Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Macao and Singapore

For one person, living is cheaper in Macao: $2,114 a month against $3,500 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $16,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

104

Cost of Living Index in Macao
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Macao Living Index
169

Cost of Living Index in Singapore
Learn more

Singapore Living Index

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Macao

🇲🇴 Macao (China)

$2,114

/mo nomad

Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,500

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,114 in Macao versus $3,500 in Singapore.

Macao $2,114
Singapore $3,500

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,990 in Macao versus $5,265 in Singapore.

Macao $2,990
Singapore $5,265

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,866 in Macao versus $7,030 in Singapore.

Macao $3,866
Singapore $7,030

Living in Macao costs roughly 40% less than in Singapore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Macao 57% above, Singapore 159% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.26 MOP 50.6

$11.76 SGD 15.05

-46.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$56.2 MOP 454

$70.6 SGD 90.4

-20.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.02 MOP 48.66

$8.55 SGD 10.94

-29.59%

Cappuccino

$5.06 MOP 40.87

$5.20 SGD 6.66

-2.69%

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

$1.05 MOP 8.48

$1.77 SGD 2.27

-40.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 MOP 6.88

$1.23 SGD 1.58

-30.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.62 MOP 45.46

$8.26 SGD 10.58

-31.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.33 MOP 59.2

$10.17 SGD 13.01

-27.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.26 MOP 26.34

$3.04 SGD 3.89

7.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.70 MOP 13.72

$2.55 SGD 3.26

-33.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.66 MOP 13.38

$2.86 SGD 3.66

-41.96%

Eggs

$3.50 MOP 28.30

$3.53 SGD 4.51

-0.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.22 MOP 131

$21.12 SGD 27.02

-23.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.56 MOP 158

$9.90 SGD 12.67

97.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$28.45 MOP 230

$25.42 SGD 32.53

11.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.59 MOP 20.96

$4.57 SGD 5.85

-43.33%

Banana (1kg)

$2.86 MOP 23.13

$3.13 SGD 4.00

-8.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 MOP 15.27

$4.72 SGD 6.04

-59.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.36 MOP 19.04

$2.23 SGD 2.85

5.83%

Potato (1kg)

$3.84 MOP 31.03

$2.57 SGD 3.29

49.42%

Onion (1kg)

$2.84 MOP 22.92

$2.29 SGD 2.93

24.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.62 MOP 5.04

$1.87 SGD 2.39

-66.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 MOP 9.32

$1.44 SGD 1.84

-20.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.64 MOP 53.6

$13.97 SGD 17.88

-52.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.30 MOP 99.4

$23.48 SGD 30.05

-47.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 MOP 14.43

$4.54 SGD 5.80

-60.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 MOP 18.61

$4.44 SGD 5.68

-48.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.73 MOP 5.88

$1.57 SGD 2.01

-53.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.47 MOP 182

$93.8 SGD 120

-76.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.63 MOP 21.26

$3.64 SGD 4.66

-27.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.29 MOP 10.40

$0.76 SGD 0.97

69.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.68 MOP 119

$16.14 SGD 20.66

-9.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.78 MOP 14.38

$2.45 SGD 3.14

-27.35%

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

$30.5K MOP 246.6K

$155.2K SGD 198.5K

-80.33%

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

$30.9K MOP 249.8K

$148.5K SGD 190.0K

-79.19%

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

$120 MOP 972

$172 SGD 220

-29.88%

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

$23.50 MOP 190

$12.39 SGD 15.86

89.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.25 MOP 301

$26.21 SGD 33.54

42.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.8 MOP 515

$108 SGD 138

-40.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.81 MOP 30.82

$12.31 SGD 15.75

-69.05%

Cinema Ticket

$14.71 MOP 119

$11.64 SGD 14.90

26.37%

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

$1,231 MOP 9,951

$1,481 SGD 1,895

-16.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.7K MOP 151.3K

$28.3K SGD 36.3K

-33.95%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.7 MOP 555

$80.6 SGD 103

-14.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.15 MOP 268

$50.1 SGD 64.1

-33.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.9 MOP 743

$112 SGD 143

-17.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$135 MOP 1,091

$129 SGD 165

4.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,103 MOP 8,913

$3,015 SGD 3,858

-63.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 MOP 8,528

$2,171 SGD 2,778

-51.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,111 MOP 17.1K

$5,842 SGD 7,475

-63.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,433 MOP 11.6K

$4,044 SGD 5,174

-64.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,352 MOP 67.5K

$23.8K SGD 30.4K

-64.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,490 MOP 44.4K

$16.8K SGD 21.4K

-67.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,041 MOP 16.5K

$4,385 SGD 5,611

-53.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.44

22.95%

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

Last update for Macao: October 10, 2026

Last update for Singapore: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Macao

$1.1K 49.9%

Singapore

$2.2K 62% 106% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Macao

$423 20%

Singapore

$458 13.1% 8.2% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Macao

$181 8.6%

Singapore

$210 6% 16.1% $29

Eating Out

Macao

$179 8.5%

Singapore

$256 7.3% 42.7% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Macao

$148 7%

Singapore

$167 4.8% 13% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Macao

$93 4.4%

Singapore

$131 3.8% 41% $38

Getting Around

Macao

$34 1.6%

Singapore

$107 3.1% 212% $73

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,103 in Macao and $3,015 in Singapore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Singapore pays 115% 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: $56.0 in Macao vs $71.0 in Singapore for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $423 vs $458 per month, with Macao cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇴 Macao

🇸🇬 Singapore

🕒 Local time

03:36 3:36 AM

Same time as Macao

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

622,567 Capital

5,535,002 Capital

💱 Currency

Macanese Pataca MOP P

Singapore Dollar SGD $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MOP = 0.124 USD

1 MOP = 0.11 EUR

1 SGD = 0.781 USD

1 SGD = 0.695 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SGD, USD, EUR to MOP – Macanese Pataca Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇴 Macanese Pataca (P)

Macanese Pataca exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 8.08 MOP (1 MOP = 0.124 USD). 1 EUR = 9.09 MOP (1 MOP = 0.11 EUR).

Singapore Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 SGD (1 SGD = 0.781 USD). 1 EUR = 1.44 SGD (1 SGD = 0.695 EUR).

USD to MOP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Macao Singapore 2,550 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Macao
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

Macao vs Singapore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

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

On paper, salaries run 115% 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: $1,103 in Macao versus $3,015 in Singapore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Macao – a meal for two runs $56.0 versus $71.0 in Singapore. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,114 per month in Macao versus $3,500 in Singapore – a 66% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,114 in Macao versus $3,500 in Singapore, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Macao but tight or insufficient in Singapore. The gap between the two cities makes Macao 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, Macao 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 Macao 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.