---
title: "Cost of Living: Shanghai vs Singapore — Geo-Parity"
description: "Singapore is 81% more expensive than China for monthly essentials ($1,781 vs $981). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-singapore/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=CN&target=SG"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · CN vs SG

# 🇨🇳 Shanghai vs 🇸🇬 Singapore: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$981** in China vs **$1,781** in Singapore — 81% more expensive.

- **Essentials, China**: $981/mo
- **Essentials, Singapore**: $1,781/mo
- **Difference**: +81%
- **1-bed city rent, Singapore**: $1,243/mo

## Biggest differences

Smallest premium in Singapore

- Petrol/gasoline, 1L: +21%
- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: +21%
- Jeans (mid-range brand): +22%

Pricier in Singapore

- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: +98%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: +98%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: +98%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | China | Singapore | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $628 | $1,243 (1,624 SGD) | +98% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $502 | $994 (1,299 SGD) | +98% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $1,149 | $2,272 (2,970 SGD) | +98% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $8.05 | $13.75 (18 SGD) | +71% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $33.53 | $57.31 (75 SGD) | +71% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $5.29 | $8.61 (11 SGD) | +63% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.61 | $0.90 (1 SGD) | +48% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $1.78 | $2.63 (3 SGD) | +48% |
| Eggs, dozen | $1.89 | $2.80 (4 SGD) | +48% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $5.57 | $8.22 (11 SGD) | +48% |
| White rice, 1kg | $2.23 | $3.29 (4 SGD) | +48% |
| Apples, 1kg | $2.67 | $3.95 (5 SGD) | +48% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $6.68 | $9.87 (13 SGD) | +48% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.11 | $1.64 (2 SGD) | +48% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $2.68 | $4.58 (6 SGD) | +71% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $5.97 | $7.25 (9 SGD) | +21% |
| Cappuccino | $2.24 | $3.82 (5 SGD) | +71% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.28 | $1.89 (2 SGD) | +48% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $31.27 | $50.90 (67 SGD) | +63% |
| Public transport, one-way | $1.32 | $2.15 (3 SGD) | +63% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $1.79 | $3.06 (4 SGD) | +71% |
| Taxi, per km | $0.80 | $1.38 (2 SGD) | +73% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.71 | $0.86 (1 SGD) | +21% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $96.20 | $157 (205 SGD) | +63% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $33.67 | $54.81 (72 SGD) | +63% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $21.65 | $35.24 (46 SGD) | +63% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $22.35 | $38.20 (50 SGD) | +71% |
| Cinema seat | $6.26 | $10.70 (14 SGD) | +71% |
| Men's haircut | $13.41 | $22.92 (30 SGD) | +71% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $41.04 | $49.87 (65 SGD) | +22% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $67.16 | $81.61 (107 SGD) | +22% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $112 | $191 (250 SGD) | +71% |

Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the [interactive tool](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=prices&base=CN&target=SG).

## Beyond prices

What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about **4,402 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇨🇳 China | 🇸🇬 Singapore |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $767 | $4,329 |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $246 | $997 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 3.1 | 2.8 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Shanghai and Singapore. | 77 | 0 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | middling | very strong |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 2.9 (low) | 0.7 (very low) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 6 | 11 |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 32.1 | 11.8 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 78 | 83.3 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 91.6% | 94.4% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 31.4 | 198.4 |

## The whole China → Singapore move, in one place

Everything above is free and always will be. The relocation report is the same engines run together for this one corridor: what you keep after rent, prices, healthcare and tax; the local wage ladder you would be earning against; which visas your income qualifies for; the day count that makes you tax-resident; and the months worth being there for.

[See the China → Singapore report — £7](https://geo-parity.com/report/china-to-singapore/) One-off. No subscription. Free preview first.

## Related

- [Reverse view: Singapore vs China](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/singapore-vs-china/)
- [Fair salary: China → Singapore](https://geo-parity.com/salary/china-to-singapore/)
- [How much to retire in Singapore?](https://geo-parity.com/fire/singapore/)
- [Cost of living in Singapore vs the US](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/singapore/)

## More comparisons

### China compared with

- [China vs Germany](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-germany/)
- [China vs France](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-france/)
- [China vs Netherlands](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-netherlands/)
- [China vs Ireland](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-ireland/)
- [China vs Canada](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-canada/)
- [China vs Sweden](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-sweden/)

### Moving to Singapore from

- [Chile vs Singapore](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/chile-vs-singapore/)
- [Saudi Arabia vs Singapore](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/saudi-arabia-vs-singapore/)
- [Argentina vs Singapore](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/argentina-vs-singapore/)
- [Brazil vs Singapore](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/brazil-vs-singapore/)
- [Poland vs Singapore](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/poland-vs-singapore/)
- [Hungary vs Singapore](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/hungary-vs-singapore/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much more expensive is Singapore than China?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $1,781 in Singapore versus $981 in China — 81% more. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- **What does a beer cost in Singapore?**: A domestic draught pint is roughly $4.58 in Singapore (≈ 5.99 SGD), versus about $2.68 in China.
- **How much is rent in Singapore compared to China?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $1,243/month in Singapore versus $628/month in China (+98%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- **How are these prices estimated?**: Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.

Model estimates — verify locally. Agents: GET /api/micro-costs.json?base=CN&target=SG.

---

Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-singapore/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=CN&target=SG