Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Singapore and Tongi

For one person, living is cheaper in Tongi: $328 a month against $3,594 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $39,200 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
16

Cost of Living Index in Tongi
Learn more

Tongi Living Index

Jump to prices

Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,594

/mo nomad

Tongi

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$328

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Singapore and in Tongi

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,594 in Singapore versus $328 in Tongi.

Singapore $3,594
Tongi $328

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,314 in Singapore versus $534 in Tongi.

Singapore $5,314
Tongi $534

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,033 in Singapore versus $741 in Tongi.

Singapore $7,033
Tongi $741

Living in Singapore is roughly 997% more expensive than in Tongi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Singapore is 166% above, Tongi is 76% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.58 SGD 14.85

$2.02 ৳251

473.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.7 SGD 90.6

$9.27 ৳1,153

662.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.46 SGD 10.85

$4.64 ৳577

82.33%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 ৳374

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.21 ৳523

Cappuccino

$5.18 SGD 6.65

$1.75 ৳218

196.00%

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

$1.84 SGD 2.36

$0.35 ৳42.96

425.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 SGD 1.58

$0.15 ৳18.72

720.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.50 SGD 12.18

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.86 SGD 12.65

Milk (1 liter)

$3.02 SGD 3.87

$0.71 ৳88.1

325.35%

White Bread (500g)

$2.67 SGD 3.42

$0.49 ৳60.4

444.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.77 SGD 3.55

$0.63 ৳78.3

339.68%

Eggs

$3.72 SGD 4.77

$1.15 ৳143

223.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.01 SGD 26.94

$7.47 ৳928

181.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.95 SGD 12.76

$2.43 ৳302

309.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.13 SGD 32.23

$6.53 ৳811

284.84%

Apples (1kg)

$4.59 SGD 5.89

$2.40 ৳299

91.25%

Banana (1kg)

$3.09 SGD 3.96

$0.95 ৳118

225.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.64 SGD 5.95

$1.96 ৳244

136.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 SGD 2.79

$0.58 ৳72.6

275.86%

Potato (1kg)

$2.33 SGD 2.99

$0.26 ৳32.02

796.15%

Onion (1kg)

$2.31 SGD 2.97

$0.53 ৳66.4

335.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.86 SGD 2.39

$0.41 ৳50.6

353.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 SGD 1.98

$0.23 ৳28.59

573.91%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$7.73 ৳961

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.48 ৳308

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.69 ৳583

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.11 SGD 18.10

$3.01 ৳375

368.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.24 SGD 29.81

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.73 SGD 6.07

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.79 SGD 6.14

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.53 SGD 1.96

$0.37 ৳45.75

313.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.5 SGD 124

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.58 SGD 4.60

$0.79 ৳98.2

353.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 SGD 0.98

$0.38 ৳47.60

100.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.98 SGD 21.77

$2.75 ৳342

517.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.46 SGD 3.15

$1.23 ৳153

100.00%

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

$159.4K SGD 204.4K

$29.2K ৳3.6M

446.20%

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

$155.7K SGD 199.7K

$26.9K ৳3.3M

478.32%

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

$168 SGD 215

$29.56 ৳3,675

468.13%

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

$12.24 SGD 15.69

$4.20 ৳523

191.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.18 SGD 36.14

$7.97 ৳991

253.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$111 SGD 142

$13.22 ৳1,644

736.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.60 SGD 14.88

Cinema Ticket

$12.24 SGD 15.70

$3.60 ৳448

240.00%

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

$1,899 SGD 2,435

$25.01 ৳3,109

7491.84%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$39.1K SGD 50.2K

$1,527 ৳189.8K

2462.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.6 SGD 102

$22.05 ৳2,742

261.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.7 SGD 65.0

$23.42 ৳2,911

116.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 SGD 143

$31.59 ৳3,927

253.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 SGD 160

$33.81 ৳4,204

268.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,191 SGD 4,093

$86.6 ৳10.8K

3587.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,257 SGD 2,895

$50.6 ৳6,286

4363.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$6,173 SGD 7,917

$168 ৳20.9K

3566.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,035 SGD 5,175

$116 ৳14.5K

3369.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$23.6K SGD 30.2K

$756 ৳94.0K

3018.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.5K SGD 21.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,526 SGD 5,804

$98.7 ৳12.3K

4484.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.44

10.79

-77.39%

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

Last update for Singapore: November 2, 2026

Last update for Tongi: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Singapore

$2.3K 62.8%

Tongi

$51 15.4% 97.8% $2.2K

Groceries & Markets

Singapore

$459 12.8%

Tongi

$108 32.9% 76.5% $351

Eating Out

Singapore

$260 7.2%

Tongi

$53 16.2% 79.6% $207

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Singapore

$208 5.8%

Tongi

$42 12.7% 80% $167

Clothing & Footwear

Singapore

$165 4.6%

Tongi

$50 15.2% 69.7% $115

Sport & Entertainment

Singapore

$135 3.8%

Tongi

$20 6.2% 84.9% $115

Getting Around

Singapore

$110 3.1%

Tongi

$4.2 * 1.3% 96.2% $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 $3,191 in Singapore and $87 in Tongi. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Singapore pays about 46 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $71 in Singapore vs $9 in Tongi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $459 vs $108 per month, with Tongi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇬 Singapore

🇧🇩 Tongi

🕒 Local time

08:51 8:51 AM

06:51 6:51 AM

2 h behind Singapore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,535,002 Capital

406,420

💱 Currency

Singapore Dollar SGD $

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

1 SGD = 0.78 USD

1 SGD = 0.698 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.04 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, USD, EUR to SGD – Singapore Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇬 Singapore Dollar ($)

Singapore Dollar exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 1.28 SGD (1 SGD = 0.78 USD). 1 EUR = 1.43 SGD (1 SGD = 0.698 EUR).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.04 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR).

USD to SGD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Singapore Tongi 2,900 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Singapore
Tongi

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 Tongi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tongi is about 91% 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 46 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 $87 in Tongi. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,899 in Singapore versus $25 in Tongi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Tongi – a meal for two runs $9 versus $71 in Singapore. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $328 in Tongi versus $3,594 in Singapore, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Tongi but tight or insufficient in Singapore. The gap between the two cities makes Tongi 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.

It comes down to priorities – Tongi wins on affordability, Singapore on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.