Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Singapore and Hikkaduwa

For one person, living is cheaper in Hikkaduwa: $513 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.

171

Cost of Living Index in Singapore
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Singapore Living Index
24

Cost of Living Index in Hikkaduwa
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Hikkaduwa Living Index

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Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,594

/mo nomad

Hikkaduwa

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$513

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Singapore and in Hikkaduwa

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 Hikkaduwa actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,594 in Singapore versus $513 in Hikkaduwa.

Singapore $3,594
Hikkaduwa $513

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,314 in Singapore versus $830 in Hikkaduwa.

Singapore $5,314
Hikkaduwa $830

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,033 in Singapore versus $1,147 in Hikkaduwa.

Singapore $7,033
Hikkaduwa $1,147

Living in Singapore is roughly 601% more expensive than in Hikkaduwa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Singapore is 166% above, Hikkaduwa is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.58 SGD 14.80

$3.79 LKR 1,259

205.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.7 SGD 90.3

$24.42 LKR 8,120

189.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.46 SGD 10.81

$7.43 LKR 2,472

13.86%

Cappuccino

$5.18 SGD 6.62

$2.52 LKR 837

105.56%

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

$1.84 SGD 2.35

$0.72 LKR 241

155.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 SGD 1.58

$0.25 LKR 82.7

392.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.50 SGD 12.14

$2.26 LKR 752

320.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.86 SGD 12.60

$3.10 LKR 1,031

218.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.02 SGD 3.86

$1.57 LKR 522

92.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.67 SGD 3.41

$0.57 LKR 188

368.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.77 SGD 3.54

$0.81 LKR 270

241.98%

Eggs

$3.72 SGD 4.76

$1.65 LKR 550

125.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.01 SGD 26.85

$15.32 LKR 5,094

37.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.95 SGD 12.71

$4.95 LKR 1,646

101.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.13 SGD 32.12

$7.78 LKR 2,588

223.01%

Apples (1kg)

$4.59 SGD 5.87

$6.46 LKR 2,148

-28.95%

Banana (1kg)

$3.09 SGD 3.95

$0.86 LKR 287

259.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.64 SGD 5.93

$4.09 LKR 1,359

13.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 SGD 2.78

$1.28 LKR 426

70.31%

Potato (1kg)

$2.33 SGD 2.98

$1.09 LKR 361

113.76%

Onion (1kg)

$2.31 SGD 2.96

$0.77 LKR 256

200.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.86 SGD 2.38

$1.19 LKR 397

56.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 SGD 1.98

$0.45 LKR 150

244.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.11 SGD 18.03

$10.14 LKR 3,372

39.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.24 SGD 29.70

$13.61 LKR 4,527

70.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.73 SGD 6.04

$1.95 LKR 648

142.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.79 SGD 6.12

$2.94 LKR 979

62.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 SGD 1.95

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.5 SGD 123

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.58 SGD 4.58

$0.40 LKR 133

795.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 SGD 0.97

$0.31 LKR 103

145.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.98 SGD 21.70

$0.93 LKR 309

1725.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.46 SGD 3.14

$1.38 LKR 460

78.26%

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

$159.4K SGD 203.7K

$44.2K LKR 14.7M

260.47%

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

$155.7K SGD 199.0K

$45.4K LKR 15.1M

242.74%

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

$168 SGD 215

$57.9 LKR 19.3K

190.00%

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

$12.24 SGD 15.64

$4.33 LKR 1,441

182.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.18 SGD 36.02

$20.86 LKR 6,935

35.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$111 SGD 141

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.60 SGD 14.83

Cinema Ticket

$12.24 SGD 15.64

$4.60 LKR 1,529

166.09%

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

$1,899 SGD 2,427

$40.69 LKR 13.5K

4566.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$39.1K SGD 50.0K

$17.3K LKR 5.7M

126.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.6 SGD 102

$18.18 LKR 6,045

338.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 SGD 64.8

$17.74 LKR 5,900

185.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 SGD 143

$79.6 LKR 26.5K

40.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 SGD 159

$42.26 LKR 14.1K

194.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,191 SGD 4,079

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,257 SGD 2,884

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$6,173 SGD 7,889

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,035 SGD 5,157

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$23.6K SGD 30.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.5K SGD 21.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,526 SGD 5,784

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.44

12.5

-80.48%

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

Last update for Singapore: November 2, 2026

Last update for Hikkaduwa: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Singapore

$2.3K 62.8%

Hikkaduwa

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Singapore

$459 12.8%

Hikkaduwa

$243 47.5% 47% $216

Eating Out

Singapore

$260 7.2%

Hikkaduwa

$104 20.3% 59.9% $156

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Singapore

$208 5.8%

Hikkaduwa

$83 16.2% 60.1% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Singapore

$165 4.6%

Hikkaduwa

$71 13.9% 56.9% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Singapore

$135 3.8%

Hikkaduwa

$9.2 * 1.8% 93.2% $126

Getting Around

Singapore

$110 3.1%

Hikkaduwa

$2 * 0.4% 98.2% $108

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $71 in Singapore vs $24 in Hikkaduwa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $459 vs $243 per month, with Hikkaduwa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇬 Singapore

🇱🇰 Hikkaduwa

🕒 Local time

12:13 12:13 PM

09:43 9:43 AM

2 h 30 min behind Singapore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,535,002 Capital

101,342

💱 Currency

Singapore Dollar SGD $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 SGD = 0.782 USD

1 SGD = 0.697 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to SGD – Singapore Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇬 Singapore Dollar ($)

Singapore Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 SGD (1 SGD = 0.782 USD). 1 EUR = 1.43 SGD (1 SGD = 0.697 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 373 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR).

USD to SGD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Singapore Hikkaduwa 2,690 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Singapore
Hikkaduwa

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 Hikkaduwa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hikkaduwa is about 86% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $5,392 in Singapore and $769 in Hikkaduwa 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 89% higher in Singapore. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $3,594 per month in Singapore versus $513 in Hikkaduwa – Hikkaduwa is about 86% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $513 in Hikkaduwa versus $3,594 in Singapore, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Hikkaduwa but tight or insufficient in Singapore. The gap between the two cities makes Hikkaduwa 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.