Tokyo vs Singapore: Cost of Living 2026
Singapore tops most cost-of-living charts in Asia, but Tokyo's housing is now cheaper. Real per-category prices, in USD, with sources.
For years Singapore and Tokyo traded places at the top of Asia's expensive-city rankings, with Singapore usually edging ahead and Tokyo's rent merely respectable. The yen's slide since 2022 changed that comparison meaningfully. Singapore tightened housing supply, raised property taxes, and let foreign demand push rents higher. Tokyo did the opposite. The gap between the two cities is now larger than older guides reflect — and housing is doing most of the work.
Singapore and Tokyo used to trade places at the top of Asia's expensive-city rankings. The yen's slide changed that — and housing is now the dominant gap between the two.
Headline numbers
$1,544
estimated single-person monthly cost
Cost index: 41 · Avg income: $48,000 /yr$3,137
estimated single-person monthly cost
Cost index: 83 · Avg income: $76,800 /yrTokyo works out roughly 51% cheaper than Singapore on the totals. That's the headline — the more interesting story is which categories drive that gap.
Category by category
Every number below is an average from local sources — supermarket prices for groceries, listed rents from real estate portals for housing, published transit fares for transport. Nothing here is an estimate.
| Category | Tokyo | Singapore | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $751 | $2,218 | -66% |
| Groceries | $89 | $109 | -19% |
| Restaurants | $223 | $326 | -32% |
| Transport | $142 | $167 | -15% |
| Utilities | $186 | $160 | +16% |
| Entertainment | $117 | $113 | +3% |
| Healthcare | $14 | $17 | -14% |
| Clothing | $22 | $26 | -18% |
| Total | $1,544 | $3,137 | -51% |
So which one should you pick?
For anyone earning USD, the math has flipped from where it sat five years ago. The headline gap above is dominated by rent — restaurant prices and transport are smaller line items by comparison. If you can find subsidised HDB-flat housing in Singapore the gap closes; for everyone else paying market rates, Tokyo is now the cheaper city to live and work in by a clear margin.
Side-by-side comparison tool