Cost of living comparison
compared to
Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Saipan Cost of Living Summary
Bandar Seri Begawan is 36.0% cheaper than Saipan.
- Restaurants
-
pay 66.0% less in Bandar Seri Begawan
- Groceries
-
pay 49.9% less in Bandar Seri Begawan
- Transportation
-
pay 45.9% less in Bandar Seri Begawan
- Housing
-
pay 21.1% less in Bandar Seri Begawan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 42.1% less in Bandar Seri Begawan
- Clothing
-
pay 80.7% more in Bandar Seri Begawan
Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Saipan Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Bandar Seri Begawan instead of Saipan, you would:
pay 66.0% less for restaurants
|
Saipan
|
Bandar Seri Begawan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.00
|
$3.91
BND5.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.50
|
$6.17
BND7.91
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
|
$0.92
BND1.18
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.38
|
$0.52
BND0.66
|
|
Saipan vs. Bandar Seri Begawan - Cost of restaurants
pay 49.9% less for groceries
|
Saipan
|
Bandar Seri Begawan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.63
|
$1.72
BND2.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) | ?? |
$4.69
BND6.01
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$9.87
|
$7.05
BND9.03
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.99
|
$2.04
BND2.62
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.00
|
$2.04
BND2.61
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.99
|
$1.42
BND1.82
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.99
BND1.27
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.99
|
$1.33
BND1.70
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.15
BND1.48
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.93
|
$0.77
BND0.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.03
|
$0.93
BND1.19
|
|
Saipan vs. Bandar Seri Begawan - Cost of groceries
pay 45.9% less for transportation
|
Saipan
|
Bandar Seri Begawan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.52
|
$1.55
BND1.99
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$0.78
BND1.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,999.00
|
$42,965.55
BND55,045.14
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$30.47
BND39.03
|
|
Saipan vs. Bandar Seri Begawan - Cost of transportation
pay 21.1% less for housing
|
Saipan
|
Bandar Seri Begawan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$90.00
|
$65.10
BND83.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$800.00
|
$720.60
BND923.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$375.00
|
$473.37
BND606.46
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$286.76
|
$46.90
BND60.08
|
|
Saipan vs. Bandar Seri Begawan - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Saipan
|
Bandar Seri Begawan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$216.79
BND277.73
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$9,724.87
BND12,458.98
|
Saipan vs. Bandar Seri Begawan - Cost of childcare
pay 42.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Saipan
|
Bandar Seri Begawan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.00
|
$1.95
BND2.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.33
|
$3.91
BND5.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
?? |
$15.63
BND20.02
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$60.00
|
$45.57
BND58.38
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$5.47
BND7.00
|
|
Saipan vs. Bandar Seri Begawan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 80.7% more for clothing
|
Saipan
|
Bandar Seri Begawan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$76.16
BND97.58
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$93.73
BND120.08
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$102.14
BND130.86
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$40.00
|
$72.26
BND92.58
|
|
Saipan vs. Bandar Seri Begawan - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Saipan vs. Bandar Seri Begawan
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Northern Mariana Islands vs. Brunei.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Northern Mariana Islands and Brunei.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Bandar Seri Begawan or Saipan. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.