Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nara and Singapore

For one person, living is cheaper in Nara: $1,215 a month against $3,500 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $27,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Nara
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Nara Living Index
169

Cost of Living Index in Singapore
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Singapore Living Index

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Nara

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,215

/mo nomad

Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,500

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,215 in Nara versus $3,500 in Singapore.

Nara $1,215
Singapore $3,500

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,828 in Nara versus $5,265 in Singapore.

Nara $1,828
Singapore $5,265

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,442 in Nara versus $7,030 in Singapore.

Nara $2,442
Singapore $7,030

Living in Nara costs roughly 65% less than in Singapore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nara is 10% below, Singapore is 159% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.40 ¥1,011

$11.76 SGD 15.05

-45.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.96 ¥5,049

$70.6 SGD 90.4

-54.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.10 ¥805

$8.55 SGD 10.94

-40.35%

Cappuccino

$2.48 ¥392

$5.20 SGD 6.66

-52.31%

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

$1.30 ¥206

$1.77 SGD 2.27

-26.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 ¥119

$1.23 SGD 1.58

-39.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.10 ¥489

$8.26 SGD 10.58

-62.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 ¥483

$10.17 SGD 13.01

-69.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ¥238

$3.04 SGD 3.89

-50.66%

White Bread (500g)

$1.34 ¥211

$2.55 SGD 3.26

-47.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.05 ¥640

$2.86 SGD 3.66

41.61%

Eggs

$2.13 ¥336

$3.53 SGD 4.51

-39.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.60 ¥1,517

$21.12 SGD 27.02

-54.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.01 ¥1,108

$9.90 SGD 12.67

-29.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.82 ¥2,815

$25.42 SGD 32.53

-29.90%

Apples (1kg)

$3.41 ¥539

$4.57 SGD 5.85

-25.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.99 ¥315

$3.13 SGD 4.00

-36.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 ¥317

$4.72 SGD 6.04

-57.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.01 ¥633

$2.23 SGD 2.85

79.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 ¥248

$2.57 SGD 3.29

-38.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.16 ¥184

$2.29 SGD 2.93

-49.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ¥177

$1.87 SGD 2.39

-40.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 ¥128

$1.44 SGD 1.84

-43.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.82 ¥604

$13.97 SGD 17.88

-72.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.49 ¥1,500

$23.48 SGD 30.05

-59.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 ¥305

$4.54 SGD 5.80

-57.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 ¥337

$4.44 SGD 5.68

-52.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 ¥245

$1.57 SGD 2.01

-1.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.0 ¥11.4K

$93.8 SGD 120

-23.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.23 ¥510

$3.64 SGD 4.66

-11.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.83 ¥447

$0.76 SGD 0.97

272.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.70 ¥2,480

$16.14 SGD 20.66

-2.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 ¥175

$2.45 SGD 3.14

-54.69%

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

$21.9K ¥3.5M

$155.2K SGD 198.5K

-85.90%

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

$14.9K ¥2.4M

$148.5K SGD 190.0K

-89.97%

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

$115 ¥18.2K

$172 SGD 220

-32.74%

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

$24.28 ¥3,836

$12.39 SGD 15.86

95.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.63 ¥4,840

$26.21 SGD 33.54

16.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$82.2 ¥13.0K

$108 SGD 138

-23.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.44 ¥1,176

$12.31 SGD 15.75

-39.56%

Cinema Ticket

$11.85 ¥1,872

$11.64 SGD 14.90

1.80%

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

$511 ¥80.8K

$1,481 SGD 1,895

-65.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.8K ¥2.0M

$28.3K SGD 36.3K

-54.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.43 ¥7,652

$80.6 SGD 103

-39.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.90 ¥4,882

$50.1 SGD 64.1

-38.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.5 ¥9,398

$112 SGD 143

-46.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.7 ¥14.0K

$129 SGD 165

-31.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$404 ¥63.8K

$3,015 SGD 3,858

-86.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$333 ¥52.7K

$2,171 SGD 2,778

-84.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$810 ¥128.0K

$5,842 SGD 7,475

-86.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$544 ¥86.0K

$4,044 SGD 5,174

-86.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,669 ¥421.6K

$23.8K SGD 30.4K

-88.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,959 ¥309.5K

$16.8K SGD 21.4K

-88.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,110 ¥175.3K

$4,385 SGD 5,611

-74.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.02

2.44

-17.21%

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

Last update for Nara: October 13, 2026

Last update for Singapore: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nara

$333 27.4%

Singapore

$2.2K 62% 551% $1.8K

Groceries & Markets

Nara

$282 23.2%

Singapore

$458 13.1% 62.5% $176

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nara

$170 14%

Singapore

$210 6% 23.4% $40

Eating Out

Nara

$126 10.4%

Singapore

$256 7.3% 103% $130

Sport & Entertainment

Nara

$106 8.7%

Singapore

$131 3.8% 24% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Nara

$102 8.4%

Singapore

$167 4.8% 63.2% $65

Getting Around

Nara

$96 7.9%

Singapore

$107 3.1% 12.5% $12

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $404 in Nara and $3,015 in Singapore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Singapore pays 295% 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: $32.00 in Nara vs $71.0 in Singapore for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $282 vs $458 per month, with Nara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Nara

🇸🇬 Singapore

🕒 Local time

09:19 9:19 AM

08:19 8:19 AM

1 h behind Nara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

355,280

5,535,002 Capital

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Singapore Dollar SGD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

1 SGD = 0.781 USD

1 SGD = 0.695 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SGD, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

Singapore Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 SGD (1 SGD = 0.781 USD). 1 EUR = 1.44 SGD (1 SGD = 0.695 EUR).

USD to JPY in detail →

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Between locations

Nara Singapore 4,970 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Nara
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

Nara vs Singapore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nara is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 188% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 295% 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: $404 in Nara 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 Nara – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $71.0 in Singapore. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,215 per month in Nara versus $3,500 in Singapore – a 188% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,215 in Nara versus $3,500 in Singapore, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Nara but tight or insufficient in Singapore. The gap between the two cities makes Nara 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, Nara 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 Nara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 188% less than in Singapore. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.