Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Singapore and Narita

For one person, living is cheaper in Narita: $1,198 a month against $3,500 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $27,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

169

Cost of Living Index in Singapore
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Singapore Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Narita
Learn more

Narita Living Index

Jump to prices

Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,500

/mo nomad

Narita

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,198

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Singapore and in Narita

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,500 in Singapore versus $1,198 in Narita.

Singapore $3,500
Narita $1,198

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,265 in Singapore versus $1,862 in Narita.

Singapore $5,265
Narita $1,862

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,030 in Singapore versus $2,527 in Narita.

Singapore $7,030
Narita $2,527

Living in Singapore is roughly 192% more expensive than in Narita, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Singapore is 159% above, Narita is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.76 SGD 15.05

$5.72 ¥904

105.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.6 SGD 90.4

$40.53 ¥6,403

74.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 SGD 10.94

$4.32 ¥682

97.92%

Cappuccino

$5.20 SGD 6.66

$3.08 ¥486

68.83%

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

$1.77 SGD 2.27

$0.74 ¥117

139.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 SGD 1.58

$0.80 ¥126

53.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.26 SGD 10.58

$2.09 ¥330

295.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.17 SGD 13.01

$3.10 ¥489

228.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.04 SGD 3.89

$1.29 ¥203

135.66%

White Bread (500g)

$2.55 SGD 3.26

$1.74 ¥275

46.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.86 SGD 3.66

$3.59 ¥567

-20.33%

Eggs

$3.53 SGD 4.51

$2.01 ¥317

75.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.12 SGD 27.02

$10.31 ¥1,628

104.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.90 SGD 12.67

$5.88 ¥929

68.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.42 SGD 32.53

$14.64 ¥2,312

73.63%

Apples (1kg)

$4.57 SGD 5.85

$5.75 ¥909

-20.52%

Banana (1kg)

$3.13 SGD 4.00

$2.68 ¥423

16.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.72 SGD 6.04

$2.88 ¥455

63.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.23 SGD 2.85

$4.26 ¥673

-47.65%

Potato (1kg)

$2.57 SGD 3.29

$2.52 ¥398

1.98%

Onion (1kg)

$2.29 SGD 2.93

$2.53 ¥399

-9.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.87 SGD 2.39

$1.28 ¥203

46.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 SGD 1.84

$0.79 ¥125

82.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.97 SGD 17.88

$3.83 ¥606

264.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.48 SGD 30.05

$6.12 ¥968

283.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.54 SGD 5.80

$1.74 ¥275

160.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 SGD 5.68

$2.08 ¥328

113.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.57 SGD 2.01

$1.45 ¥229

8.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$93.8 SGD 120

$59.9 ¥9,458

56.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.64 SGD 4.66

$3.17 ¥500

14.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 SGD 0.97

$1.62 ¥257

-53.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.14 SGD 20.66

$20.39 ¥3,221

-20.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.45 SGD 3.14

$1.04 ¥165

135.58%

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

$155.2K SGD 198.5K

$21.2K ¥3.4M

631.10%

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

$148.5K SGD 190.0K

$18.6K ¥2.9M

700.00%

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

$172 SGD 220

$134 ¥21.1K

28.19%

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

$12.39 SGD 15.86

$24.48 ¥3,867

-49.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.21 SGD 33.54

$27.93 ¥4,413

-6.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$108 SGD 138

$52.2 ¥8,250

106.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.31 SGD 15.75

Cinema Ticket

$11.64 SGD 14.90

$11.31 ¥1,786

2.92%

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

$1,481 SGD 1,895

$631 ¥99.7K

134.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K SGD 36.3K

$14.9K ¥2.4M

89.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.6 SGD 103

$63.4 ¥10.0K

27.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.1 SGD 64.1

$37.27 ¥5,888

34.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 SGD 143

$61.1 ¥9,657

82.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 SGD 165

$101 ¥15.9K

28.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,015 SGD 3,858

$541 ¥85.5K

456.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,171 SGD 2,778

$336 ¥53.1K

545.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,842 SGD 7,475

$996 ¥157.3K

486.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,044 SGD 5,174

$633 ¥100.0K

539.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$23.8K SGD 30.4K

$4,458 ¥704.3K

433.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.8K SGD 21.4K

$1,527 ¥241.3K

996.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,385 SGD 5,611

$1,280 ¥202.2K

242.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.44

2.64

-7.58%

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

Last update for Singapore: October 13, 2026

Last update for Narita: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Singapore

$2.2K 62%

Narita

$336 28.1% 84.5% $1.8K

Groceries & Markets

Singapore

$458 13.1%

Narita

$287 24% 37.3% $171

Eating Out

Singapore

$256 7.3%

Narita

$118 9.9% 53.7% $137

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Singapore

$210 6%

Narita

$186 15.6% 11.4% $24

Clothing & Footwear

Singapore

$167 4.8%

Narita

$118 9.9% 29.4% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Singapore

$131 3.8%

Narita

$75 6.3% 43% $56

Getting Around

Singapore

$107 3.1%

Narita

$77 6.4% 28.4% $31

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $3,015 in Singapore and $541 in Narita. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Singapore pays 243% 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 $41.00 in Narita for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $458 vs $287 per month, with Narita cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇬 Singapore

🇯🇵 Narita

🕒 Local time

05:13 5:13 AM

06:13 6:13 AM

1 h ahead of Singapore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,535,002 Capital

131,613

💱 Currency

Singapore Dollar SGD $

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1 SGD = 0.781 USD

1 SGD = 0.695 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JPY, USD, EUR to SGD – Singapore Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇬 Singapore Dollar ($)

Singapore Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 SGD (1 SGD = 0.781 USD). 1 EUR = 1.44 SGD (1 SGD = 0.695 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to SGD in detail →

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Singapore Narita 5,370 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

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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 Narita: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Narita is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 192% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 243% 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: $3,015 in Singapore versus $541 in Narita. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Narita runs roughly 57% less than in Singapore. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $1,481 in Singapore versus $631 in Narita. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,198 in Narita versus $3,500 in Singapore, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Narita but tight or insufficient in Singapore. The gap between the two cities makes Narita 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 Narita 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 Narita gentler on the wallet – expenses run 192% less than in Singapore. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.