Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Singapore and Phnom Penh

For one person, living is cheaper in Phnom Penh: $1,037 a month against $3,454 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $29,000 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Phnom Penh
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Phnom Penh Living Index

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Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,454

/mo nomad

Phnom Penh

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$1,037

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Singapore and in Phnom Penh

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

A single person spends $3,454 per month in Singapore vs $1,037 in Phnom Penh, rent included.

Singapore $3,454
Phnom Penh $1,037

A couple spends around $5,224 per month in Singapore vs $1,654 in Phnom Penh, rent included.

Singapore $5,224
Phnom Penh $1,654

A family of three spends $6,994 per month in Singapore vs $2,271 in Phnom Penh, rent included.

Singapore $6,994
Phnom Penh $2,271

Singapore costs about 233% more than Phnom Penh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Singapore sits 158% above the global median, while Phnom Penh is 23% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.53 SGD 14.77

$4.08 ៛16.5K

182.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.2 SGD 91.2

$39.62 ៛160.5K

79.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 SGD 11.22

$6.91 ៛28.0K

26.77%

Cappuccino

$5.25 SGD 6.73

$3.02 ៛12.2K

73.84%

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

$1.83 SGD 2.34

$1.87 ៛7,572

-2.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 SGD 1.60

$0.61 ៛2,484

104.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.42 SGD 10.79

$0.98 ៛3,964

759.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.02 SGD 12.83

$2.94 ៛11.9K

240.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.94 SGD 3.76

$2.17 ៛8,802

35.48%

White Bread (500g)

$2.47 SGD 3.16

$1.61 ៛6,506

53.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.71 SGD 3.47

$1.07 ៛4,316

153.27%

Eggs

$3.73 SGD 4.77

$1.73 ៛7,023

115.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.54 SGD 27.58

$14.96 ៛60.6K

43.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.52 SGD 12.20

$4.07 ៛16.5K

133.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.98 SGD 33.27

$9.25 ៛37.5K

180.86%

Apples (1kg)

$4.48 SGD 5.74

$3.87 ៛15.7K

15.76%

Banana (1kg)

$3.11 SGD 3.99

$1.70 ៛6,879

82.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.62 SGD 5.92

$4.30 ៛17.4K

7.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.23 SGD 2.86

$2.13 ៛8,646

4.69%

Potato (1kg)

$2.50 SGD 3.20

$1.62 ៛6,549

54.32%

Onion (1kg)

$2.38 SGD 3.05

$1.28 ៛5,172

85.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.78 SGD 2.28

$1.15 ៛4,656

54.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 SGD 1.93

$0.77 ៛3,099

96.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.18 SGD 18.16

$1.95 ៛7,883

627.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.79 SGD 30.47

$11.20 ៛45.4K

112.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.51 SGD 5.78

$1.03 ៛4,165

337.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 SGD 5.86

$1.79 ៛7,263

155.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.58 SGD 2.03

$0.47 ៛1,900

236.17%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.4 SGD 123

$9.74 ៛39.4K

889.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.63 SGD 4.65

$1.10 ៛4,455

230.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.80 SGD 1.02

$0.98 ៛3,954

-18.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.18 SGD 20.72

$5.15 ៛20.9K

214.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.51 SGD 3.21

$1.35 ៛5,484

85.93%

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

$155.9K SGD 199.6K

$35.5K ៛143.9M

338.62%

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

$145.8K SGD 186.7K

$43.9K ៛177.6M

232.41%

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

$175 SGD 224

$106 ៛431.3K

64.35%

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

$12.45 SGD 15.94

$7.39 ៛29.9K

68.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.64 SGD 34.11

$25.24 ៛102.2K

5.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$112 SGD 143

$40.80 ៛165.2K

173.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.07 SGD 15.46

$10.94 ៛44.3K

10.33%

Cinema Ticket

$11.60 SGD 14.85

$4.97 ៛20.1K

133.40%

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

$1,463 SGD 1,874

$665 ៛2.7M

120.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.4K SGD 36.3K

$11.0K ៛44.5M

157.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.5 SGD 104

$27.67 ៛112.1K

194.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.6 SGD 64.8

$24.26 ៛98.2K

108.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 SGD 143

$89.8 ៛363.6K

24.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 SGD 166

$59.1 ៛239.3K

119.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,916 SGD 3,734

$639 ៛2.6M

356.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,128 SGD 2,725

$370 ៛1.5M

475.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,654 SGD 7,241

$1,148 ៛4.7M

392.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,968 SGD 5,081

$803 ៛3.3M

394.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$23.6K SGD 30.2K

$2,883 ៛11.7M

718.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.8K SGD 21.5K

$1,488 ៛6.0M

1030.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,369 SGD 5,594

$330 ៛1.3M

1222.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.44

8.07

-69.76%

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

Last update for Singapore: October 5, 2026

Last update for Phnom Penh: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Singapore

$2.1K 61.4%

Phnom Penh

$370 35.9% 82.6% $1.8K

Groceries & Markets

Singapore

$457 13.2%

Phnom Penh

$252 24.5% 45% $206

Eating Out

Singapore

$256 7.4%

Phnom Penh

$110 10.7% 56.9% $146

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Singapore

$214 6.2%

Phnom Penh

$139 13.5% 35% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Singapore

$168 4.9%

Phnom Penh

$90 8.8% 46.2% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Singapore

$135 3.9%

Phnom Penh

$51 4.9% 62.3% $84

Getting Around

Singapore

$110 3.2%

Phnom Penh

$18 1.7% 84% $93

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,916 in Singapore versus $639 in Phnom Penh. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 1223% higher in Singapore, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $71.0 in Singapore versus $40.00 in Phnom Penh. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $457 vs $252 – making Phnom Penh the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇬 Singapore

🇰🇭 Phnom Penh

🕒 Local time

13:59 1:59 PM

12:59 12:59 PM

1 h behind Singapore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,535,002 Capital

2,009,264 Capital

💱 Currency

Singapore Dollar SGD $

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

1 SGD = 0.781 USD

1 SGD = 0.696 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KHR, 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).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4,050 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD). 1 EUR = 4,542 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR).

USD to SGD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Singapore Phnom Penh 1,150 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Singapore
Phnom Penh

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 Phnom Penh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Singapore is pricier by about 233%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,180 per month in Singapore and $1,556 in Phnom Penh. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Phnom Penh, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 82% more in Singapore, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $71.0 in Singapore and $40.00 in Phnom Penh. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Phnom Penh, where all-in costs run around $1,037, than in Singapore at $3,454. In Phnom Penh it covers expenses comfortably, while in Singapore it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Phnom Penh – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Phnom Penh. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Singapore makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.