Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Polonnaruwa and Singapore

For one person, living is cheaper in Polonnaruwa: $510 a month against $3,594 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $37,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Polonnaruwa
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Polonnaruwa Living Index
171

Cost of Living Index in Singapore
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Singapore Living Index

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Polonnaruwa

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$510

/mo nomad

Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,594

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $510 per month in Polonnaruwa vs $3,594 in Singapore, rent included.

Polonnaruwa $510
Singapore $3,594

A couple spends around $829 per month in Polonnaruwa vs $5,314 in Singapore, rent included.

Polonnaruwa $829
Singapore $5,314

A family of three spends $1,148 per month in Polonnaruwa vs $7,033 in Singapore, rent included.

Polonnaruwa $1,148
Singapore $7,033

Polonnaruwa is about 86% cheaper than Singapore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Polonnaruwa sits 62% below the global median, while Singapore is 166% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.89 LKR 1,294

$11.58 SGD 14.82

-66.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.28 LKR 8,408

$70.7 SGD 90.4

-64.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.32 LKR 2,435

$8.46 SGD 10.83

-13.48%

Cappuccino

$2.56 LKR 850

$5.18 SGD 6.63

-50.58%

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

$0.69 LKR 228

$1.84 SGD 2.36

-62.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 89.8

$1.23 SGD 1.58

-78.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.17 LKR 721

$9.50 SGD 12.15

-77.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 LKR 990

$9.86 SGD 12.62

-69.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 LKR 526

$3.02 SGD 3.87

-47.68%

White Bread (500g)

$0.54 LKR 178

$2.67 SGD 3.42

-79.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 LKR 269

$2.77 SGD 3.54

-70.76%

Eggs

$1.70 LKR 567

$3.72 SGD 4.76

-54.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.24 LKR 5,068

$21.01 SGD 26.88

-27.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.93 LKR 1,638

$9.95 SGD 12.73

-50.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.66 LKR 2,547

$25.13 SGD 32.16

-69.52%

Apples (1kg)

$6.48 LKR 2,156

$4.59 SGD 5.88

41.18%

Banana (1kg)

$0.81 LKR 269

$3.09 SGD 3.95

-73.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.25 LKR 1,414

$4.64 SGD 5.94

-8.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 LKR 423

$2.18 SGD 2.78

-41.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 LKR 345

$2.33 SGD 2.99

-55.36%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 LKR 255

$2.31 SGD 2.96

-66.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 LKR 419

$1.86 SGD 2.38

-32.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.42 LKR 139

$1.55 SGD 1.98

-72.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.10 LKR 3,357

$14.11 SGD 18.06

-28.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.57 LKR 4,512

$23.24 SGD 29.74

-41.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 LKR 622

$4.73 SGD 6.05

-60.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 LKR 990

$4.79 SGD 6.13

-37.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 SGD 1.96

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.5 SGD 123

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.37 LKR 124

$3.58 SGD 4.59

-89.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 LKR 102

$0.76 SGD 0.97

-59.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.86 LKR 285

$16.98 SGD 21.73

-94.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 LKR 438

$2.46 SGD 3.14

-46.34%

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

$44.4K LKR 14.8M

$159.4K SGD 204.0K

-72.12%

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

$45.5K LKR 15.1M

$155.7K SGD 199.3K

-70.75%

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

$58.0 LKR 19.3K

$168 SGD 215

-65.48%

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

$4.27 LKR 1,418

$12.24 SGD 15.66

-65.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.36 LKR 6,771

$28.18 SGD 36.07

-27.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$111 SGD 142

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.60 SGD 14.85

Cinema Ticket

$4.60 LKR 1,531

$12.24 SGD 15.66

-62.42%

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

$40.23 LKR 13.4K

$1,899 SGD 2,430

-97.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.1K LKR 5.7M

$39.1K SGD 50.1K

-56.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.01 LKR 5,988

$79.6 SGD 102

-77.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.32 LKR 5,760

$50.7 SGD 64.9

-65.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.8 LKR 26.2K

$112 SGD 143

-29.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.05 LKR 13.7K

$125 SGD 159

-67.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,191 SGD 4,084

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,257 SGD 2,888

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$6,173 SGD 7,900

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,035 SGD 5,164

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$23.6K SGD 30.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.5K SGD 21.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,526 SGD 5,792

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.5

2.44

412.30%

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

Last update for Polonnaruwa: October 31, 2026

Last update for Singapore: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Polonnaruwa

$242 47.5%

Singapore

$459 12.8% 89.5% $217

Eating Out

Polonnaruwa

$104 20.5%

Singapore

$260 7.2% 149% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Polonnaruwa

$83 16.2%

Singapore

$208 5.8% 152% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Polonnaruwa

$70 13.7%

Singapore

$165 4.6% 136% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Polonnaruwa

$9.2 * 1.8%

Singapore

$135 3.8% 1367% $126

Getting Around

Polonnaruwa

$1.9 * 0.4%

Singapore

$110 3.1% 5687% $108

Accommodation & Living

Polonnaruwa

- * 0%

Singapore

$2.3K 62.8%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $25 in Polonnaruwa versus $71 in Singapore. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $242 vs $459 – making Polonnaruwa the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Polonnaruwa

🇸🇬 Singapore

🕒 Local time

00:44 12:44 AM

03:14 3:14 AM

2 h 30 min ahead of Polonnaruwa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,000

5,535,002 Capital

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Singapore Dollar SGD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

1 SGD = 0.781 USD

1 SGD = 0.701 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SGD, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 9, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 371 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

Singapore Dollar exchange rates as of November 9, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 SGD (1 SGD = 0.781 USD). 1 EUR = 1.43 SGD (1 SGD = 0.701 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Polonnaruwa Singapore 2,640 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Polonnaruwa
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

Polonnaruwa vs Singapore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Singapore costs about 604% more than Polonnaruwa, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $765 per month in Polonnaruwa and $5,392 in Singapore. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $510 in Polonnaruwa and $3,594 in Singapore. That makes Polonnaruwa about 86% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $40 per month in Polonnaruwa and $1,899 in Singapore. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Polonnaruwa, where all-in costs run around $510, than in Singapore at $3,594. In Polonnaruwa it covers expenses comfortably, while in Singapore it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Singapore has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $510 in Polonnaruwa to $3,594 in Singapore. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.