Cost of Living in Singapore
Summary of cost of living in Singapore, Singapore:
- The estimated monthly costs for a family of four are 4,239.8$ (5,515.5S$), excluding rent (using our estimator).
- The estimated monthly costs for a single person are 1,171.4$ (1,523.9S$), excluding rent.
- Singapore is 15.1% less expensive than New York (excluding rent, see our cost of living index).
- Rent in Singapore is, on average, 27.6% lower than in New York.
Restaurants |  Edit |
Range |
|---|---|---|
| Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant | 14.00 S$ | |
| Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course | 100.00 S$ | |
| McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) | 10.00 S$ | |
| Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) | 11.00 S$ | |
| Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) | 12.00 S$ | |
| Cappuccino (regular) | 6.26 S$ | |
| Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) | 2.16 S$ | |
| Water (12 oz small bottle) | 1.55 S$ | |
Markets | Edit |
|
| Milk (regular), (1 gallon) | 14.34 S$ | |
| Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) | 2.73 S$ | |
| Rice (white), (1 lb) | 1.71 S$ | |
| Eggs (regular) (12) | 4.28 S$ | |
| Local Cheese (1 lb) | 11.26 S$ | |
| Chicken Fillets (1 lb) | 6.60 S$ | |
| Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) | 12.25 S$ | |
| Apples (1 lb) | 2.59 S$ | |
| Banana (1 lb) | 1.70 S$ | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | 2.59 S$ | |
| Tomato (1 lb) | 1.58 S$ | |
| Potato (1 lb) | 1.42 S$ | |
| Onion (1 lb) | 1.26 S$ | |
| Lettuce (1 head) | 2.36 S$ | |
| Water (1.5 liter bottle) | 2.01 S$ | |
| Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) | 30.00 S$ | |
| Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) | 5.47 S$ | |
| Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) | 6.67 S$ | |
| Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) | 17.00 S$ | |
Transportation | Edit |
|
| One-way Ticket (Local Transport) | 2.00 S$ | |
| Monthly Pass (Regular Price) | 120.00 S$ | |
| Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) | 4.60 S$ | |
| Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) | 1.61 S$ | |
| Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) | 20.80 S$ | |
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | 10.81 S$ | |
| Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) | 180,000.00 S$ | |
| Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) | 164,338.40 S$ | |
Utilities (Monthly) | Edit |
|
| Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment | 201.68 S$ | |
| Mobile Phone Monthly Plan with Calls and 10GB+ Data | 23.39 S$ | |
| Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) | 48.63 S$ | |
Sports And Leisure | Edit |
|
| Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult | 146.94 S$ | |
| Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) | 15.72 S$ | |
| Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat | 15.00 S$ | |
Childcare | Edit |
|
| Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child | 1,592.76 S$ | |
| International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child | 38,141.38 S$ | |
Clothing And Shoes | Edit |
|
| 1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) | 103.88 S$ | |
| 1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) | 55.59 S$ | |
| 1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) | 135.75 S$ | |
| 1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes | 160.74 S$ | |
Rent Per Month | Edit |
|
| Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre | 4,045.24 S$ | |
| Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre | 2,902.38 S$ | |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre | 7,856.10 S$ | |
| Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre | 4,760.00 S$ | |
Buy Apartment Price | Edit |
|
| Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre | 2,733.25 S$ | |
| Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre | 1,812.61 S$ | |
Salaries And Financing | Edit |
|
| Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) | 5,299.44 S$ | |
| Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate | 3.25 |
Prices in Singapore
This city had 3430 entries in the past 12 months by 508 different contributors.
Last update: May 2025
Last update: May 2025
Sources and References
Moving to Singapore? Explore:
Distribution of Expenses Using Our Statistical Model:
This Page in Other Languages:
 DeutschLebenshaltungskosten in Singapur
|
 PortuguêsCusto de Vida em Singapura
|
 ItalianoCosto della Vita a Singapore
|
 FrançaisCoût de la Vie à Singapour
|
 EspañolCosto de Vida en Singapur
|
What is an estimate cost for airbnb for 7 people please?
thanks
We spend 1600 on rent, 400 on food (4 times a day, generally we cook), 50 on transportation (we cycle) and 100 on 'Others'. We invest the rest in unit trusts.
You can have an incredible quality of life just being austere and financially smart. S'pore shopping culture is very intense and promotes overconsumption, yet you have plenty of options to consume.
You can go to wholesale market at Tanjong Pagar or buy reduced to clear veggies at Giant or you can buy at Cold Storage: it's up to you being a spoiled person who doesn't know how to manage your income.
Westerns (specially Europeans and Anglo-Saxons) live above their income to sustain their posh, pretentious, and privileged way of life, yet they have a lot to learn from this pro-market welfare state that is S'pore.
The international school, the maid, the Grab, the ordered food, insurance, the country club membership. Neither you nor your family needs that. Go local, eat chicken rice, drink Kopi, send your kids to a MOE school, use MRT, do volunteering, do CPF.
Be humble and discreet: You're not royalty just because you come from a colonialist country.
I want to join conference in Singaopre in the coming September. I will stay for about a week, but I wonder if the living cost is so expensive. Actually i like to visit Singapore. Averagely how much cost I need to expense for a week?
Thanks!
Monthly food expenses at the hawker centre (food court) will be roughly (SGD500 to 1000 depending on area).
Transportation wise is pretty low (SGD50~150 depending on your distance/travel frequency).
In average monthly expenses will be roughly SGD1500-2000 at non central area, and roughly SGD2500-no limit at CBD.
Varun - if you are frugal you can rent a single room which goes for about $1.2k SGD. 1 bedroom apartments from $2.5k onwards depending on your appetite. Otherwise more than enough.
Compared with Switzerland, London, or California it is very affordable here.
Am a sierra leonean but i love everything about singapore my second country in the world
Big landed bungalow here just costs 300k SIN inclusive of land in certain areas.
Crime rates are not as random as Johor or the West Malaysia.'
Quality of life is way above the price we pay for.
A lot of Singaporeans are actually investing in second home here in Sarawak, Borneo.
**If you have kids/family this is not a right place for your kids, you can read about it online or comments below.
Just considering moving toward my career path, what are your thought if I could have 2 persons with total income around 15k~ no kids?
Would I be able to save some money and live in a decent apartment?
In my opinion, the shinning stars are public transport, travel around Asia, eating out (not cheap either anymore, but still great options and good quality), work/career options if your in the right industries (financials, high-tech (biotech, fintech) etc).
As some have mentioned, its still an amazing city if your able to save (DINK, or company paying for some of the majors like rent, schooling)) or want to use it as a base to work and explore.
Moved elsewhere this year due to staggering cost of living and no hopes of owning/renting a home.
Youre better off elsewhere if your a mid-income earner 3-6k SGD /month
If own hdb and public school than may be...
If you are not earning 15k a month and you are coming with the family don’t bother
Your spouse most likely won’t get a job here you can’t freelance as well
House: not central - 3bd - 6.5k
International school - 30k/year - you can send your kid to a local school but as a forigner you can’t choose you can get what’s left; singaporean School system havily focused on tests very competitive; teachers very strict and speak singlish; 0 creativity and team work
Groceries - without alcohol - 3people - 200$ a week
Public transport - the best and the cheapest in the world you truly you don’t need a car here
No theatres, no music scene limited art life
Beautiful parks and greenery
Amazing playgrounds
Good for couple of years as an adventure especially if you are DINK
Taxi on grab.... COE price on web portal :), car on deal site... it keep varies...
https://www.propertyguru.com.sg/listing/23153173/for-rent-marina-bay-residences
Schools\Food and other spending... if someone pay rental/school/tax I guess 8000K even not good enough. But probably work in some cases... no idea any comments?
Horror stories are those paying rental.... As usual like other countries property agents work to keep pushing rental prices up and forcing existing tenants to look somewhere else. Prices has gone up by 70% (as article published). Reality is more complex probably rental double up in some cases and even asking price is going up every month…. infect people become greedy to ask $500 more with each ask…
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/housing-rent-prices-expats-70-increase-landlords-tenants-3060231
the average non-white collar singaporean earns about 2-3k salaries and are able to survive as they don't rent and live with family who own a house. not much of a rental culture in singapore.
a single expat will be able to live comfortably on 5-6k/month if they don't splurge on restaurants daily and take public transport (it takes max 1.5 hours to travel the country from one end to the other on our trains).
if you are bringing school-going kids, private schools for foreigners are expensive (2-3k monthly per kid). companies should cover healthcare insurance.
main expense will be rental. the prices are quite accurate but take note it will keep rising as property prices are skyrocketing in the past few years. a 2 bedroom HDB flat that can house a family of 3 in the suburbs (tampines, yishun, jurong, etc) would be about 2-3.5k give or take, the closer you are to town/city center area it would be around 4-5k.
Condominiums are pricier than HDB flats but have security guards and facilities like swimming pools and slightly more privacy and quietness (but you can run into bad neighbours anywhere). there are no crime hotspots.
usually singaporeans don't live in town unless they have rich families or they want to emulate the high flyer rich businessman lifestyle (i.e. steve in keppel bay in the comments below)
Is a salary of 6000S$ enough for a family of three ( Husband, wife and 1 year old kid)? Can we rent a house for about 3000S$?
https://www.fairprice.com.sg/
https://giant.sg/
https://www.allforyou.sg/
https://coldstorage.com.sg/ - this is at higher price end.
you may watch youtube on Singapore too to source cheap place to eat around the area
if you work in CBD area, high chance of you staying in Orchard - expensive
if you work in Changi, high change of you staying in Bedok, Tampines.
you do not need to stay in Condo/Apartment, for a 2A + 1 Child, renting a 3 room flat is quite decent.
Overall Singapore is a very nice country to live in.
Btw I am a local Singaporean earning only S$4k per month.
I typical McDonald's meal can be had for as low as S$6.00. A meal from a Hawker center can be easily had for under S$4.00
What grocery store was this data harvested from? If you shop at NTUC Fairprice (where most locals shop) prices are MUCH LOWER.
It seems the prices above are for ex-pats with a large budget who live in the heart of the Central Business District or some other high-end place. The prices listed here are well above what the average citizen would pay.