Singapore · Edition 9 September 2026
Cost of living in Singapore
A single person needs about S$2,530 a month ($1,990) for a basic life in Singapore, S$6,240 ($4,910) to live comfortably, and S$15,470 ($12,180) at the top. Those are September 2026 figures and every one of them includes rent. Rent is close to half the basic budget. Food and transport cost less than most arrivals expect. Everything with a roof or an engine costs more.
Current at 9 September 2026. Dollars at SGD 1.27 to US$1, the rate of 8 September 2026.
The basic budget here beats the comfortable budget in five other cities
S$2,530 ($1,990) is the floor for moving to Singapore. It buys a room in someone else's public flat, hawker food twice a day, and no car.
That floor beats a whole comfortable month in five of the nine other cities in this series. Chiang Mai's comfortable column runs $1,584, Kuala Lumpur's $1,111–1,605, Ho Chi Minh City's $1,750, Hua Hin's $1,812 and Pattaya's $1,888 (the honestly city books, September 2026). Bangkok's basic column is $970. Singapore's is more than twice that.
Rent is half the basic budget and well over half the comfortable one
Monthly, single person, all in. From Singapore, honestly, September 2026.
| Line | Basic | Comfortable | Luxury |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | S$1,200 room | S$3,500 1BR condo | S$9,000 2BR prime |
| Food | S$650 | S$1,200 | S$2,500 |
| Transport | S$130 | S$250 | S$900 |
| Utilities | S$60 | S$220 | S$350 |
| Phone and internet | S$40 | S$70 | S$120 |
| Health insurance | S$150 | S$300 | S$600 |
| Leisure | S$300 | S$700 | S$2,000 |
| Total | S$2,530 ($1,990) | S$6,240 ($4,910) | S$15,470 ($12,180) |
Basic is a room in a public flat. The middle column is a one-bedroom condo outside the centre. The top one is a prime two-bedroom plus daily taxis.
The insurance lines are market averages, not real quotes. CHECK We could not get live quotes from Cigna, Allianz or AXA. Those three numbers are the softest here. Ask your employer what it already covers.
Rent is the only line worth attacking. It moves by area, not by will. A one-bedroom runs S$2,800 in Queenstown and S$7,000 in Orchard. Where people actually live sets out all nine areas.
This page gives rent as one figure per column. The band table in Singapore, honestly sorts 24 named buildings into five price bands, with a 1BR rent, a 2BR rent and a sale price per square metre for each.
Groceries for one person run S$400–700 a month
Numbeo's prices are dated 8 September 2026 and Expatistan's 7 September 2026. Both are drawn from Singapore, honestly and were read again on 10 September 2026.
| Item | S$ | US$ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 L fresh milk | 3.87–4.18 | 3.05–3.30 |
| 12 eggs | 4.63 | 3.65 |
| 1 kg chicken breast | 12.50–14.00 | 9.85–11.00 |
| 1 kg tomatoes | 2.82–3.82 | 2.20–3.00 |
| Loaf of bread | 2.58–3.15 | 2.00–2.50 |
| 500 ml local beer, from a shop | 5.79–5.92 | 4.55–4.65 |
| Cappuccino | 6.58–7.00 | 5.20–5.50 |
| Hawker lunch | 4.00–7.00 | 3.15–5.50 |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | 85 | 67 |
| Cinema ticket | 12.50–17.50 | 9.85–13.80 |
| Gym, monthly | 139.68–198 | 110–156 |
| Groceries, one person | 400–700 | 315–550 |
Two rows moved while we checked. Numbeo listed a 500 g loaf at S$2.85 on 6 September 2026 and S$3.15 on 10 September 2026. CHECK A 10% move in four days means a thin sample, not dearer bread.
The gym line is worse. Expatistan put it at S$198 on 7 September 2026, Numbeo at S$139.68 on 10 September 2026. CHECK That is S$58 apart on the same product.
Alcohol, imported food and cars are where the money burns
Alcohol, first and worst. Duty runs S$88 per litre of pure alcohol. A drinkable bottle of wine starts near S$25 ($20). A pint in a bar is S$14–18 ($11–14).
Imported groceries. Cheese, beef, berries, cereal and ready meals. Expatistan priced 500 g of cheese at S$14 ($11) on 7 September 2026. That aisle is the biggest swing in this budget.
International schools. S$30,000–50,000 a year ($23,620–39,370).
Cars. A ten-year Certificate of Entitlement closed at S$128,501 ($101,180) at the tender of 26 August 2026 (motorist.sg). That buys the right to own one, not the car.
Air conditioning. A two-bedroom condo running one or two units at night uses 400–700 kWh a month. The tariff is 34.78 cents a kWh with GST, set for 1 July to 30 September 2026 (SP Group, read 10 September 2026). That is S$140–245. Water and gas take it to S$200–300.
Hawker food, the trains and mobile data cost almost nothing
Hawker centres. S$4–7 ($3.15–5.50) for a cooked meal. Eating out twice a day is cheaper here than cooking an imported diet.
Public transport. S$1.28–2.57 ($1.01–2.02) a ride on bus or train, since fares rose on 27 December 2025 (Public Transport Council, 14 October 2025).
Mobile data. Simba and the other budget lines sell 100 GB or more for S$10–20 ($8–16) a month.
Wet markets. The six big ones run 20–30% under supermarket prices on fresh food. Sheng Siong is the cheapest of the chains, with about 75 stores.
Tap water. Drinkable, PUB-treated and free. No column above carries a bottled-water line.
The mistake is budgeting from the Employment Pass floor
New applicants need S$5,600 a month ($4,410), or S$6,200 ($4,880) in finance (Ministry of Manpower, September 2026). People read that as the salary the city is priced for. It is not.
The comfortable column costs S$6,240 a month. Someone on the minimum cannot fund it, before tax. That is why so many pass holders start in a common room.
The floor rises to S$6,000 on 1 January 2027, and to S$10,700 ($8,430) at 45 or older. The Employment Pass salary floors decide whether any of this applies to you.
You cannot buy your way out of the rent line. A foreigner buying a home pays 60% additional buyer's stamp duty. The rate has not moved since 27 April 2023. On a S$2 million flat that is S$1.2 million. Five passports are exempt. The foreigner stamp duty rules name them.
Where Numbeo and Expatistan disagree with these figures
Numbeo puts a single person at S$1,495.60 ($1,178) a month before rent. That is 1,778 entries by 275 contributors, updated 8 September 2026 and read on 10 September 2026. Strip rent from the comfortable column and you get S$2,740 ($2,157). Numbeo averages every resident, not a new arrival's first year.
Numbeo's one-bedroom is S$3,820 in the centre and S$2,764.58 outside it, against S$3,500 in the comfortable column. Its utilities figure of S$208.02 sits beside our S$220.
Expatistan put a single person at S$7,058 ($5,560) a month with rent on 7 September 2026. That is 13% above the comfortable total. Their rents run high. The site blocked our re-read on 10 September 2026. CHECK That figure could not be re-verified.
One Numbeo figure is simply out of date. Numbeo still lists the adult monthly travel pass at S$128. The Public Transport Council cut it by about S$6 from 27 December 2025, to roughly S$122 ($96). CHECK
What this page does not cover
- The 24 buildings behind the rent line, sorted into five price bands, with a 1BR rent, a 2BR rent and a sale price per square metre for each
- What this budget costs in Manhattan, San Francisco and Los Angeles, line by line, including the Los Angeles one-bedroom at $1,965
- The Employment Pass, ONE Pass and EntrePass floors side by side, with the 45-and-over threshold and the dates each one rises
- The ten supermarket chains and six wet markets people actually use, and which end of the range each sets
All of it is in Singapore, honestly — 21 pages, $29. See what's inside
Related
The rent line is the one you sign for. Renting an apartment in Singapore covers the deposit, the 0.4% lease stamp duty and who pays the agent. Weighing this against a cheaper city? Compare all ten on budget, air and visas.