Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Singapore and Kurunegala

For one person, living is cheaper in Kurunegala: $498 a month against $3,594 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $37,200 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 Kurunegala
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Kurunegala Living Index

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Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,594

/mo nomad

Kurunegala

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$498

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Singapore and in Kurunegala

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,594 in Singapore versus $498 in Kurunegala.

Singapore $3,594
Kurunegala $498

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,314 in Singapore versus $807 in Kurunegala.

Singapore $5,314
Kurunegala $807

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,033 in Singapore versus $1,116 in Kurunegala.

Singapore $7,033
Kurunegala $1,116

Living in Singapore is roughly 622% more expensive than in Kurunegala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Singapore is 166% above, Kurunegala is 63% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.58 SGD 14.84

$1.83 LKR 609

532.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.7 SGD 90.5

$24.67 LKR 8,205

186.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.46 SGD 10.84

$7.47 LKR 2,484

13.25%

Cappuccino

$5.18 SGD 6.64

$2.56 LKR 853

102.34%

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

$1.84 SGD 2.36

$0.67 LKR 223

174.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 SGD 1.58

$0.27 LKR 89.9

355.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.50 SGD 12.17

$2.18 LKR 724

335.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.86 SGD 12.63

$3.00 LKR 997

228.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.02 SGD 3.87

$1.58 LKR 526

91.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.67 SGD 3.42

$0.56 LKR 187

376.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.77 SGD 3.54

$0.75 LKR 248

269.33%

Eggs

$3.72 SGD 4.77

$1.66 LKR 551

124.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.01 SGD 26.92

$15.58 LKR 5,180

34.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.95 SGD 12.75

$5.09 LKR 1,693

95.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.13 SGD 32.20

$7.78 LKR 2,588

223.01%

Apples (1kg)

$4.59 SGD 5.88

$6.54 LKR 2,176

-29.82%

Banana (1kg)

$3.09 SGD 3.96

$0.87 LKR 291

255.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.64 SGD 5.95

$4.15 LKR 1,379

11.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 SGD 2.79

$1.34 LKR 444

62.69%

Potato (1kg)

$2.33 SGD 2.99

$1.08 LKR 358

115.74%

Onion (1kg)

$2.31 SGD 2.96

$0.83 LKR 277

178.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.86 SGD 2.39

$1.20 LKR 400

55.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 SGD 1.98

$0.46 LKR 151

236.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.11 SGD 18.08

$10.12 LKR 3,366

39.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.24 SGD 29.78

$13.58 LKR 4,516

71.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.73 SGD 6.06

$1.98 LKR 657

138.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.79 SGD 6.14

$2.86 LKR 950

67.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 SGD 1.96

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.5 SGD 124

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.58 SGD 4.59

$0.37 LKR 125

867.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 SGD 0.97

$0.30 LKR 101

153.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.98 SGD 21.75

$0.94 LKR 314

1706.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.46 SGD 3.15

$0.95 LKR 315

158.95%

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

$159.4K SGD 204.2K

$43.1K LKR 14.3M

269.52%

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

$155.7K SGD 199.5K

$44.8K LKR 14.9M

247.47%

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

$168 SGD 215

$58.1 LKR 19.3K

189.15%

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

$12.24 SGD 15.68

$4.31 LKR 1,434

183.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.18 SGD 36.11

$20.95 LKR 6,967

34.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$111 SGD 142

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.60 SGD 14.86

Cinema Ticket

$12.24 SGD 15.68

$4.49 LKR 1,492

172.61%

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

$1,899 SGD 2,433

$39.43 LKR 13.1K

4715.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$39.1K SGD 50.1K

$16.9K LKR 5.6M

130.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.6 SGD 102

$18.04 LKR 6,000

341.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 SGD 65.0

$17.71 LKR 5,888

186.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 SGD 143

$77.6 LKR 25.8K

43.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 SGD 160

$40.86 LKR 13.6K

204.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,191 SGD 4,089

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,257 SGD 2,892

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$6,173 SGD 7,910

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,035 SGD 5,170

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$23.6K SGD 30.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.5K SGD 21.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,526 SGD 5,799

$152 LKR 50.7K

2870.26%

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 Kurunegala: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Singapore

$2.3K 62.8%

Kurunegala

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Singapore

$459 12.8%

Kurunegala

$246 49.4% 46.5% $214

Eating Out

Singapore

$260 7.2%

Kurunegala

$88 17.8% 65.9% $171

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Singapore

$208 5.8%

Kurunegala

$83 16.7% 60% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Singapore

$165 4.6%

Kurunegala

$69 13.9% 57.9% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Singapore

$135 3.8%

Kurunegala

$9 * 1.8% 93.4% $126

Getting Around

Singapore

$110 3.1%

Kurunegala

$1.9 * 0.4% 98.3% $108

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

Cost Breakdown

Singapore pays about 30 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $71 in Singapore vs $25 in Kurunegala for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $459 vs $246 per month, with Kurunegala cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇬 Singapore

🇱🇰 Kurunegala

🕒 Local time

04:29 4:29 AM

01:59 1:59 AM

2 h 30 min behind Singapore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,535,002 Capital

30,300

💱 Currency

Singapore Dollar SGD $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 SGD = 0.78 USD

1 SGD = 0.698 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 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 = 0.78 USD). 1 EUR = 1.43 SGD (1 SGD = 0.698 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to SGD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Singapore
Kurunegala

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 Kurunegala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kurunegala 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.

Average pay in Singapore is about 30 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $1,899 in Singapore versus $39 in Kurunegala. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Kurunegala – a meal for two runs $25 versus $71 in Singapore. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $498 in Kurunegala versus $3,594 in Singapore, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kurunegala but tight or insufficient in Singapore. The gap between the two cities makes Kurunegala 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 Kurunegala are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

It comes down to priorities – Kurunegala wins on affordability, Singapore on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.