Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tokyo and Singapore

For one person, living is cheaper in Tokyo: $1,635 a month against $3,454 in Singapore, rent and utilities included – about $21,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Tokyo
Learn more

Tokyo Living Index
168

Cost of Living Index in Singapore
Learn more

Singapore Living Index

Jump to prices

Tokyo

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,635

/mo nomad

Singapore

🇸🇬 Singapore

$3,454

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tokyo and in Singapore

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Tokyo and in Singapore actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,635 in Tokyo versus $3,454 in Singapore.

Tokyo $1,635
Singapore $3,454

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,608 in Tokyo versus $5,224 in Singapore.

Tokyo $2,608
Singapore $5,224

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,581 in Tokyo versus $6,994 in Singapore.

Tokyo $3,581
Singapore $6,994

Living in Tokyo costs roughly 53% less than in Singapore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Tokyo 22% above, Singapore 158% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.64 ¥1,207

$11.53 SGD 14.77

-33.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.51 ¥6,087

$71.2 SGD 91.2

-45.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.05 ¥799

$8.76 SGD 11.22

-42.35%

Cappuccino

$3.61 ¥570

$5.25 SGD 6.73

-31.24%

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

$1.62 ¥257

$1.83 SGD 2.34

-11.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 ¥135

$1.25 SGD 1.60

-31.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.69 ¥583

$8.42 SGD 10.79

-56.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.27 ¥834

$10.02 SGD 12.83

-47.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 ¥242

$2.94 SGD 3.76

-47.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.76 ¥278

$2.47 SGD 3.16

-28.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.59 ¥883

$2.71 SGD 3.47

106.27%

Eggs

$2.24 ¥354

$3.73 SGD 4.77

-39.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ¥1,684

$21.54 SGD 27.58

-50.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.60 ¥1,043

$9.52 SGD 12.20

-30.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.74 ¥2,646

$25.98 SGD 33.27

-35.57%

Apples (1kg)

$4.86 ¥768

$4.48 SGD 5.74

8.48%

Banana (1kg)

$2.35 ¥371

$3.11 SGD 3.99

-24.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.33 ¥684

$4.62 SGD 5.92

-6.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.28 ¥835

$2.23 SGD 2.86

136.77%

Potato (1kg)

$3.41 ¥539

$2.50 SGD 3.20

36.40%

Onion (1kg)

$3.19 ¥504

$2.38 SGD 3.05

34.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 ¥187

$1.78 SGD 2.28

-33.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 ¥131

$1.51 SGD 1.93

-45.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.84 ¥607

$14.18 SGD 18.16

-72.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.27 ¥1,466

$23.79 SGD 30.47

-61.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 ¥259

$4.51 SGD 5.78

-63.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 ¥434

$4.57 SGD 5.86

-39.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.29 ¥204

$1.58 SGD 2.03

-18.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$62.1 ¥9,819

$96.4 SGD 123

-35.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.08 ¥487

$3.63 SGD 4.65

-15.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.21 ¥507

$0.80 SGD 1.02

301.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.41 ¥2,909

$16.18 SGD 20.72

13.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.07 ¥169

$2.51 SGD 3.21

-57.37%

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

$22.2K ¥3.5M

$155.9K SGD 199.6K

-85.78%

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

$15.3K ¥2.4M

$145.8K SGD 186.7K

-89.51%

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

$148 ¥23.3K

$175 SGD 224

-15.67%

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

$21.97 ¥3,472

$12.45 SGD 15.94

76.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.43 ¥4,810

$26.64 SGD 34.11

14.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.1 ¥10.3K

$112 SGD 143

-41.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.55 ¥4,039

$12.07 SGD 15.46

111.68%

Cinema Ticket

$12.87 ¥2,034

$11.60 SGD 14.85

10.95%

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

$1,360 ¥215.0K

$1,463 SGD 1,874

-7.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K ¥2.9M

$28.4K SGD 36.3K

-35.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.5 ¥8,932

$81.5 SGD 104

-30.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.16 ¥5,241

$50.6 SGD 64.8

-34.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.4 ¥10.2K

$112 SGD 143

-42.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.8 ¥11.3K

$130 SGD 166

-44.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,275 ¥201.5K

$2,916 SGD 3,734

-56.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$702 ¥111.0K

$2,128 SGD 2,725

-67.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,565 ¥405.5K

$5,654 SGD 7,241

-54.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,480 ¥234.0K

$3,968 SGD 5,081

-62.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,152 ¥1.4M

$23.6K SGD 30.2K

-61.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,191 ¥662.4K

$16.8K SGD 21.5K

-75.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,998 ¥473.8K

$4,369 SGD 5,594

-31.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.25

2.44

-7.79%

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

Last update for Tokyo: October 6, 2026

Last update for Singapore: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tokyo

$702 42.2%

Singapore

$2.1K 61.4% 203% $1.4K

Groceries & Markets

Tokyo

$325 19.5%

Singapore

$457 13.2% 40.7% $132

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tokyo

$200 12%

Singapore

$214 6.2% 7.1% $14

Eating Out

Tokyo

$158 9.5%

Singapore

$256 7.4% 61.6% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Tokyo

$102 6.1%

Singapore

$168 4.9% 65.4% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Tokyo

$91 5.5%

Singapore

$135 3.9% 48.4% $44

Getting Around

Tokyo

$86 5.2%

Singapore

$110 3.2% 27.6% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,275 in Tokyo and $2,916 in Singapore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Singapore pays 46% 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: $39.00 in Tokyo vs $71.0 in Singapore for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $457 per month, with Tokyo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇯🇵 Tokyo

🇸🇬 Singapore

🕒 Local time

10:11 10:11 AM

09:11 9:11 AM

1 h behind Tokyo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,613,660 Capital

5,535,002 Capital

💱 Currency

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

Singapore Dollar SGD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.64 EUR

1 SGD = 0.781 USD

1 SGD = 0.696 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SGD, USD, EUR to JPY – Japanese Yen Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (¥)

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 177 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.64 EUR).

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).

USD to JPY in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Tokyo Singapore 5,320 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Tokyo
Singapore

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

Tokyo vs Singapore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tokyo is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 111% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 46% lower in Singapore. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,275 in Tokyo versus $2,916 in Singapore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,635 per month in Tokyo versus $3,454 in Singapore – a 111% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Tokyo runs roughly 55% less than in Singapore. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,635 in Tokyo versus $3,454 in Singapore, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Tokyo but tight or insufficient in Singapore. The gap between the two cities makes Tokyo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Tokyo is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Singapore, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Tokyo and Singapore 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 Tokyo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 111% less than in Singapore. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.