Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Singapore and Bangkok

For one person, living is cheaper in Bangkok: $1,144 a month against $3,454 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $27,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

168

Cost of Living Index in Singapore
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Singapore Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Bangkok
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Bangkok Living Index

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Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,454

/mo nomad

Bangkok

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,144

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Singapore and in Bangkok

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Singapore and in Bangkok actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,454 in Singapore versus $1,144 in Bangkok.

Singapore $3,454
Bangkok $1,144

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,224 in Singapore versus $1,806 in Bangkok.

Singapore $5,224
Bangkok $1,806

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,994 in Singapore versus $2,467 in Bangkok.

Singapore $6,994
Bangkok $2,467

Living in Singapore is roughly 202% more expensive than in Bangkok, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Singapore is 158% above, Bangkok is 15% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.53 SGD 14.77

$2.95 ฿99.1

290.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.2 SGD 91.2

$36.28 ฿1,220

96.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 SGD 11.22

$6.83 ฿229

28.26%

Cappuccino

$5.25 SGD 6.73

$2.73 ฿91.7

92.31%

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

$1.83 SGD 2.34

$0.63 ฿21.33

190.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 SGD 1.60

$0.36 ฿12.23

247.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.42 SGD 10.79

$2.61 ฿87.8

222.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.02 SGD 12.83

$4.48 ฿151

123.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.94 SGD 3.76

$1.90 ฿64.0

54.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.47 SGD 3.16

$1.52 ฿51.0

62.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.71 SGD 3.47

$1.43 ฿47.92

89.51%

Eggs

$3.73 SGD 4.77

$2.49 ฿83.6

49.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.54 SGD 27.58

$17.59 ฿591

22.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.52 SGD 12.20

$3.64 ฿122

161.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.98 SGD 33.27

$13.19 ฿443

96.97%

Apples (1kg)

$4.48 SGD 5.74

$4.01 ฿135

11.72%

Banana (1kg)

$3.11 SGD 3.99

$1.76 ฿59.1

76.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.62 SGD 5.92

$2.78 ฿93.5

66.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.23 SGD 2.86

$1.88 ฿63.1

18.62%

Potato (1kg)

$2.50 SGD 3.20

$1.74 ฿58.6

43.68%

Onion (1kg)

$2.38 SGD 3.05

$1.56 ฿52.3

52.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.78 SGD 2.28

$1.29 ฿43.48

37.98%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 SGD 1.93

$0.52 ฿17.43

190.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.18 SGD 18.16

$4.66 ฿157

204.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.79 SGD 30.47

$15.07 ฿507

57.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.51 SGD 5.78

$1.84 ฿62.0

145.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 SGD 5.86

$3.30 ฿111

38.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.58 SGD 2.03

$1.10 ฿37.13

43.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.4 SGD 123

$35.25 ฿1,185

173.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.63 SGD 4.65

$1.06 ฿35.48

242.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.80 SGD 1.02

$1.21 ฿40.81

-33.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.18 SGD 20.72

$6.01 ฿202

169.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.51 SGD 3.21

$1.36 ฿45.82

84.56%

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

$155.9K SGD 199.6K

$31.0K ฿1.0M

402.37%

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

$145.8K SGD 186.7K

$26.7K ฿896.2K

446.85%

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

$175 SGD 224

$106 ฿3,580

64.35%

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

$12.45 SGD 15.94

$14.72 ฿495

-15.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.64 SGD 34.11

$17.94 ฿603

48.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$112 SGD 143

$57.8 ฿1,944

92.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.07 SGD 15.46

$18.80 ฿632

-35.80%

Cinema Ticket

$11.60 SGD 14.85

$7.46 ฿251

55.50%

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

$1,463 SGD 1,874

$579 ฿19.5K

152.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.4K SGD 36.3K

$16.3K ฿546.9K

74.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.5 SGD 104

$69.7 ฿2,344

16.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.6 SGD 64.8

$42.48 ฿1,428

19.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 SGD 143

$97.8 ฿3,287

14.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 SGD 166

$108 ฿3,621

20.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,916 SGD 3,734

$664 ฿22.3K

339.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,128 SGD 2,725

$342 ฿11.5K

521.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,654 SGD 7,241

$1,977 ฿66.5K

186.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,968 SGD 5,081

$744 ฿25.0K

433.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$23.6K SGD 30.2K

$5,940 ฿199.7K

297.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.8K SGD 21.5K

$3,098 ฿104.2K

443.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,369 SGD 5,594

$626 ฿21.0K

598.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.44

5.25

-53.52%

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

Last update for Singapore: October 5, 2026

Last update for Bangkok: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Singapore

$2.1K 61.4%

Bangkok

$342 30.5% 83.9% $1.8K

Groceries & Markets

Singapore

$457 13.2%

Bangkok

$277 24.7% 39.4% $180

Eating Out

Singapore

$256 7.4%

Bangkok

$103 9.1% 59.9% $153

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Singapore

$214 6.2%

Bangkok

$139 12.4% 35% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Singapore

$168 4.9%

Bangkok

$143 12.7% 14.9% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Singapore

$135 3.9%

Bangkok

$73 6.5% 46% $62

Getting Around

Singapore

$110 3.2%

Bangkok

$47 4.2% 57.6% $64

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,916 in Singapore and $664 in Bangkok. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Singapore pays 598% 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: $71.0 in Singapore vs $36.00 in Bangkok for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $457 vs $277 per month, with Bangkok cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇬 Singapore

🇹🇭 Bangkok

🕒 Local time

10:05 10:05 AM

09:05 9:05 AM

1 h behind Singapore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,535,002 Capital

5,666,264 Capital

💱 Currency

Singapore Dollar SGD $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 SGD = 0.781 USD

1 SGD = 0.696 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to SGD – Singapore Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇬 Singapore Dollar ($)

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).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.71 THB (100 THB = 2.65 EUR).

USD to SGD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Singapore Bangkok 1,430 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Singapore
Bangkok

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

Singapore vs Bangkok: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Singapore and Bangkok differ by about 202% in total monthly costs ($3,454 vs $1,144 including rent). Bangkok is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 598% higher in Singapore, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,916 in Singapore versus $664 in Bangkok. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Bangkok – a meal for two runs $36.00 versus $71.0 in Singapore. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $3,454 per month in Singapore versus $1,144 in Bangkok – a 202% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,144 in Bangkok versus $3,454 in Singapore, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bangkok but tight or insufficient in Singapore. The gap between the two cities makes Bangkok 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, Singapore and Bangkok 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 Bangkok gentler on the wallet – expenses run 202% less than in Singapore. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.