Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Singapore and Polonnaruwa

For one person, living is cheaper in Polonnaruwa: $510 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 Polonnaruwa
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Polonnaruwa Living Index

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Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,594

/mo nomad

Polonnaruwa

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$510

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Singapore and in Polonnaruwa

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

A single person spends $3,594 per month in Singapore vs $510 in Polonnaruwa, rent included.

Singapore $3,594
Polonnaruwa $510

A couple spends around $5,314 per month in Singapore vs $829 in Polonnaruwa, rent included.

Singapore $5,314
Polonnaruwa $829

A family of three spends $7,033 per month in Singapore vs $1,148 in Polonnaruwa, rent included.

Singapore $7,033
Polonnaruwa $1,148

Singapore costs about 604% more than Polonnaruwa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Singapore sits 166% above the global median, while Polonnaruwa is 62% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.58 SGD 14.82

$3.89 LKR 1,294

197.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.7 SGD 90.4

$25.28 LKR 8,408

179.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.46 SGD 10.83

$7.32 LKR 2,435

15.57%

Cappuccino

$5.18 SGD 6.63

$2.56 LKR 850

102.34%

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

$1.84 SGD 2.36

$0.69 LKR 228

166.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 SGD 1.58

$0.27 LKR 89.8

355.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.50 SGD 12.15

$2.17 LKR 721

337.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.86 SGD 12.62

$2.98 LKR 990

230.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.02 SGD 3.87

$1.58 LKR 526

91.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.67 SGD 3.42

$0.54 LKR 178

394.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.77 SGD 3.54

$0.81 LKR 269

241.98%

Eggs

$3.72 SGD 4.76

$1.70 LKR 567

118.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.01 SGD 26.88

$15.24 LKR 5,068

37.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.95 SGD 12.73

$4.93 LKR 1,638

101.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.13 SGD 32.16

$7.66 LKR 2,547

228.07%

Apples (1kg)

$4.59 SGD 5.88

$6.48 LKR 2,156

-29.17%

Banana (1kg)

$3.09 SGD 3.95

$0.81 LKR 269

281.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.64 SGD 5.94

$4.25 LKR 1,414

9.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 SGD 2.78

$1.27 LKR 423

71.65%

Potato (1kg)

$2.33 SGD 2.99

$1.04 LKR 345

124.04%

Onion (1kg)

$2.31 SGD 2.96

$0.77 LKR 255

200.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.86 SGD 2.38

$1.26 LKR 419

47.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 SGD 1.98

$0.42 LKR 139

269.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.11 SGD 18.06

$10.10 LKR 3,357

39.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.24 SGD 29.74

$13.57 LKR 4,512

71.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.73 SGD 6.05

$1.87 LKR 622

152.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.79 SGD 6.13

$2.98 LKR 990

60.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 SGD 1.96

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.5 SGD 123

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.58 SGD 4.59

$0.37 LKR 124

867.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 SGD 0.97

$0.31 LKR 102

145.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.98 SGD 21.73

$0.86 LKR 285

1874.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.46 SGD 3.14

$1.32 LKR 438

86.36%

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

$159.4K SGD 204.0K

$44.4K LKR 14.8M

258.72%

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

$155.7K SGD 199.3K

$45.5K LKR 15.1M

241.91%

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

$168 SGD 215

$58.0 LKR 19.3K

189.65%

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

$12.24 SGD 15.66

$4.27 LKR 1,418

186.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.18 SGD 36.07

$20.36 LKR 6,771

38.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$111 SGD 142

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.60 SGD 14.85

Cinema Ticket

$12.24 SGD 15.66

$4.60 LKR 1,531

166.09%

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

$1,899 SGD 2,430

$40.23 LKR 13.4K

4619.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$39.1K SGD 50.1K

$17.1K LKR 5.7M

128.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.6 SGD 102

$18.01 LKR 5,988

342.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 SGD 64.9

$17.32 LKR 5,760

192.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 SGD 143

$78.8 LKR 26.2K

41.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 SGD 159

$41.05 LKR 13.7K

203.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,191 SGD 4,084

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,257 SGD 2,888

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$6,173 SGD 7,900

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,035 SGD 5,164

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$23.6K SGD 30.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.5K SGD 21.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,526 SGD 5,792

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 Polonnaruwa: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Singapore

$2.3K 62.8%

Polonnaruwa

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Singapore

$459 12.8%

Polonnaruwa

$242 47.5% 47.2% $217

Eating Out

Singapore

$260 7.2%

Polonnaruwa

$104 20.5% 59.8% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Singapore

$208 5.8%

Polonnaruwa

$83 16.2% 60.4% $126

Clothing & Footwear

Singapore

$165 4.6%

Polonnaruwa

$70 13.7% 57.7% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Singapore

$135 3.8%

Polonnaruwa

$9.2 * 1.8% 93.2% $126

Getting Around

Singapore

$110 3.1%

Polonnaruwa

$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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $71 in Singapore versus $25 in Polonnaruwa. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $459 vs $242 – making Polonnaruwa the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇬 Singapore

🇱🇰 Polonnaruwa

🕒 Local time

03:26 3:26 AM

00:56 12:56 AM

2 h 30 min behind Singapore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,535,002 Capital

15,000

💱 Currency

Singapore Dollar SGD $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 SGD = 0.781 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 9, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 SGD (1 SGD = 0.781 USD). 1 EUR = 1.43 SGD (1 SGD = 0.698 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 9, 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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Between locations

Singapore Polonnaruwa 2,640 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Singapore
Polonnaruwa

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 Polonnaruwa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Singapore costs about 604% more than Polonnaruwa, 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 $5,392 per month in Singapore and $765 in Polonnaruwa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,594 in Singapore and $510 in Polonnaruwa. That makes Polonnaruwa about 86% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $1,899 per month in Singapore and $40 in Polonnaruwa. 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 Polonnaruwa, where all-in costs run around $510, than in Singapore at $3,594. In Polonnaruwa it covers expenses comfortably, while in Singapore it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Singapore has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $510 in Polonnaruwa to $3,594 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.