Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Singapore and Saitama

For one person, living is cheaper in Saitama: $1,003 a month against $3,500 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $30,000 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Saitama
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Saitama Living Index

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Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,500

/mo nomad

Saitama

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,003

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Singapore and in Saitama

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

A single person spends $3,500 per month in Singapore vs $1,003 in Saitama, rent included.

Singapore $3,500
Saitama $1,003

A couple spends around $5,265 per month in Singapore vs $1,327 in Saitama, rent included.

Singapore $5,265
Saitama $1,327

A family of three spends $7,030 per month in Singapore vs $1,650 in Saitama, rent included.

Singapore $7,030
Saitama $1,650

Singapore costs about 249% more than Saitama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Singapore sits 159% above the global median, while Saitama is 26% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.76 SGD 15.05

$5.50 ¥869

113.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.6 SGD 90.4

$31.36 ¥4,955

125.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 SGD 10.94

$4.80 ¥758

78.13%

Cappuccino

$5.20 SGD 6.66

$2.92 ¥461

78.08%

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

$1.77 SGD 2.27

$0.70 ¥111

152.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 SGD 1.58

$0.58 ¥92.0

112.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.26 SGD 10.58

$2.51 ¥396

229.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.17 SGD 13.01

$3.23 ¥511

214.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.04 SGD 3.89

$1.39 ¥220

118.71%

White Bread (500g)

$2.55 SGD 3.26

$1.64 ¥259

55.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.86 SGD 3.66

$2.76 ¥436

3.62%

Eggs

$3.53 SGD 4.51

$2.00 ¥315

76.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.12 SGD 27.02

$10.18 ¥1,609

107.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.90 SGD 12.67

$5.44 ¥859

81.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.42 SGD 32.53

$14.20 ¥2,243

79.01%

Apples (1kg)

$4.57 SGD 5.85

$5.61 ¥887

-18.54%

Banana (1kg)

$3.13 SGD 4.00

$2.16 ¥342

44.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.72 SGD 6.04

$2.91 ¥459

62.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.23 SGD 2.85

$4.29 ¥678

-48.02%

Potato (1kg)

$2.57 SGD 3.29

$2.50 ¥395

2.80%

Onion (1kg)

$2.29 SGD 2.93

$1.61 ¥255

42.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.87 SGD 2.39

$1.30 ¥205

43.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 SGD 1.84

$0.72 ¥114

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.97 SGD 17.88

$3.89 ¥615

259.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.48 SGD 30.05

$6.45 ¥1,018

264.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.54 SGD 5.80

$1.80 ¥284

152.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 SGD 5.68

$2.01 ¥318

120.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.57 SGD 2.01

$3.32 ¥525

-52.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$93.8 SGD 120

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.64 SGD 4.66

$3.24 ¥512

12.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 SGD 0.97

$2.63 ¥416

-71.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.14 SGD 20.66

$20.14 ¥3,181

-19.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.45 SGD 3.14

$1.10 ¥174

122.73%

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

$155.2K SGD 198.5K

$21.4K ¥3.4M

623.67%

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

$148.5K SGD 190.0K

$14.2K ¥2.2M

948.26%

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

$172 SGD 220

$133 ¥21.0K

29.28%

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

$12.39 SGD 15.86

$18.15 ¥2,867

-31.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.21 SGD 33.54

$32.67 ¥5,162

-19.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$108 SGD 138

$62.7 ¥9,909

72.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.31 SGD 15.75

Cinema Ticket

$11.64 SGD 14.90

$11.09 ¥1,752

4.96%

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

$1,481 SGD 1,895

$634 ¥100.1K

133.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K SGD 36.3K

$14.5K ¥2.3M

94.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.6 SGD 103

$35.01 ¥5,531

130.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.1 SGD 64.1

$25.25 ¥3,989

98.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 SGD 143

$55.0 ¥8,686

103.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 SGD 165

$62.6 ¥9,891

105.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,015 SGD 3,858

$413 ¥65.3K

629.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,171 SGD 2,778

$233 ¥36.8K

831.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,842 SGD 7,475

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,044 SGD 5,174

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$23.8K SGD 30.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.8K SGD 21.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,385 SGD 5,611

$1,550 ¥244.9K

182.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.44

2.06

18.45%

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

Last update for Singapore: October 13, 2026

Last update for Saitama: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Singapore

$2.2K 62%

Saitama

$233 23.2% 89.3% $1.9K

Groceries & Markets

Singapore

$458 13.1%

Saitama

$274 27.4% 40.1% $183

Eating Out

Singapore

$256 7.3%

Saitama

$118 11.7% 54.1% $138

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Singapore

$210 6%

Saitama

$184 18.3% 12.7% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Singapore

$167 4.8%

Saitama

$80 8% 52.1% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Singapore

$131 3.8%

Saitama

$85 8.5% 35.4% $46

Getting Around

Singapore

$107 3.1%

Saitama

$30 * 3% 72.4% $78

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $3,015 in Singapore versus $413 in Saitama. 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 183% 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 $31.00 in Saitama. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $458 vs $274 – making Saitama the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇬 Singapore

🇯🇵 Saitama

🕒 Local time

01:43 1:43 AM

02:43 2:43 AM

1 h ahead of Singapore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,535,002 Capital

1,182,115

💱 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 17, 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 17, 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Singapore Saitama 5,330 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Singapore
Saitama

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 Saitama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Singapore is pricier by about 249%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,251 per month in Singapore and $1,504 in Saitama. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,500 in Singapore and $1,003 in Saitama. That's a gap of about 249%.

Kindergarten costs $1,481 per month in Singapore and $634 in Saitama. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Saitama, where all-in costs run around $1,003, than in Singapore at $3,500. In Saitama it covers expenses comfortably, while in Singapore it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Saitama – 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 Saitama. 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.