Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Singapore and Surabaya

For one person, living is cheaper in Surabaya: $688 a month against $3,454 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $33,200 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
33

Cost of Living Index in Surabaya
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Surabaya Living Index

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Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,454

/mo nomad

Surabaya

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$688

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Singapore and in Surabaya

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,454 in Singapore versus $688 in Surabaya.

Singapore $3,454
Surabaya $688

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,224 in Singapore versus $1,191 in Surabaya.

Singapore $5,224
Surabaya $1,191

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,994 in Singapore versus $1,695 in Surabaya.

Singapore $6,994
Surabaya $1,695

Living in Singapore is roughly 402% more expensive than in Surabaya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Singapore is 158% above, Surabaya is 49% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.53 SGD 14.77

$1.69 Rp 30.3K

582.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.2 SGD 91.2

$11.40 Rp 204.0K

524.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.76 SGD 11.22

$3.05 Rp 54.6K

187.21%

Cappuccino

$5.25 SGD 6.73

$1.57 Rp 28.0K

234.39%

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

$1.83 SGD 2.34

$0.61 Rp 10.8K

200.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.25 SGD 1.60

$0.28 Rp 5,030

346.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.42 SGD 10.79

$2.26 Rp 40.5K

272.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.02 SGD 12.83

$4.09 Rp 73.2K

144.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.94 SGD 3.76

$1.22 Rp 21.8K

140.98%

White Bread (500g)

$2.47 SGD 3.16

$1.27 Rp 22.8K

94.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.71 SGD 3.47

$0.84 Rp 15.0K

222.62%

Eggs

$3.73 SGD 4.77

$1.20 Rp 21.5K

210.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.54 SGD 27.58

$7.66 Rp 137.1K

181.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.52 SGD 12.20

$3.08 Rp 55.1K

209.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.98 SGD 33.27

$7.85 Rp 140.4K

230.96%

Apples (1kg)

$4.48 SGD 5.74

$2.09 Rp 37.5K

114.35%

Banana (1kg)

$3.11 SGD 3.99

$1.30 Rp 23.2K

139.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.62 SGD 5.92

$1.82 Rp 32.6K

153.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.23 SGD 2.86

$1.56 Rp 27.8K

42.95%

Potato (1kg)

$2.50 SGD 3.20

$1.30 Rp 23.3K

92.31%

Onion (1kg)

$2.38 SGD 3.05

$1.91 Rp 34.2K

24.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.78 SGD 2.28

$0.96 Rp 17.2K

85.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 SGD 1.93

$0.43 Rp 7,686

251.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.18 SGD 18.16

$1.94 Rp 34.6K

630.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.79 SGD 30.47

$24.67 Rp 441.4K

-3.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.51 SGD 5.78

$1.73 Rp 30.9K

160.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 SGD 5.86

$3.00 Rp 53.6K

52.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.58 SGD 2.03

$0.32 Rp 5,674

393.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.4 SGD 123

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.63 SGD 4.65

$0.48 Rp 8,526

656.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.80 SGD 1.02

$0.43 Rp 7,686

86.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.18 SGD 20.72

$2.61 Rp 46.8K

519.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.51 SGD 3.21

$0.83 Rp 14.8K

202.41%

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

$155.9K SGD 199.6K

$25.0K Rp 446.4M

524.67%

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

$145.8K SGD 186.7K

$32.8K Rp 586.0M

345.00%

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

$175 SGD 224

$86.2 Rp 1.5M

103.13%

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

$12.45 SGD 15.94

$4.58 Rp 82.0K

171.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.64 SGD 34.11

$19.24 Rp 344.2K

38.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$112 SGD 143

$17.96 Rp 321.3K

521.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.07 SGD 15.46

$6.82 Rp 122.0K

76.98%

Cinema Ticket

$11.60 SGD 14.85

$2.72 Rp 48.7K

326.47%

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

$1,463 SGD 1,874

$280 Rp 5.0M

422.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.4K SGD 36.3K

$9,557 Rp 171.0M

196.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.5 SGD 104

$70.0 Rp 1.3M

16.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.6 SGD 64.8

$39.31 Rp 703.2K

28.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 SGD 143

$81.4 Rp 1.5M

37.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 SGD 166

$73.4 Rp 1.3M

76.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,916 SGD 3,734

$279 Rp 5.0M

945.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,128 SGD 2,725

$147 Rp 2.6M

1349.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,654 SGD 7,241

$1,247 Rp 22.3M

353.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,968 SGD 5,081

$620 Rp 11.1M

540.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$23.6K SGD 30.2K

$2,155 Rp 38.6M

995.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.8K SGD 21.5K

$1,047 Rp 18.7M

1507.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,369 SGD 5,594

$273 Rp 4.9M

1499.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.44

7.5

-67.47%

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

Last update for Singapore: October 5, 2026

Last update for Surabaya: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Singapore

$2.1K 61.4%

Surabaya

$147 21.7% 93.1% $2K

Groceries & Markets

Singapore

$457 13.2%

Surabaya

$209 30.9% 54.3% $248

Eating Out

Singapore

$256 7.4%

Surabaya

$65 9.5% 74.8% $191

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Singapore

$214 6.2%

Surabaya

$110 16.3% 48.6% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Singapore

$168 4.9%

Surabaya

$119 17.6% 29.3% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Singapore

$135 3.9%

Surabaya

$23 3.5% 82.6% $111

Getting Around

Singapore

$110 3.2%

Surabaya

$3.9 * 0.6% 96.5% $106

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,916 in Singapore and $279 in Surabaya. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Singapore pays 1499% 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 $11.00 in Surabaya for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $457 vs $209 per month, with Surabaya cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇬 Singapore

🇮🇩 Surabaya

🕒 Local time

12:44 12:44 PM

11:44 11:44 AM

1 h behind Singapore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,535,002 Capital

2,765,487

💱 Currency

Singapore Dollar SGD $

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

📈 Exchange rate

1 SGD = 0.781 USD

1 SGD = 0.696 EUR

100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IDR, 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).

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 17,890 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.59 USD). 1 EUR = 20,065 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.98 EUR).

USD to SGD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Singapore Surabaya 1,370 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Singapore
Surabaya

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 Surabaya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Surabaya is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 402% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 1499% 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: $2,916 in Singapore versus $279 in Surabaya. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,463 in Singapore versus $280 in Surabaya. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Surabaya – a meal for two runs $11.00 versus $71.0 in Singapore. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $688 in Surabaya versus $3,454 in Singapore, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Surabaya but tight or insufficient in Singapore. The gap between the two cities makes Surabaya 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 Surabaya 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 Surabaya gentler on the wallet – expenses run 402% less than in Singapore. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.