Cost of living comparison
compared to
Singapore vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary
Singapore is 3.4 times more expensive than Malaysia overall.
- Restaurants
- pay 2.4 times more in Singapore
- Groceries
- pay 82.9% more in Singapore
- Transportation
- pay 4.0 times more in Singapore
- Housing
- pay 5.7 times more in Singapore
- Childcare
- pay 6.0 times more in Singapore
- Entertainment and Sports
- pay 2.5 times more in Singapore
- Clothing
- pay 64.1% more in Singapore
Singapore vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Singapore instead of Malaysia, you would:
pay 2.4 times more for restaurants
Malaysia | Singapore | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | $3.22 MYR13.17 | $9.28 SGD12.01 | |
| Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar | $4.41 MYR18.04 | $7.73 SGD10.01 | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) | $0.73 MYR2.98 | $1.58 SGD2.04 | |
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) | $0.39 MYR1.61 | $1.16 SGD1.50 | |
Malaysia vs. Singapore - Cost of restaurants
pay 82.9% more for groceries
Malaysia | Singapore | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread 1 loaf | $1.02 MYR4.16 | $2.36 SGD3.06 | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) | $7.79 MYR31.84 | $8.89 SGD11.50 | |
| Milk (1 gallon) | $6.67 MYR27.25 | $11.53 SGD14.92 | |
| Eggs 1 dozen | $1.99 MYR8.13 | $3.24 SGD4.19 | |
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | $1.93 MYR7.91 | $5.05 SGD6.54 | |
| Apples (1 lb) | $1.28 MYR5.23 | $1.95 SGD2.53 | |
| Bananas (1 lb) | $0.67 MYR2.72 | $1.36 SGD1.76 | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | $1.29 MYR5.28 | $2.22 SGD2.87 | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | $0.73 MYR3.00 | $1.19 SGD1.53 | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) | $0.53 MYR2.18 | $1.12 SGD1.45 | |
| Onions (1 lb) | $0.59 MYR2.39 | $0.98 SGD1.26 | |
Malaysia vs. Singapore - Cost of groceries
pay 4.0 times more for transportation
Malaysia | Singapore | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | $1.86 MYR7.58 | $8.27 SGD10.70 | |
| Monthly public transit pass | $15.26 MYR62.40 | $92.79 SGD120.09 | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | $35,849.31 MYR147K | $139K SGD180K | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | $6.52 MYR26.64 | $9.74 SGD12.61 | |
Malaysia vs. Singapore - Cost of transportation
pay 5.7 times more for housing
Malaysia | Singapore | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl | $27.18 MYR111.12 | $35.10 SGD45.43 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | $349.73 MYR1,429.70 | $3,116.78 SGD4,033.74 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | $247.40 MYR1,011.39 | $2,276.91 SGD2,946.77 | |
| Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating | $34.37 MYR140.52 | $116.26 SGD150.46 | |
Malaysia vs. Singapore - Cost of housing
pay 6.0 times more for childcare
Malaysia | Singapore | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | $170.62 MYR697.50 | $1,253.76 SGD1,622.61 | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | $6,229.51 MYR25,466.22 | $29,085.74 SGD37,642.77 | |
Malaysia vs. Singapore - Cost of childcare
pay 2.5 times more for entertainment and sports
Malaysia | Singapore | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) | $3.72 MYR15.21 | $7.73 SGD10.01 | |
| Cappuccino in mid-range area | $2.63 MYR10.73 | $4.68 SGD6.05 | |
| Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar | $4.18 MYR17.08 | $12.76 SGD16.51 | |
| Monthly membership at local gym | $36.40 MYR148.80 | $117.15 SGD151.62 | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | $4.62 MYR18.87 | $11.60 SGD15.01 | |
Malaysia vs. Singapore - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 64.1% more for clothing
Malaysia | Singapore | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular jeans Levi's brand | $59.37 MYR242.71 | $84.93 SGD109.92 | |
| Regular dress from H&M or similar store | $29.69 MYR121.36 | $42.58 SGD55.10 | |
| Running shoes Nike or Adidas | $70.68 MYR288.93 | $104.51 SGD135.26 | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | $56.86 MYR232.45 | $126.20 SGD163.33 | |
Malaysia vs. Singapore - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: June 2026
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Moving from Malaysia to Singapore · UN DESA 2020
1,132,924 people born in Malaysia live in Singapore.
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