B.21.500.15/17588/IV/DISNAKER.ESDM, 25 December 2025) publishes its figures as scanned images, with no extractable text. The values above therefore come from five articles across three national outlets — Kompas, detikBali and GoodStats — which agree down to the decimal. The two decree numbers come from Kompas, the signature date from GoodStats; detikBali publishes the amounts without citing any decree number.
In plain terms: a full-time job in Canggu starts legally at 3,791,003 IDR a month; in Ubud, 3,316,798 IDR; in Amed, 3,207,459 IDR. If you take over a villa with its staff already in place — common on a yearly lease, see our guide to renting in Bali by the year — check what the previous tenant was paying.
Role by role: what villa employers actually pay
The only complete pay scale available publicly is the one Bali Villa Hub published on 21 February 2026. Take it for what it is: ranges observed by a local operator, not a legal reference. Elsewhere, the same publisher prints 2026 UMK figures that are rounded and wrong — 3,720,000 IDR quoted for Denpasar against 3,499,879 in reality, a gap of more than 220,000 IDR. So we use its market data, and never its regulatory numbers.
| Role | Monthly range (IDR) | Bottom of range vs Badung UMK |
|---|---|---|
| Housekeeper | 3,500,000 – 4,500,000 | below the floor (−291,003) |
| Gardener | 3,000,000 – 4,000,000 | below the floor (−791,003) |
| Pool technician | 3,000,000 – 4,000,000 | below the floor (−791,003) |
| Cook | 4,000,000 – 6,000,000 | above |
| Security guard (satpam) | 3,000,000 – 5,000,000 | below the floor (−791,003) |
| Driver | 3,000,000 – 5,000,000 | below the floor (−791,003) |
| Butler | 4,500,000 – 6,500,000 | above |
| Villa manager | 8,000,000 – 12,000,000 | above |
The right-hand column is the most useful thing in the table: for five roles out of eight, the bottom of the market range falls below the Badung minimum wage. That is not an error in the source, it is what a largely informal domestic sector looks like — and where the floor sits lower (Ubud, Tabanan, the north of the island), the gap closes on its own.
At the source's own reference rate (15,000 IDR to the dollar), a gardener works out at 200–267 USD a month, a villa manager 533–800 USD. These amounts sit on top of the rent and the rest of the monthly budget, which our cost of living in Bali broken down by profile sets out in detail.
Housekeeping: what rate for which arrangement?
Housekeeping is the most sought-after role and the most segmented. On 22 February 2026 Bali Villa Hub published a scale by working arrangement, separate from its villa scale:
| Working arrangement | Rate recorded (February 2026) |
|---|---|
| One-off day | 100,000 – 250,000 IDR / day |
| Part-time, by the week | 400,000 – 800,000 IDR / week |
| Full-time live-out (goes home at night) | 2,500,000 – 4,000,000 IDR / month |
| Full-time live-in (housed on site) | 1,800,000 – 3,200,000 IDR / month |
| Experienced profile (childcare + cooking) | 3,500,000 – 6,000,000 IDR / month |
Three things to know before you negotiate:
- The publisher contradicts itself a day apart: 3.5–4.5 M for a housekeeping job in its villa scale, 2.5–4 M live-out here. The two only reconcile if the villa scale is aiming at a more senior role, in a high-end house with structured staff.
- The entire live-in range sits below the legal minimum, ceiling included: 3,200,000 IDR is 7,459 IDR short of the UMP, the lowest floor on the island. Local practice counts room and board as part of the pay.
- Typical terms for a full-time live-out job: 8 hours a day, 6 days a week, public holidays paid by agreement, overtime at 1.5x.
If you are torn between hiring and outsourcing, compare against a service provider. On 17 July 2026 bTaskee was quoting 50,000 to 100,000 IDR an hour in Bali and Lombok, a deep clean at 12,000–20,000 IDR per m², a turnaround clean between two rentals at 180,000–310,000 IDR a visit and a contract with dedicated staff at 4,000,000–7,000,000 IDR a month. Dearer than a salary, since it carries the operator's margin and overheads, and built for commercial operations (Airbnb, aparthotels).
Gardener, pool, cook, security: the single-source roles
It has to be said plainly: for the gardener, the pool technician, the cook, the butler, the villa manager and the security guard, no second source could be verified. The ranges above rest on that one page of 21 February 2026, and the Balinese hotel salary databases, which would have provided a useful counterweight, stayed out of reach. Treat these figures as a starting point for negotiation, not as an established market rate.
What the reference community site expat.or.id does document is the list of roles genuinely common in an Indonesian household: driver, cook, housekeeper, nanny, satpam (guard) and gardener, live-in or live-out. The satpam is no expat affectation: it is a standard job, often shared between several houses on the same lane (gang), with night rotations.
Three reflexes before you compare two offers:
- Gardeners and pool technicians are rarely full-time on a single villa: many rotate across several properties, two or three half-days a week each. Check whether treatment products are included.
- Cook: the top of the range (6,000,000 IDR) buys someone who can handle both Indonesian and Western cooking, entertaining included.
- Security: ask about the pattern (day, night, 24-hour rotation). A monthly figure means nothing without the hours that go with it.
Driver: on the payroll, or hired by the day?
Employing a driver and hiring a car with a driver are neither the same price nor the same arrangement, and they do not compare term for term: the hire includes the vehicle and its upkeep.
| Arrangement | Rate (recorded February 2026) |
|---|---|
| Driver on the payroll | 3,000,000 – 5,000,000 IDR / month |
| Half day, 4 h, vehicle included | 350,000 – 450,000 IDR |
| Full day, 8–10 h, vehicle included | 600,000 – 800,000 IDR |
| Full day, premium or large-capacity vehicle | 900,000 – 1,200,000 IDR |
| Airport transfer | 150,000 – 300,000 IDR |
| Waiting time beyond the package | 50,000 IDR / hour |
| Customary tip | 50,000 – 100,000 IDR / day |
Four items are not automatically covered by the packages: site entrance fees (temples, waterfalls), the driver's meals, tolls and ferry crossings. Sometimes they are included, but only when the quote says so in black and white: have them spelled out before you set off.
The tipping point fits in one line: at 700,000 IDR a day, six outings a month cost 4,200,000 IDR, more than a salaried driver at the bottom of the range — except that the salaried driver does not come with a car. If you hire, yours will have to be in order: our guide to vehicle paperwork in Bali (STNK, BPKB, annual tax) sets out what must be current before you hand it to an employee.
Nanny: two markets, two price levels
Often recruited alongside the rest of the staff, the nanny is the role where sources diverge most, by a factor of 3.4: 3,500,000 – 6,000,000 IDR a month at Knowmads Bali (215–370 USD), 7,000,000 – 12,000,000 at the agency Bali Nanny in expat areas. The expat blog Our Year in Bali puts its own experience at 7,000,000 – 9,000,000, consistent with that upper band. So there are two markets: the local one, and the expat premium one (fluent English, first aid, checked references). Both high ranges come from players in that second market: a placement agency, which makes its living from it, and an expat family that recruited through one.
One error not worth passing on: Bali Nanny presents "around 6.5 million IDR" as the 2025-2026 Badung UMK, to be used as a pay floor. It is wrong: the Badung floor is 3,791,003 IDR. That 6.5 million is an expat market standard, not a legal minimum. If you are weighing home childcare against school, our survey of international schools in Bali covers the other half of the budget.
What does an employee really cost, beyond the salary?
The headline salary is never the real cost: four lines get added to it, three documented and one uncertain.
The THR (Tunjangan Hari Raya), the religious holiday bonus, is the shakiest of the four. Three versions circulate: a full month from 12 months' service, pro rata below that (Bali Villa Hub); a month due from one month of employment (Bali Nanny); a "legally compulsory" 13th month before Lebaran (Knowmads Bali). No official text could be consulted: the labour ministry's legal portal gives no way to isolate the applicable text, and the national regulatory portal stayed unreachable. So this is an observation of practice: paying a month's salary before the major religious festivals is the dominant custom in Bali. Have the rule that applies to your case confirmed by the local Dinas Tenaga Kerja.
BPJS comes next: social protection. Domestic staff fall under the BPU status (Bukan Penerima Upah), not the salaried company scheme. On the official BPJS Ketenagakerjaan portal, the JKM contribution (death cover) under BPU is a flat 6,800 IDR a month; the JKK rate (workplace accidents) varies by sector. That same portal announces a 50% cut in JKK and JKM contributions — so the 6,800 IDR flat rate is affected too: April to December 2026 for ordinary sectors, January 2026 to March 2027 for transport. Look at the amount actually billed rather than assuming it.
On health, expat.or.id points out that BPJS Kesehatan is compulsory for every Indonesian and that employers commonly reimburse the cost. Handle one widely quoted figure with care: the 150,000 IDR a month estimate put forward by an agency applies to that health insurance, not to the JKM/JKK contributions of BPJS Ketenagakerjaan. Two schemes, two separate lines: neither the same amounts nor the same purpose.
Severance pay. According to expat.or.id (updated 11 December 2023), the custom is to pay one month's salary per year of service from one year of seniority, in the event of dismissal — not resignation. The calculation covers the salary component alone, excluding transport and meals: hence the value of the payslip breakdown standard in Indonesia, which separates transport, meals, housing and base salary.
Overtime. The method relayed by Bali Villa Hub, taken from Indonesian labour law: monthly salary ÷ 173 = hourly rate, 1.5x for overtime, 2x at night and on public holidays. On 4,000,000 IDR that gives 23,121 IDR an hour, so roughly 34,682 IDR for an overtime hour and 46,242 IDR for a night hour.
Put end to end, a full-time job paid exactly at the Badung floor comes to:
| Cost line | IDR / month | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary (2026 Badung UMK) | 3,791,003 | decree no. 1021/03-M/HK/2025 |
| THR provision (1/12 of an extra month) | 315,917 | calculation, 13th-month basis |
| BPJS Ketenagakerjaan — JKM, BPU status | 6,800 | bpjsketenagakerjaan.go.id |
| Severance provision (1 month per year) | 315,917 | calculation, practice documented by expat.or.id |
| Total provisioned | 4,429,637 | — |
The two "provision" lines are calculations, not sourced amounts: they spread sums that fall due all at once across twelve months. The JKM line is the full rate, before the 50% cut in force in 2026. Live-in, add the implicit value of the accommodation — one agency puts it at around 2,000,000 IDR a month — plus a meal allowance of 300,000 to 600,000 IDR a month. Kitting out a staff bedroom costs little if you buy second-hand: our guide to furnishing your villa without overspending shows where to look.
What the law leaves unsettled for a private employer
This is the blind spot of the whole subject. The obligations routinely quoted in hiring guides — 12 days of paid leave a year, 12 days of sick leave, overtime at 1.5x, an hourly rate on a divisor of 173, one month's severance per year of service — are the rules of employment law as it applies to companies. No verifiable source shows that they apply automatically to a private individual employing household staff, an informal sector classed as BPU for social protection.
What is constant across every source consulted:
- One rest day a week, minimum — the one point everybody agrees on.
- Galungan and Nyepi are non-negotiable days off for Balinese Hindu staff. Nyepi, the day of silence, shuts the whole island down anyway.
- The typical working day documented by expat.or.id is 12 hours, breaks and lunch included — a long way from the 8-hour days in the recent scales.
Since the framework is vague for a private household, the written agreement is what governs. Hours, pay, pay date, leave, sickness, notice: nothing left verbal.
Hiring without nasty surprises: the protocol
The most complete protocol published by a local recruiter is Knowmads Bali's. Five points, whatever the role:
1. A paid trial week — the only reliable way to judge punctuality and real working pace.
2. Two references called on the phone. Not a WhatsApp message: a call.
3. A copy of the KTP, the Indonesian identity card, kept on file.
4. A written agreement, signed by both parties, never a verbal understanding.
5. A fixed pay date in the month, honoured.
expat.or.id adds a pre-employment medical for roles involving cooking and the care of young children — the page recommends screening for hepatitis, tuberculosis and typhoid.
If you delegate the shopping, calibrate the budget on real prices: in Denpasar, community readings on Numbeo put a kilo of white rice at around 16,700 IDR, a dozen eggs at 25,200 IDR and a kilo of chicken fillets at 60,200 IDR. With no update date and no contributor count shown, treat these as orders of magnitude rather than statistics.
On finding candidates, the Jobs & Services category on Lokalfinds is built for exactly this: an ad that states the role, the area, the schedule and the salary on offer draws applications you can use, where an ad with no figure in it wastes everybody's time.
Frequently asked questions
What is the legal minimum wage for villa staff in Bali in 2026?
Since 1 January 2026: 3,791,002.57 IDR a month in the kabupaten of Badung (Canggu, Seminyak, Uluwatu), 3,499,878.78 IDR in Denpasar, 3,316,798.48 IDR in Gianyar (Ubud), 3,287,678.87 IDR in Tabanan and 3,207,459 IDR in the five regencies aligned on the provincial floor. Basis: Bali governor's decree no. 1021/03-M/HK/2025, signed on 23 December 2025.
How much does a full-time housekeeper cost in Bali?
The ranges recorded in February 2026 by Bali Villa Hub run from 2,500,000 to 4,000,000 IDR a month live-out and from 1,800,000 to 3,200,000 IDR a month live-in, room and board included. Its villa scale, which targets a more senior role, goes up to 3,500,000 – 4,500,000 IDR. For one-off days, budget 100,000 to 250,000 IDR. These are market figures, often below the legal minimum.
Do you have to pay the THR to household staff in Bali?
Paying a month's salary before the major religious festivals is the dominant custom in Bali, but the three sources consulted contradict each other on the length-of-service threshold: one month of employment for one, twelve months for another, a legally compulsory 13th month for the third. No official text could be consulted. Get the applicable rule confirmed by the Dinas Tenaga Kerja before you put anything in writing.
Can a live-in villa salary be below the minimum wage?
In practice it is common: the live-in ranges recorded (1,800,000 to 3,200,000 IDR) fall below Bali's UMP, local practice treating room and board as part of the pay. That does not make them compliant with the legal floor, which stands at 3,791,003 IDR in Badung. The two realities coexist, and it is better to know that before you negotiate.
How much does a security guard (satpam) cost for a villa in Bali?
The only published range is 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 IDR a month (Bali Villa Hub, 21 February 2026), and no second source could confirm it. Always compare like for like: a monthly figure only means something alongside the number of hours and the shift (day, night, 24-hour rotation). On plenty of Balinese lanes, one satpam is shared between several houses.
What social contributions should you budget for domestic staff?
Household staff come under the BPU status (Bukan Penerima Upah) at BPJS Ketenagakerjaan. The JKM contribution, death cover, is a flat 6,800 IDR a month; the JKK rate for workplace accidents varies by sector. The official portal announces a 50% cut covering both contributions: April to December 2026 for ordinary sectors, January 2026 to March 2027 for transport. BPJS Kesehatan, the health insurance, is a separate scheme, which employers commonly reimburse.
How much do you owe a villa employee when you end their contract?
The custom documented by expat.or.id is one month's salary per year of service, from one year of seniority, due on dismissal and not on resignation. The calculation covers the salary component alone, excluding transport and meal allowances. Setting aside a twelfth of the salary each month saves you having to find the sum in one go.
Sources
- Official — Province of Bali — official 2026 UMP/UMSP announcement (25 December 2025): official source, amounts published as scanned images.
- Official — BPJS Ketenagakerjaan — Bukan Penerima Upah status: official source, BPU status, JKM at 6,800 IDR a month, 50% cut in JKK and JKM contributions (April–December 2026; January 2026–March 2027 for transport).
- Press — Kompas — Badung UMK and the full list of Bali's 2026 UMK (1 January 2026): the UMP, the floors for all nine regencies, both decree numbers.
- Press — Kompas — Denpasar UMK 2026 (31 December 2025): the Denpasar figure, the 2025 → 2026 increase.
- Press — Kompas Denpasar — list of 2026 UMK in Bali (25 December 2025): confirms decree no. 1021/03-M/HK/2025.
- Press — detikBali — Bali's UMK as of 1 January 2026: the nine amounts, the date they take effect.
- Press — GoodStats — Bali UMK 2026, Badung on top (29 January 2026): rates of increase, decree signature date.
- Commercial — Bali Villa Hub — Villa staff pay in Bali 2026 (21 February 2026): the only role-by-role scale, plus THR, BPJS and the overtime calculation. Reliability qualified: the publisher prints incorrect 2026 UMK figures elsewhere.
- Commercial — Bali Villa Hub — How much to pay a maid monthly in Bali (22 February 2026): daily, weekly, live-in and live-out arrangements, meal allowance.
- Commercial — Bali Villa Hub — How much should I pay a private driver in Bali (22 February 2026): rates for driver-with-vehicle hire.
- Commercial — bTaskee — How much to pay a housekeeper (17 July 2026): hourly rates for Bali and Lombok, deep cleaning per m², monthly contracts.
- Commercial — Bali Nanny — 2026 salary guide live-in / live-out (14 December 2025): the top of the expat market range. Contains the "6.5 M IDR Badung UMK" error flagged in this article.
- Commercial — Bali Nanny — Full-time live-in babysitter cost guide (18 May 2026): pay tiers, value of accommodation, employer BPJS estimate.
- Commercial — Knowmads Bali — Hiring a nanny in Bali 2026 (2026): the bottom of the range, the hiring protocol, Galungan and Nyepi.
- Community — Our Year in Bali — Hiring a nanny in Bali (2026): expat first-hand account, 7–9 M IDR range.
- Community — expat.or.id — Hiring household staff (update shown: 11 December 2023): employer customs, typical working day, severance pay, payslip breakdown, BPJS Kesehatan. Used for customs only: its figures date from 2024.
- Community — Numbeo — food prices in Denpasar: orders of magnitude for the grocery budget. Community data, undated.
