Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Singapore and Ube

For one person, living is cheaper in Ube: $1,237 a month against $3,500 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $27,200 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
60

Cost of Living Index in Ube
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Ube Living Index

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Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,500

/mo nomad

Ube

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,237

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Singapore and in Ube

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,500 in Singapore versus $1,237 in Ube.

Singapore $3,500
Ube $1,237

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,265 in Singapore versus $1,931 in Ube.

Singapore $5,265
Ube $1,931

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,030 in Singapore versus $2,625 in Ube.

Singapore $7,030
Ube $2,625

Living in Singapore is roughly 183% more expensive than in Ube, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Singapore is 159% above, Ube is 8% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.76 SGD 15.05

$6.94 ¥1,097

69.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.6 SGD 90.4

$34.14 ¥5,394

106.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.55 SGD 10.94

$5.52 ¥873

54.89%

Cappuccino

$5.20 SGD 6.66

$3.19 ¥504

63.01%

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

$1.77 SGD 2.27

$1.08 ¥171

63.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.23 SGD 1.58

$0.76 ¥121

61.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.26 SGD 10.58

$2.03 ¥321

306.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.17 SGD 13.01

$3.08 ¥487

230.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.04 SGD 3.89

$1.51 ¥239

101.32%

White Bread (500g)

$2.55 SGD 3.26

$1.60 ¥252

59.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.86 SGD 3.66

$4.73 ¥747

-39.53%

Eggs

$3.53 SGD 4.51

$2.28 ¥361

54.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.12 SGD 27.02

$10.00 ¥1,581

111.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.90 SGD 12.67

$6.43 ¥1,016

53.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.42 SGD 32.53

$15.58 ¥2,462

63.16%

Apples (1kg)

$4.57 SGD 5.85

$5.41 ¥854

-15.53%

Banana (1kg)

$3.13 SGD 4.00

$2.63 ¥415

19.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.72 SGD 6.04

$4.07 ¥643

15.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.23 SGD 2.85

$4.59 ¥725

-51.42%

Potato (1kg)

$2.57 SGD 3.29

$3.17 ¥500

-18.93%

Onion (1kg)

$2.29 SGD 2.93

$2.67 ¥422

-14.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.87 SGD 2.39

$1.38 ¥218

35.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 SGD 1.84

$0.87 ¥138

65.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.97 SGD 17.88

$4.20 ¥664

232.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.48 SGD 30.05

$6.56 ¥1,036

257.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.54 SGD 5.80

$2.00 ¥316

127.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 SGD 5.68

$2.37 ¥374

87.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.57 SGD 2.01

$1.66 ¥263

-5.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$93.8 SGD 120

$55.6 ¥8,781

68.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.64 SGD 4.66

$3.52 ¥556

3.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 SGD 0.97

$3.00 ¥474

-74.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.14 SGD 20.66

$20.87 ¥3,297

-22.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.45 SGD 3.14

$1.18 ¥187

107.63%

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

$155.2K SGD 198.5K

$22.8K ¥3.6M

579.83%

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

$148.5K SGD 190.0K

$17.1K ¥2.7M

767.76%

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

$172 SGD 220

$142 ¥22.5K

20.61%

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

$12.39 SGD 15.86

$27.17 ¥4,293

-54.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.21 SGD 33.54

$33.35 ¥5,268

-21.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$108 SGD 138

$57.6 ¥9,103

87.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.31 SGD 15.75

$13.79 ¥2,179

-10.73%

Cinema Ticket

$11.64 SGD 14.90

$13.14 ¥2,076

-11.42%

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

$1,481 SGD 1,895

$280 ¥44.2K

429.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.3K SGD 36.3K

$13.3K ¥2.1M

112.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.6 SGD 103

$43.41 ¥6,859

85.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.1 SGD 64.1

$30.01 ¥4,741

66.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 SGD 143

$59.1 ¥9,343

89.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 SGD 165

$92.3 ¥14.6K

39.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,015 SGD 3,858

$473 ¥74.7K

537.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,171 SGD 2,778

$326 ¥51.4K

566.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,842 SGD 7,475

$869 ¥137.3K

572.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$4,044 SGD 5,174

$660 ¥104.3K

512.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$23.8K SGD 30.4K

$2,817 ¥445.1K

744.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$16.8K SGD 21.4K

$1,733 ¥273.7K

866.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,385 SGD 5,611

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.44

1.81

34.81%

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

Last update for Singapore: October 13, 2026

Last update for Ube: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Singapore

$2.2K 62%

Ube

$326 26.3% 85% $1.8K

Groceries & Markets

Singapore

$458 13.1%

Ube

$309 25% 32.5% $149

Eating Out

Singapore

$256 7.3%

Ube

$134 10.8% 47.6% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Singapore

$210 6%

Ube

$203 16.4% 3.5% $7.4

Clothing & Footwear

Singapore

$167 4.8%

Ube

$101 8.2% 39.4% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Singapore

$131 3.8%

Ube

$84 6.8% 36.1% $47

Getting Around

Singapore

$107 3.1%

Ube

$81 6.5% 24.8% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $3,015 in Singapore and $473 in Ube. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $71.0 in Singapore vs $34.00 in Ube for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $458 vs $309 per month, with Ube cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇬 Singapore

🇯🇵 Ube

🕒 Local time

20:28 8:28 PM

21:28 9:28 PM

1 h ahead of Singapore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,535,002 Capital

162,570

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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 →

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Between locations

Singapore Ube 4,620 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Singapore
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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 Ube: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ube is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 183% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $5,251 in Singapore and $1,856 in Ube to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $3,015 in Singapore versus $473 in Ube. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $3,500 per month in Singapore versus $1,237 in Ube – a 183% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Ube runs roughly 69% less than in Singapore. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,237 in Ube versus $3,500 in Singapore, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ube but tight or insufficient in Singapore. The gap between the two cities makes Ube 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 Ube 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 Ube gentler on the wallet – expenses run 183% less than in Singapore. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.