Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Singapore and Kolonnawa

For one person, living is cheaper in Kolonnawa: $488 a month against $3,544 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $36,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

170

Cost of Living Index in Singapore
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Singapore Living Index
23

Cost of Living Index in Kolonnawa
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Kolonnawa Living Index

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Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,544

/mo nomad

Kolonnawa

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$488

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Singapore and in Kolonnawa

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

A single person spends $3,544 per month in Singapore vs $488 in Kolonnawa, rent included.

Singapore $3,544
Kolonnawa $488

A couple spends around $5,318 per month in Singapore vs $794 in Kolonnawa, rent included.

Singapore $5,318
Kolonnawa $794

A family of three spends $7,093 per month in Singapore vs $1,100 in Kolonnawa, rent included.

Singapore $7,093
Kolonnawa $1,100

Singapore costs about 627% more than Kolonnawa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Singapore sits 160% above the global median, while Kolonnawa is 64% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.62 SGD 14.88

$3.87 LKR 1,285

200.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.4 SGD 95.4

$25.33 LKR 8,422

193.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.35 SGD 10.69

$7.38 LKR 2,453

13.14%

Cappuccino

$5.24 SGD 6.71

$2.45 LKR 816

113.88%

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

$1.83 SGD 2.34

$0.71 LKR 236

157.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 SGD 1.64

$0.25 LKR 82.6

412.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.33 SGD 10.68

$2.16 LKR 718

285.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.99 SGD 12.79

$3.06 LKR 1,018

226.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.99 SGD 3.82

$1.56 LKR 519

91.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 SGD 3.31

$0.53 LKR 178

386.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.77 SGD 3.55

$0.58 LKR 192

377.59%

Eggs

$3.76 SGD 4.81

$1.66 LKR 551

126.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$20.85 SGD 26.71

$10.53 LKR 3,502

98.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.01 SGD 12.82

$4.63 LKR 1,539

116.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.28 SGD 32.38

$7.32 LKR 2,433

245.36%

Apples (1kg)

$4.52 SGD 5.79

$6.75 LKR 2,243

-33.04%

Banana (1kg)

$3.19 SGD 4.09

$0.85 LKR 281

275.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.57 SGD 5.85

$4.43 LKR 1,472

3.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 SGD 2.77

$1.32 LKR 439

64.39%

Potato (1kg)

$2.48 SGD 3.18

$1.04 LKR 347

138.46%

Onion (1kg)

$2.33 SGD 2.99

$0.77 LKR 255

202.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.91 SGD 2.44

$0.93 LKR 308

105.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 SGD 1.85

$0.43 LKR 142

237.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.85 SGD 17.74

$10.34 LKR 3,436

33.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.38 SGD 29.95

$10.50 LKR 3,489

122.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.69 SGD 6.01

$1.77 LKR 588

164.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.80 SGD 6.15

$2.22 LKR 738

116.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 SGD 1.94

$0.16 LKR 53.2

850.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.6 SGD 124

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 SGD 4.76

$0.40 LKR 134

827.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.81 SGD 1.03

$0.35 LKR 116

131.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.41 SGD 21.03

$0.93 LKR 308

1664.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.53 SGD 3.24

$1.33 LKR 442

90.23%

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

$156.9K SGD 201.0K

$43.9K LKR 14.6M

257.78%

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

$154.6K SGD 198.0K

$41.1K LKR 13.7M

275.94%

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

$170 SGD 218

$59.6 LKR 19.8K

185.05%

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

$12.39 SGD 15.88

$4.20 LKR 1,397

195.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.02 SGD 35.90

$20.66 LKR 6,870

35.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$111 SGD 143

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.09 SGD 15.48

Cinema Ticket

$12.21 SGD 15.64

$4.65 LKR 1,546

162.58%

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

$1,878 SGD 2,406

$37.35 LKR 12.4K

4927.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.1K SGD 37.3K

$1,188 LKR 394.9K

2351.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.8 SGD 98.4

$18.07 LKR 6,007

324.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.5 SGD 66.0

$16.73 LKR 5,562

208.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 SGD 137

$80.1 LKR 26.6K

33.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 SGD 158

$41.69 LKR 13.9K

195.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,098 SGD 3,969

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,213 SGD 2,835

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,983 SGD 7,665

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,088 SGD 5,236

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$23.1K SGD 29.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.7K SGD 21.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,464 SGD 5,719

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.44

12.69

-80.77%

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

Last update for Singapore: October 25, 2026

Last update for Kolonnawa: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Singapore

$2.2K 62.5%

Kolonnawa

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Singapore

$458 12.9%

Kolonnawa

$217 44.6% 52.5% $240

Eating Out

Singapore

$255 7.2%

Kolonnawa

$103 21.2% 59.5% $152

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Singapore

$210 5.9%

Kolonnawa

$84 17.3% 59.8% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Singapore

$161 4.6%

Kolonnawa

$70 14.5% 56.3% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Singapore

$136 3.8%

Kolonnawa

$9.3 * 1.9% 93.2% $127

Getting Around

Singapore

$110 3.1%

Kolonnawa

$2.8 * 0.6% 97.5% $108

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 $74 in Singapore versus $25 in Kolonnawa. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $458 vs $217 – making Kolonnawa the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇬 Singapore

🇱🇰 Kolonnawa

🕒 Local time

09:20 9:20 AM

06:50 6:50 AM

2 h 30 min behind Singapore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,535,002 Capital

64,800

💱 Currency

Singapore Dollar SGD $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 SGD = 0.781 USD

1 SGD = 0.701 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 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 October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 SGD (1 SGD = 0.781 USD). 1 EUR = 1.43 SGD (1 SGD = 0.701 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

USD to SGD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Singapore Kolonnawa 2,730 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Singapore
Kolonnawa

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 Kolonnawa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Singapore costs about 627% more than Kolonnawa, 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 $5,316 per month in Singapore and $732 in Kolonnawa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,544 in Singapore and $488 in Kolonnawa. That makes Kolonnawa about 86% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $1,878 per month in Singapore and $37 in Kolonnawa. 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 Kolonnawa, where all-in costs run around $488, than in Singapore at $3,544. In Kolonnawa it covers expenses comfortably, while in Singapore it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Kolonnawa has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $488 in Kolonnawa to $3,544 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.