Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Singapore and Thiruvananthapuram

For one person, living is cheaper in Thiruvananthapuram: $386 a month against $3,594 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $38,500 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
19

Cost of Living Index in Thiruvananthapuram
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Thiruvananthapuram Living Index

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Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,594

/mo nomad

Thiruvananthapuram

🇮🇳 India

$386

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Singapore and in Thiruvananthapuram

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,594 in Singapore versus $386 in Thiruvananthapuram.

Singapore $3,594
Thiruvananthapuram $386

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,314 in Singapore versus $612 in Thiruvananthapuram.

Singapore $5,314
Thiruvananthapuram $612

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,033 in Singapore versus $837 in Thiruvananthapuram.

Singapore $7,033
Thiruvananthapuram $837

Living in Singapore is roughly 832% more expensive than in Thiruvananthapuram, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Singapore is 166% above, Thiruvananthapuram is 71% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.58 SGD 14.84

$2.69 ₹252

330.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.7 SGD 90.5

$10.45 ₹981

576.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.46 SGD 10.84

$3.67 ₹344

130.52%

Cappuccino

$5.18 SGD 6.64

$1.88 ₹176

175.53%

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

$1.84 SGD 2.36

$0.40 ₹37.32

360.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 SGD 1.58

$0.15 ₹13.72

720.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.50 SGD 12.17

$2.10 ₹197

352.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.86 SGD 12.63

$2.57 ₹242

283.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.02 SGD 3.87

$0.56 ₹52.5

439.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.67 SGD 3.42

$0.54 ₹51.0

394.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.77 SGD 3.54

$0.61 ₹57.6

354.10%

Eggs

$3.72 SGD 4.77

$0.90 ₹84.9

313.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.01 SGD 26.92

$5.50 ₹517

282.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.95 SGD 12.75

$2.74 ₹258

263.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.13 SGD 32.20

Apples (1kg)

$4.59 SGD 5.88

$2.29 ₹215

100.44%

Banana (1kg)

$3.09 SGD 3.96

$0.83 ₹77.9

272.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.64 SGD 5.95

$1.16 ₹109

300.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 SGD 2.79

$0.49 ₹45.57

344.90%

Potato (1kg)

$2.33 SGD 2.99

$0.47 ₹44.35

395.74%

Onion (1kg)

$2.31 SGD 2.96

$0.50 ₹46.97

362.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.86 SGD 2.39

$0.52 ₹48.81

257.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 SGD 1.98

$0.32 ₹30.22

384.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.11 SGD 18.08

$4.36 ₹409

223.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.24 SGD 29.78

$5.17 ₹486

349.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.73 SGD 6.06

$1.79 ₹168

164.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.79 SGD 6.14

$2.98 ₹280

60.74%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$4.98 ₹467

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 SGD 1.96

$0.11 ₹10.25

1290.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.5 SGD 124

$3.07 ₹288

3042.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.58 SGD 4.59

$2.10 ₹197

70.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 SGD 0.97

$0.25 ₹23.24

204.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.98 SGD 21.75

$2.60 ₹244

553.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.46 SGD 3.15

$1.16 ₹109

112.07%

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

$159.4K SGD 204.2K

$11.2K ₹1.1M

1320.70%

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

$155.7K SGD 199.5K

$30.8K ₹2.9M

404.94%

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

$168 SGD 215

$35.48 ₹3,331

373.34%

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

$12.24 SGD 15.68

$3.45 ₹324

254.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.18 SGD 36.11

$7.48 ₹702

276.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$111 SGD 142

$14.03 ₹1,317

688.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.60 SGD 14.86

$7.76 ₹728

49.48%

Cinema Ticket

$12.24 SGD 15.68

$2.06 ₹193

494.17%

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

$1,899 SGD 2,433

$38.33 ₹3,599

4853.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$39.1K SGD 50.1K

$2,148 ₹201.7K

1721.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.6 SGD 102

$22.02 ₹2,068

261.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 SGD 65.0

$18.00 ₹1,691

181.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 SGD 143

$36.86 ₹3,461

202.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 SGD 160

$27.20 ₹2,554

357.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,191 SGD 4,089

$156 ₹14.6K

1948.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,257 SGD 2,892

$90.3 ₹8,474

2400.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$6,173 SGD 7,910

$313 ₹29.3K

1875.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,035 SGD 5,170

$202 ₹19.0K

1893.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$23.6K SGD 30.2K

$794 ₹74.6K

2867.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.5K SGD 21.2K

$505 ₹47.4K

3171.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,526 SGD 5,799

$247 ₹23.2K

1733.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.44

10.31

-76.33%

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

Last update for Singapore: November 2, 2026

Last update for Thiruvananthapuram: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Singapore

$2.3K 62.8%

Thiruvananthapuram

$90 23.4% 96% $2.2K

Groceries & Markets

Singapore

$459 12.8%

Thiruvananthapuram

$104 27.1% 77.3% $355

Eating Out

Singapore

$260 7.2%

Thiruvananthapuram

$73 18.9% 71.9% $187

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Singapore

$208 5.8%

Thiruvananthapuram

$46 12% 77.7% $162

Clothing & Footwear

Singapore

$165 4.6%

Thiruvananthapuram

$47 12.1% 71.6% $118

Sport & Entertainment

Singapore

$135 3.8%

Thiruvananthapuram

$18 4.7% 86.6% $117

Getting Around

Singapore

$110 3.1%

Thiruvananthapuram

$6.8 1.8% 93.8% $103

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $3,191 in Singapore and $156 in Thiruvananthapuram. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Singapore pays about 18 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $71 in Singapore vs $10 in Thiruvananthapuram for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $459 vs $104 per month, with Thiruvananthapuram cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇬 Singapore

🇮🇳 Thiruvananthapuram

🕒 Local time

07:48 7:48 AM

05:18 5:18 AM

2 h 30 min behind Singapore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,535,002 Capital

744,983

💱 Currency

Singapore Dollar SGD $

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1 SGD = 0.78 USD

1 SGD = 0.698 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.65 USD

1,000 INR = 9.53 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to SGD – Singapore Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇬 Singapore Dollar ($)

Singapore Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 SGD (1 SGD = 0.78 USD). 1 EUR = 1.43 SGD (1 SGD = 0.698 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 93.9 INR (100 INR = 1.06 USD). 1 EUR = 105 INR (1,000 INR = 9.53 EUR).

USD to SGD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Singapore Thiruvananthapuram 3,080 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Singapore
Thiruvananthapuram

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 Thiruvananthapuram: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Thiruvananthapuram is about 89% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Singapore is about 18 times higher, 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: $3,191 in Singapore versus $156 in Thiruvananthapuram. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $3,594 per month in Singapore versus $386 in Thiruvananthapuram – Thiruvananthapuram is about 89% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Thiruvananthapuram runs roughly 97% less than in Singapore. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $386 in Thiruvananthapuram versus $3,594 in Singapore, a $800 budget is realistic in Thiruvananthapuram but tight or insufficient in Singapore. The gap between the two cities makes Thiruvananthapuram 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 Thiruvananthapuram are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

Expats usually find Thiruvananthapuram gentler on the wallet – expenses run 89% less than in Singapore. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.