Cost of living in Singapore: a realistic monthly breakdown

Food

• Hawker centre meal: 4 to 7 dollars
• Food court meal: 6 to 10 dollars
• Casual restaurant: 20 to 40 dollars per person
• Western supermarket shop: expensive, especially imported dairy and wine
• Coffee at a kopitiam: around 1.50 to 2 dollars, compared with 6 to 7 dollars at a café

A single person eating mostly at hawker centres can spend 600 to 900 dollars a month on food. Eating out at restaurants most nights can easily double that.

Transport

Singapore's MRT and buses are clean, reliable and cheap. Most people pay by tapping a contactless bank card or phone. A typical commuter spends 100 to 150 dollars a month. Taxis and ride-hailing are affordable for short trips.

Owning a car is extremely expensive because of the Certificate of Entitlement (COE), which alone can cost more than 100,000 dollars for ten years. Most expats never buy one.

Healthcare

Healthcare is excellent but not free for foreigners. Most employers provide group health insurance. A GP visit at a private clinic costs around 50 to 100 dollars. Check the outpatient limits of your employer's plan, and consider a top up if you have a family.

Other monthly costs

• Utilities (electricity, water, gas): 100 to 250 dollars, more if you use air conditioning at night
• Internet: 40 to 60 dollars for fibre
• Mobile plan: 10 to 30 dollars for a generous SIM-only plan
• Gym: 100 to 200 dollars, or free if your condo has one
• Domestic helper: many families employ one, with salary, levy, insurance and food costing around 1,200 to 1,500 dollars a month

Sample monthly budgets

Single professional, room in condo:

• Rent: 1,800
• Food: 900
• Transport: 120
• Utilities, phone, internet share: 150
• Leisure and travel savings: 600
• Total: around 3,570 dollars

Family of four, three bedroom condo, international school:

• Rent: 7,000
• School fees (two children): 6,000 or more
• Food and household: 2,000
• Helper: 1,300
• Transport: 400
• Utilities and other: 500
• Total: around 17,000 dollars

Taxes help balance it

Income tax is progressive and low compared with Europe or Australia. Foreign employees do not contribute to CPF, the local pension scheme, so take-home pay is a high share of gross salary. Save part of this for your own retirement, because you will not build a pension in Singapore unless you become a permanent resident.

This guide is general information for planning. Rules and prices change, so always confirm with the official source before you apply or sign anything.