Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Koh Lipe and Singapore

For one person, living is cheaper in Koh Lipe: $2,083 a month against $3,454 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $16,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Koh Lipe
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Koh Lipe Living Index
168

Cost of Living Index in Singapore
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Singapore Living Index

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Koh Lipe

🇹🇭 Thailand

$2,083

/mo nomad

Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,454

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,083 in Koh Lipe versus $3,454 in Singapore.

Koh Lipe $2,083
Singapore $3,454

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,633 in Koh Lipe versus $5,224 in Singapore.

Koh Lipe $3,633
Singapore $5,224

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,183 in Koh Lipe versus $6,994 in Singapore.

Koh Lipe $5,183
Singapore $6,994

Living in Koh Lipe costs roughly 40% less than in Singapore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Koh Lipe 55% above, Singapore 158% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.32 ฿245

$11.53 SGD 14.77

-36.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.6 ฿1,761

$71.2 SGD 91.2

-26.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.01 ฿469

$8.76 SGD 11.22

59.93%

Cappuccino

$4.35 ฿146

$5.25 SGD 6.73

-17.14%

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

$1.50 ฿50.2

$1.83 SGD 2.34

-18.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.79 ฿26.36

$1.25 SGD 1.60

-36.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.04 ฿135

$8.42 SGD 10.78

-52.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.80 ฿194

$10.02 SGD 12.83

-42.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.14 ฿71.8

$2.94 SGD 3.76

-27.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 ฿57.9

$2.47 SGD 3.16

-29.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 ฿66.0

$2.71 SGD 3.47

-27.31%

Eggs

$2.69 ฿90.0

$3.73 SGD 4.77

-27.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.13 ฿808

$21.54 SGD 27.57

12.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.12 ฿138

$9.52 SGD 12.19

-56.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.94 ฿467

$25.98 SGD 33.26

-46.34%

Apples (1kg)

$3.69 ฿124

$4.48 SGD 5.74

-17.63%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 ฿68.1

$3.11 SGD 3.99

-34.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.82 ฿94.5

$4.62 SGD 5.92

-38.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 ฿85.7

$2.23 SGD 2.86

14.80%

Potato (1kg)

$1.80 ฿60.4

$2.50 SGD 3.20

-28.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 ฿57.4

$2.38 SGD 3.05

-28.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 ฿46.15

$1.78 SGD 2.28

-22.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.64 ฿21.26

$1.51 SGD 1.93

-57.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.45 ฿182

$14.18 SGD 18.15

-61.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.53 ฿788

$23.79 SGD 30.47

-1.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 ฿72.9

$4.51 SGD 5.78

-51.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.48 ฿116

$4.57 SGD 5.86

-23.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.43 ฿115

$1.58 SGD 2.03

117.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.4 SGD 123

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.50 ฿151

$3.63 SGD 4.65

23.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.59 ฿53.2

$0.80 SGD 1.02

98.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.78 ฿194

$16.18 SGD 20.71

-64.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.17 ฿72.7

$2.51 SGD 3.21

-13.55%

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

$40.8K ฿1.4M

$155.9K SGD 199.6K

-73.80%

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

$39.7K ฿1.3M

$145.8K SGD 186.6K

-72.77%

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

$113 ฿3,775

$175 SGD 224

-35.58%

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

$12.76 ฿427

$12.45 SGD 15.94

2.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.37 ฿649

$26.64 SGD 34.10

-27.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.9 ฿2,171

$112 SGD 143

-41.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.63 ฿456

$12.07 SGD 15.45

12.92%

Cinema Ticket

$9.39 ฿314

$11.60 SGD 14.85

-19.05%

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

$690 ฿23.1K

$1,463 SGD 1,874

-52.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.5K ฿485.7K

$28.4K SGD 36.3K

-48.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.9 ฿2,238

$81.5 SGD 104

-17.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.89 ฿1,001

$50.6 SGD 64.8

-40.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.4 ฿3,329

$112 SGD 143

-10.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.6 ฿3,099

$130 SGD 166

-28.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,850 ฿61.9K

$2,916 SGD 3,734

-36.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 ฿39.2K

$2,128 SGD 2,724

-45.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,267 ฿176.3K

$5,654 SGD 7,239

-6.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,976 ฿99.6K

$3,968 SGD 5,080

-25.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,743 ฿292.7K

$23.6K SGD 30.2K

-62.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,355 ฿212.8K

$16.8K SGD 21.5K

-62.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,369 SGD 5,594

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.57

2.44

128.28%

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

Last update for Koh Lipe: October 4, 2026

Last update for Singapore: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Koh Lipe

$1.2K 56.2%

Singapore

$2.1K 61.4% 81.9% $958

Groceries & Markets

Koh Lipe

$334 16%

Singapore

$457 13.2% 37% $124

Eating Out

Koh Lipe

$194 9.3%

Singapore

$256 7.4% 32.1% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Koh Lipe

$145 7%

Singapore

$214 6.2% 47.8% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Koh Lipe

$130 6.2%

Singapore

$168 4.9% 29.4% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Koh Lipe

$84 4%

Singapore

$135 3.9% 61.1% $51

Getting Around

Koh Lipe

$26 * 1.3%

Singapore

$110 3.2% 322% $84

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 $1,850 in Koh Lipe and $2,916 in Singapore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $53.0 in Koh Lipe vs $71.0 in Singapore for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $334 vs $457 per month, with Koh Lipe cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇭 Koh Lipe

🇸🇬 Singapore

🕒 Local time

08:39 8:39 AM

09:39 9:39 AM

1 h ahead of Koh Lipe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

800

5,535,002 Capital

💱 Currency

Thai Baht THB ฿

Singapore Dollar SGD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

1 SGD = 0.781 USD

1 SGD = 0.696 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SGD, USD, EUR to THB – Thai Baht Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇭 Thai Baht (฿)

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.48 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.55 THB (100 THB = 2.66 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 THB in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Koh Lipe Singapore 770 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Koh Lipe
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

Koh Lipe vs Singapore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Koh Lipe wins on cost – living expenses run 66% lower than in Singapore. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Koh Lipe the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $3,124 in Koh Lipe and $5,180 in Singapore to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,850 in Koh Lipe versus $2,916 in Singapore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $690 in Koh Lipe versus $1,463 in Singapore. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Koh Lipe – a meal for two runs $53.0 versus $71.0 in Singapore. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $2,000. Koh Lipe is the more realistic option, but even there you'll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, Koh Lipe 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 Koh Lipe gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Singapore. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.