Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ambon and Singapore

For one person, living is cheaper in Ambon: $625 a month against $3,454 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $33,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Ambon
Learn more

Ambon Living Index
168

Cost of Living Index in Singapore
Learn more

Singapore Living Index

Jump to prices

Ambon

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$625

/mo nomad

Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,454

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ambon and in Singapore

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Ambon and in Singapore actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $625 in Ambon versus $3,454 in Singapore.

Ambon $625
Singapore $3,454

Estimated couple costs with rent: $997 in Ambon versus $5,224 in Singapore.

Ambon $997
Singapore $5,224

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,368 in Ambon versus $6,994 in Singapore.

Ambon $1,368
Singapore $6,994

Living in Ambon costs roughly 82% less than in Singapore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ambon is 53% below, Singapore is 158% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.10 Rp 19.6K

$11.53 SGD 14.77

-90.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$13.77 Rp 246.2K

$71.2 SGD 91.2

-80.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.82 Rp 68.3K

$8.76 SGD 11.22

-56.39%

Cappuccino

$1.47 Rp 26.3K

$5.25 SGD 6.73

-72.00%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.43 Rp 7,711

$1.83 SGD 2.34

-76.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 Rp 5,155

$1.25 SGD 1.60

-76.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.29 Rp 40.9K

$8.42 SGD 10.78

-72.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.46 Rp 61.8K

$10.02 SGD 12.83

-65.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.07 Rp 19.2K

$2.94 SGD 3.76

-63.61%

White Bread (500g)

$0.99 Rp 17.6K

$2.47 SGD 3.16

-59.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.80 Rp 14.4K

$2.71 SGD 3.47

-70.48%

Eggs

$1.37 Rp 24.5K

$3.73 SGD 4.77

-63.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.33 Rp 131.1K

$21.54 SGD 27.57

-65.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.93 Rp 52.4K

$9.52 SGD 12.19

-69.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.72 Rp 138.0K

$25.98 SGD 33.26

-70.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.23 Rp 39.9K

$4.48 SGD 5.74

-50.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.29 Rp 23.1K

$3.11 SGD 3.99

-58.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.70 Rp 30.3K

$4.62 SGD 5.92

-63.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 Rp 22.6K

$2.23 SGD 2.86

-43.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.29 Rp 23.1K

$2.50 SGD 3.20

-48.40%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 Rp 35.6K

$2.38 SGD 3.05

-16.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 Rp 13.1K

$1.78 SGD 2.28

-58.99%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 Rp 7,711

$1.51 SGD 1.93

-71.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.29 Rp 40.9K

$14.18 SGD 18.15

-83.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.10 Rp 377.1K

$23.79 SGD 30.47

-11.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.81 Rp 32.3K

$4.51 SGD 5.78

-59.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 Rp 54.5K

$4.57 SGD 5.86

-33.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 Rp 4,719

$1.58 SGD 2.03

-83.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.64 Rp 297.5K

$96.4 SGD 123

-82.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.52 Rp 9,372

$3.63 SGD 4.65

-85.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 Rp 6,402

$0.80 SGD 1.02

-55.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.69 Rp 48.0K

$16.18 SGD 20.71

-83.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.81 Rp 14.5K

$2.51 SGD 3.21

-67.73%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$21.1K Rp 377.3M

$155.9K SGD 199.6K

-86.46%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$27.3K Rp 487.1M

$145.8K SGD 186.6K

-81.30%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$57.5 Rp 1.0M

$175 SGD 224

-67.15%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$5.48 Rp 97.9K

$12.45 SGD 15.94

-55.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$18.88 Rp 337.4K

$26.64 SGD 34.10

-29.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.58 Rp 332.0K

$112 SGD 143

-83.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.69 Rp 137.5K

$12.07 SGD 15.45

-36.29%

Cinema Ticket

$1.37 Rp 24.5K

$11.60 SGD 14.85

-88.19%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$95.1 Rp 1.7M

$1,463 SGD 1,874

-93.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,994 Rp 125.0M

$28.4K SGD 36.3K

-75.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.94 Rp 767.5K

$81.5 SGD 104

-47.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.09 Rp 573.6K

$50.6 SGD 64.8

-36.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.0 Rp 1.3M

$112 SGD 143

-34.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.7 Rp 1.3M

$130 SGD 166

-44.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$207 Rp 3.7M

$2,916 SGD 3,734

-92.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$127 Rp 2.3M

$2,128 SGD 2,724

-94.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$477 Rp 8.5M

$5,654 SGD 7,239

-91.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$405 Rp 7.2M

$3,968 SGD 5,080

-89.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,004 Rp 17.9M

$23.6K SGD 30.2K

-95.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$915 Rp 16.4M

$16.8K SGD 21.5K

-94.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$125 Rp 2.2M

$4,369 SGD 5,594

-97.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.46

2.44

287.70%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Ambon: October 6, 2026

Last update for Singapore: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Ambon

$194 32.3%

Singapore

$457 13.2% 135% $263

Accommodation & Living

Ambon

$127 21.1%

Singapore

$2.1K 61.4% 1577% $2K

Clothing & Footwear

Ambon

$99 16.4%

Singapore

$168 4.9% 70% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ambon

$82 13.6%

Singapore

$214 6.2% 162% $132

Eating Out

Ambon

$59 9.8%

Singapore

$256 7.4% 333% $197

Sport & Entertainment

Ambon

$21 3.5%

Singapore

$135 3.9% 532% $113

Getting Around

Ambon

$20 3.3%

Singapore

$110 3.2% 451% $90

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $207 in Ambon and $2,916 in Singapore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Singapore pays 3401% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $14.00 in Ambon vs $71.0 in Singapore for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $194 vs $457 per month, with Ambon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Ambon

🇸🇬 Singapore

🕒 Local time

12:57 12:57 PM

11:57 11:57 AM

1 h behind Ambon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

275,888

5,535,002 Capital

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Singapore Dollar SGD $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.99 EUR

1 SGD = 0.781 USD

1 SGD = 0.696 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SGD, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 17,875 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD). 1 EUR = 20,048 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.99 EUR).

Singapore Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 SGD (1 SGD = 0.781 USD). 1 EUR = 1.44 SGD (1 SGD = 0.696 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ambon Singapore 2,760 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Ambon
Singapore

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Ambon vs Singapore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ambon wins on cost – living expenses run 453% lower than in Singapore. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ambon the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 3401% lower in Singapore. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $207 in Ambon versus $2,916 in Singapore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $625 per month in Ambon versus $3,454 in Singapore – a 453% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Ambon runs roughly 479% less than in Singapore. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $625 in Ambon versus $3,454 in Singapore, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ambon but tight or insufficient in Singapore. The gap between the two cities makes Ambon the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Ambon and Singapore are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Ambon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 453% less than in Singapore. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.