How much does life in Singapore cost?
A question we regularly get is "how much does this or that cost in Singapore?". If you are planning to move to Singapore, and are about to start your contract negotiations, you want to know what your money will buy here. If you ask any expatriate in Singapore this question, you will receive different answers. The wife of a multi-national CEO will tell you that you will not find an acceptable home below $25,000 per month, while a $1,000 per month flat is like paradise-come-true to a student. In this chapter, we will not go into the standards of a CEO-wife (or a student), but instead tell you what you can get at minimum. Do you earn more? Great! That means you can only get better than what's described here. Note that everything is, off course, in Singapore Dollars (S$, SGD) and that some of what you see is just a snapshot that can vary with time and place.
Housing
In general, the further you move away from the city center, the cheaper housing rates are. There are many different types of housing (see our housing section for more details) but generally, the following prices are roughly what you can expect:| Type of house | Distance from city | Price per month |
| House Landed property with garden, driveway, 4 bedrooms, swimming pool, 2500 sq/ft |
0 mins | $12,000 - $25,000 |
| Condo 3 bedroom, full facilities, 1500 sq/ft |
0 mins | $5,000 - $9,000 |
| House 3 bedrooms, 1200 sq/ft, no facilities, small garden |
20 mins | $4,000 - $8,000 |
| Condo, 3 bedrooms, 1200 sq/ft, full facilities | 20 mins | $3,000 - $5,000 |
| Black & white, Semi-D 1000 Sq/ft, huge garden, lush greenery, no facilities (few and far between, state property mostly) |
30 mins | $3,500-$5,000 |
| Room | 0 - 30 mins | $500 - $1500 |
Cars
| Type of car | Age | Monthly cost |
| Low-range (Suzuki Swift, Nissan Micra) | New | $1,200 |
| Mid-class (Honda Civic, Nissan Sunny, Mazda 323) | New | $1,500 |
| High-end (Mercedes, BMW 3 series, Volvo S60 | New | > $1,900 |
| Low-range | 5 years | $1,000 |
| Mid-class | 5 years | $1,200 |
| High-end | 5 years | $1,500 |
| Low-range | 10 years | $800 |
| Mid-class | 10 years | $1,000 |
| High-end | 10 years | $1,200 |
Food
There are a number of items with their specific prices in our Price Index section, but the best example is a real-life example. I will share with you my grocery receipt from a large supermarket over a week (couple - no kids). Monday Call us corney, but on Monday, we don't want to cook. Instead, on Monday evenings, my girlfriend and I have a wine&cheese evening with a good movie. We had Goose paté, 3 kinds of French cheese, asparagus, olives, crackers, rye bread and a bottle of white wine
Tuesday
We had grilled Dory filet with potato wedges, home-made gravy and home-made salad. After dinner we had a cup of coffee with chocolates.
Wednesday
Me being Dutch, we love to eat Dutch food once in a while. We made Dutch "Stamppot" with Bak Choi, potatoes, onion, pork belly and a real Dutch "Unox Rookworst" (which we got from Holland, so this is not calculated in our grocery receipt)
Thursday
My girlfriend being Colombian, we also love to eat Latino food once in a while. We made Burrito's with minced meat, spicy salsa, corn, tomato, avocado, sour cream and cheese.
Friday
On Friday we invited a friend over for a barbecue. We had salmon filet with carrot, celery, mushrooms, potatoes, salad and 12 beers. We had fresh strawberries and cream for desert.
Saturday
On Saturday we decided to eat out. We had dinner in a nice restaurant outside of the city center. We had a main course with wine and beer, and a cappuccino as desert.
Furthermore
We bought hair gel, washing detergent, 5 cans of cat food, toilet paper, stock cubes and toothpaste
Our total expenditure for the week
just under $300,- (excluding breakfast, lunch, cigarettes etc)
Other
| Description | Cost |
| Annual expat medical insurance premium | 1,000 euro |
| Monthly gas/water/electricity bill | $300 |
| Monthly mobile phone bill | $150 |
| Monthly wireless internet ADSL subscription | $70 |
| Average daily lunch in hawker center with softdrink | $6 |
| Cigarettes (Marlboro) | $12.60 per 20 sticks |
| Evening of clubbing in the city | $150 |
| CD's | $27,50 (or $5-10 in Chinese parallel import) |
| Ralph Lauren Polo's | $99 |
| Branded Jeans | $120 |
| Petrol (per liter) | 95 - $2.045, 98 - S$2.095 (before discount, July '11) |
| Haircut (male) | $32 |
| Sixpack beer in supermarket | $18.00 |
| Cocktail in prime club/pub | $18 |
| 20 min. taxi ride | $21 |
| Average bus/MRT fare (one way) | $1.20 |
| Doctor's (GP) consultation | $45 |
| Car park in City | from $2.50 p/h |
| Novel (bestseller) | $30 |
| Movie ticket | $12 |
| Weekend getaway to Tioman (with diving, transport, food etc.) | > $450 |
| Big Mac menu | $6.40 |
| Air conditioning maintenance (per unit) | $40 |
So how much do I need to earn?
How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in Singapore? Let's presume you are married but don't have any kids and do not have an expat package. In other words, all costs are borne by you. Once again, I'll let you have a peek into my own expenses (and I live very comfortably)
| Description | Cost |
| 2-bedroom black & white colonial bungalow with big garden, free club with pool, tennis, squash, fitness, bar, restaurant, 25 mins from city (very few of those though) | $2,500 |
| Monthly gas/water/electricity bill | $250 |
| Monthly mobile phone bill for me and partner | $300 |
| Monthly wireless internet ADSL subscription | $70 |
| Breakfast, lunch and dinner per month | $2,000 |
| Monthly medical, liability and accident insurance for me and my partner | $350 |
| Our car (second-hand sports car, incl. all costs) | $1,000 |
| Clothing | $200 |
| Cable TV | $50 |
| Savings | $500 |
| Total | $7220 |
* Of course, if you choose a smaller house, no car, less luxury etc. you can live comfortably on less income, many of the Singaporeans have to. For more information about cost of living, please see our Price Index section
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