Cost of living in Singapore – 2015

I don't have time to write much now but I can safely say that despite everything else increasing, the biggest chunk of our expenses, which is RENTAL/HOUSING, has dropped significantly.

It is not uncommon to find something nice in the 2.5-3K/month. And prices will go down a little bit more

Thank you for sharing the information, LorenzoZanirato. We appreciate your contribution all the same.

Shaazia
Expat.com Team

These websites compare cost of living worldwide:
numbeo.com
expatistan.com

health prices is expensive here need medical insurance for sure , accommodation price its depends where you want to stay, food and utilities reasonable price, entertainment (its depends on you if just movie and eat out in hawker centre is not expensive ).education price my kids in international school so expensive.

Hello People,

If you are planning to settle or take a job in Singapore, please keep in mind that it is one of the most expensive country to live in, but on the contrary one of the safest too.

Now answering the list of questions :-

How much does it cost to live in Singapore?
> accommodation prices
Option A : Individual Accommodation : If you are planning to rent a whole apartment and in an average good area, it would cost around 2100 to 2500 Singapore dollars (3 BHK Flat). While the condos would start from 4200 Singapore dollars.
Option B : Shared Accommodation : If you are a bachelor and looking to share a room then i would cost you around 700 to 1000 Singapore dollars depending on the number of people in the room.

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.)
Metro Trains & Buses: Public Transport is very frequent and you dont have to worry about anything as it very commutable and fast. The average expense of Metro (mrt) would cost around 150 to 200 singapore dollars a month and it should be normally more than enough if you are commuting from home to office and vice versa.
Taxis :Taxis are available everywhere and you don't have to negotiate on the pricing as the meter would be down as soon as you are boarding the cab. The cab would charge around 10 dollars for a distance of approx 7 kms as the minimum charge starts at 3 dollars for a trip.

> food prices (your monthly budget)
Vegetarian : If you are a vegetarian and if you choose few average good restaurants, average one time food would cost around 10 dollars.
Non Vegetarian : If you can eat Chinese food, the hawkers are a good option as they are cheap and provide a good quality of food. The approximate average cost of food would be around 5 dollars.
Food courts : If you could surfice yourself to the nearest food courts and food joints, you can save some money and get better options of food within around 7 dollars.
Indian Food : Specifically for Indians, you can go to Little India and can get your favorite food at the cheaper rates. (idli sambhar, roti sabji, parota sabji, nan curry etc)
In total you should keep a monthly budget of around 800 to 1000 dollars on food except your breakfast if you are eating out. 

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)
Medical Insurances are normally provided by all the companies and its a mandate in Singapore.
> education prices (if you need to pay)
Education is one of the expensive cost incurred in Singapore.
Eg :- If you are suppose to join you kid in pre-school the normal expense are around 1200 to 1500 Singapore dollars.

> energy prices (oil, electricity)
The light bill comes around 250 to 300 a month
The petrol is quite cheap in Singapore.

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)
Internet : 100 Singapore Dollars
Television : 100 Singapore Dollars
Telephone : 50 Singapore Dollars
Mobile Phone : 100 Singapore Dollars

> price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant
In Singapore, you have got all types of traditional hotels starting from Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Mexican, Western and so on.
The normal Indian Authentic tradition restaurant would price as below for two people :-
Vegetable : 75 Singapore Dollars
Non Vegetarain : 100 Singapore Dollars

> price for a coffee or a drink
Coffee : 2 to 3 Singapore dollars
Fruit Juice : F& N 1.50 Singapore dollars (for 300 ML drink) 3 Singapore dollars (For 1 litre)
(You should buy these good from the supermarkets)

> price for cinema tickets
The price ticket for a movie would vary from 12 to 20 Singapore dollars.

I tried my best to be descriptive as much as i can, but still if anyone wants to know anything more, please do let me know!!
Ragesh Nair

> accommodation prices -> One single room would be around 1k-2k, apartment 2k - 6k (depend on location and #bed rooms)

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.)  -> Bus & MRT is around 0.7 - 3$(depend on distance, but I guess 3 is maximum/ trip

> food prices (your monthly budget) -> if you cook yourself its around 300+$/person, but if you eat outside it really depend on which restro (Hawker centers is a round 6-8$/dish, middle restaurant (10-20$/dish) depend

> For mobile phone if you call alot, including oversea, and use 3G data, maybe around 100-200$, if not then around 50$


> price for a coffee or a drink --> Alcohol drink is quite expensive, around 12-18/beer at bar, or 5-7/can in super market, Coffee is around 4-84/cup depend

> price for cinema tickets -> 10-12 in weekend and 9-10 weekdays

hi everyone, I just one to let you know that singapore its very important to have an employment pass otherwise you can't live here.

now talking about the expenses and cost of living should be fine because the salary here for capable professional is ok for allow you to have a decent life.

Bellow you can find my personal expenses per month:

- Accommodation: the rent of my 2 rooms apartment in holland village (place consider near to de central area)              ……………………………………………………………………….= $3000

- Utilities bills (water, electricity, Internet, cable, cellphone):………………………………=$400

- Transportation ( Monthly Bus and trains pass per person)      ………………………… =$150

- Food, home groceries and outside meals in local or non expensive restaurants …….=$600

- Mobile Phone bill (3g data plan included)  ………………………………………………….=$100

-Entertainment ( cinema, beer with friends 3 times in a month) …………………………..=$350

Total                                                                                                                               =$4600

I tried renting rooms in the beginning but was a bit uncomfortable because of the culture or maybe i just had bad luck with crazy owners, so I don't recommend rent a room.

I hope this help you guys,
Good luck.

Hi everybody,

Thank you for contribution and for these precious information ! 

Priscilla

It really a nice info!! can anybody please highlight on what is the acceptable approx salary there in Singapore for 8 years experience guy in financial sectors.... specially in the field of Risk Management?? and also please highlight about the monthly income tax expenses for salaried class.

You can find the requested information in various salary surveys that are regularly published by several headhunters and consultancies. Google is your friend!
Tax information (incl. an income tax calculator) is at iras.gov.sg

> accommodation prices

People above have given good ranges in my opinion, though I have heard it said on some expat boards that you can't rent anything "decent" for under 10k, so I guess it depends on your expectations... You can certainly pay quite a lot if you want to. I would say you could find nice a 3-bed condo in the 4-7k range quite easily, and go down to 2.5-3.5k for a nice HDB without too much trouble.

> public transportation fares (tube, bus etc.)

Allow $1-3 per trip on public transport, depending on distance. Children under 7 travel free. Taxis average $10-20 per trip depending on distance ($40 should take you pretty much anywhere from anywhere).

> food prices (your monthly budget)

If you shop at a posh supermarket and boutique grocers/delis and you have a certain style of eating (especially a western/European style, especially things like cheese) you'll pay quite a lot (I've heard up to $800/wk on groceries for a family).

If you shop at the wet market, bulk/wholesale butchers, use ingredients commonly found in Chinese, Malay or Indian cooking, and visit Hawker centres for your eating out you can eat well on less than $40-50/person/week.

> health prices (for those who need medical insurance)

Consultation prices $20-70 for a GP, depending on the clinic. Specialist prices extra. Thankfully I don't have too much info on this as we're pretty healthy and company pays for our insurance.

> education prices (if you need to pay)

Foreigners at local schools about 100-500/month depending on country of origin/year of school.
Kindergartens 200-1200/month.
Add school bus fees (I've heard $500+/month, optional) and uniforms, text books, materials (allow 200-500/yr, much more for international schools).
International schools allow 25k-45k/year for all fees.

> energy prices (oil, electricity)

Water and electricity - $150/month up to $400/month if you use air con a lot.
Gas - cylinders usually cost about $35 and we go through several per year for cooking.

> common bills (Internet, television, telephone, mobile phone)

Phone bill - we spend about $150-200/month for 2 phones plus internet. We don't have cable TV but you can check providers like Starhub for packages which include mobile/internet/TV to give an idea on price.

> price for a good menu in a traditional restaurant

$7-25 food court/average restaurant. Pay however much you like at the top end.

> price for a coffee or a drink

Local-style coffee 80c-$1.50. Espresso-style coffee up to $7-8. Similar range of $1-15 for juices and other non-alcoholic drinks depending on venue. Alcoholic drinks starting at $6 beers in the hawker centre up to $25 cocktails at a bar (and onward and upward from there at high-end places).

> price for cinema tickets

$8-15. List price is usually $12-15 but lots of special deals around for the $8-12 range. We usually pay about $10-12.

I have three kids age 12, 8 and 4. Wife who is house wife not working.

I want to know the entire expenses including school fee and 3 bed apartment etc

Ajeetkmakhija wrote:

I have three kids age 12, 8 and 4. Wife who is house wife not working.

I want to know the entire expenses including school fee and 3 bed apartment etc

Did you read what has been posted about the topic on this forum and elsewhere?
Here is what I think the absolute minimum required for survival:
    Rent (3-bedroom HDB in remote location) S$2500/month
    Daily expenses (S$600-1000/month per person) S$3000/month
    School fees local school (S$500/month per kid - please read about the problems getting places for foreign kids in local schools) S$1500/month
    School fees private school (S$1500-3000/month per kid) S$4500/month
Please note that these figures allow a simple lifestyle without any luxuries only. If you want to travel for vacation, have a car or accrue savings, you'll need more than that.

Thank u so much Ragesh ...very well explained..😊

Very well explained ragesh.. to the point and the exact answer i was looking for. thanks for the info man! 

Thanks Ragesh. Can you sum of all the expenses per month, if cooking at home, no education for kids, company provided medical insurance, eating out once in a week, and also the tax from salary.

Am planning to move to Singapore from India, and wanted to know how much would it need for a husband and wife.

Nobody can give you exact numbers, as it very much depends on your lifestyle choices and spending habits.
But if you read the many posts already existing on this forum - the topic is discussed several times a week - you'll get a rough idea.
I personally would say S$5000/month (the minimum at which you can bring a spouse) is hardly enough for a couple, but some make do with less and others claim hardship with a multiple of it.

5 k if you are single and
10 k for a family.
Accommodation and education is quite expensive .
Also depends on the district you will be living in.
Whether you want to live in a expensive district or you are ready to travel to your workplace which most people do
Your lifestyle etc .

Regards