Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Batam and Singapore

For one person, living is cheaper in Batam: $596 a month against $3,454 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $34,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Batam
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Batam Living Index
168

Cost of Living Index in Singapore
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Singapore Living Index

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Batam

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$596

/mo nomad

Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,454

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Batam 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 Batam and in Singapore actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $596 in Batam versus $3,454 in Singapore.

Batam $596
Singapore $3,454

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,010 in Batam versus $5,224 in Singapore.

Batam $1,010
Singapore $5,224

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,424 in Batam versus $6,994 in Singapore.

Batam $1,424
Singapore $6,994

Living in Batam costs roughly 83% less than in Singapore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Batam is 56% below, Singapore is 158% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.97 Rp 35.3K

$11.53 SGD 14.77

-82.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$8.33 Rp 149.0K

$71.2 SGD 91.2

-88.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.01 Rp 71.7K

$8.76 SGD 11.22

-54.22%

Cappuccino

$2.12 Rp 37.9K

$5.25 SGD 6.73

-59.62%

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

$0.65 Rp 11.6K

$1.83 SGD 2.34

-64.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 Rp 5,617

$1.25 SGD 1.60

-75.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.53 Rp 45.3K

$8.42 SGD 10.79

-69.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 Rp 65.5K

$10.02 SGD 12.83

-63.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 Rp 20.6K

$2.94 SGD 3.76

-60.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 Rp 19.8K

$2.47 SGD 3.16

-55.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 Rp 14.5K

$2.71 SGD 3.47

-70.11%

Eggs

$1.24 Rp 22.1K

$3.73 SGD 4.77

-66.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.40 Rp 132.4K

$21.54 SGD 27.58

-65.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.40 Rp 43.0K

$9.52 SGD 12.20

-74.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.35 Rp 77.7K

$25.98 SGD 33.27

-83.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.25 Rp 40.3K

$4.48 SGD 5.74

-49.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 Rp 35.3K

$3.11 SGD 3.99

-36.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.02 Rp 36.2K

$4.62 SGD 5.92

-56.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.00 Rp 18.0K

$2.23 SGD 2.86

-55.16%

Potato (1kg)

$0.97 Rp 17.4K

$2.50 SGD 3.20

-61.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 Rp 34.5K

$2.38 SGD 3.05

-18.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 Rp 23.6K

$1.78 SGD 2.28

-25.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 Rp 7,951

$1.51 SGD 1.93

-70.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.74 Rp 49.0K

$14.18 SGD 18.16

-80.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.91 Rp 248.9K

$23.79 SGD 30.47

-41.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 Rp 30.4K

$4.51 SGD 5.78

-62.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 Rp 43.7K

$4.57 SGD 5.86

-46.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 Rp 6,667

$1.58 SGD 2.03

-76.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.4 SGD 123

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.15 Rp 20.5K

$3.63 SGD 4.65

-68.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.63 Rp 11.3K

$0.80 SGD 1.02

-21.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.55 Rp 63.4K

$16.18 SGD 20.72

-78.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 Rp 14.7K

$2.51 SGD 3.21

-67.33%

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

$28.3K Rp 506.8M

$155.9K SGD 199.6K

-81.82%

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

$24.4K Rp 436.2M

$145.8K SGD 186.7K

-83.27%

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

$68.6 Rp 1.2M

$175 SGD 224

-60.79%

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

$4.08 Rp 72.9K

$12.45 SGD 15.94

-67.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$23.00 Rp 411.5K

$26.64 SGD 34.11

-13.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.70 Rp 477.7K

$112 SGD 143

-76.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.69 Rp 101.8K

$12.07 SGD 15.46

-52.86%

Cinema Ticket

$2.62 Rp 46.9K

$11.60 SGD 14.85

-77.41%

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

$82.4 Rp 1.5M

$1,463 SGD 1,874

-94.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,273 Rp 58.6M

$28.4K SGD 36.3K

-88.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$31.39 Rp 561.6K

$81.5 SGD 104

-61.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.43 Rp 329.8K

$50.6 SGD 64.8

-63.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$65.2 Rp 1.2M

$112 SGD 143

-41.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$24.41 Rp 436.7K

$130 SGD 166

-81.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$270 Rp 4.8M

$2,916 SGD 3,734

-90.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$148 Rp 2.7M

$2,128 SGD 2,725

-93.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$818 Rp 14.6M

$5,654 SGD 7,241

-85.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$496 Rp 8.9M

$3,968 SGD 5,081

-87.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$559 Rp 10.0M

$23.6K SGD 30.2K

-97.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.8K SGD 21.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$343 Rp 6.1M

$4,369 SGD 5,594

-92.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.17

2.44

439.75%

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

Last update for Batam: October 4, 2026

Last update for Singapore: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Batam

$173 29.1%

Singapore

$457 13.2% 165% $285

Accommodation & Living

Batam

$148 25%

Singapore

$2.1K 61.4% 1334% $2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Batam

$96 16.1%

Singapore

$214 6.2% 124% $118

Eating Out

Batam

$77 13%

Singapore

$256 7.4% 232% $179

Clothing & Footwear

Batam

$63 10.6%

Singapore

$168 4.9% 168% $105

Sport & Entertainment

Batam

$32 5.4%

Singapore

$135 3.9% 322% $103

Getting Around

Batam

$5.8 * 1%

Singapore

$110 3.2% 1805% $105

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $270 in Batam and $2,916 in Singapore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Singapore pays 1173% 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: $8.00 in Batam vs $71.0 in Singapore for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $173 vs $457 per month, with Batam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Batam

🇸🇬 Singapore

🕒 Local time

08:10 8:10 AM

09:10 9:10 AM

1 h ahead of Batam

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,196,396

5,535,002 Capital

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Singapore Dollar SGD $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.98 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 = 17,890 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD). 1 EUR = 20,065 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.98 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

Batam Singapore 29 km

From you

Batam
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

Batam vs Singapore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Batam is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 479% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 1173% 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: $270 in Batam versus $2,916 in Singapore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 165% higher in Singapore. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $596 per month in Batam versus $3,454 in Singapore – a 479% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $596 in Batam versus $3,454 in Singapore, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Batam but tight or insufficient in Singapore. The gap between the two cities makes Batam 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, Batam 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 Batam gentler on the wallet – expenses run 479% less than in Singapore. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.