Cost of living comparison

 Johor Bahru, Malaysia
compared to
 Singapore, Singapore
Singapore vs. Johor Bahru Cost of Living Summary

Singapore is 3.3 times more expensive than Johor Bahru.

Restaurants
pay 2.4 times more in Singapore
Groceries
pay 97.3% more in Singapore
Transportation
pay 5.0 times more in Singapore
Housing
pay 4.4 times more in Singapore
Childcare
pay 4.9 times more in Singapore
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.5 times more in Singapore
Clothing
pay 80.7% more in Singapore

The cost of transportation, childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries in Singapore are more expensive than in Johor Bahru. Notably, transportation, childcare, and housing are significantly more expensive in Singapore.

Singapore vs. Johor Bahru Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Singapore instead of Johor Bahru, you would:

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

 
Johor Bahru
Singapore
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $2.95
MYR13.13
$10.16
SGD13.59
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.54
MYR20.20
$7.52
SGD10.06
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.72
MYR3.20
$1.52
SGD2.03

Improve prices ·

pay 97.3% more for groceries

 
Johor Bahru
Singapore
Bread
1 loaf
$0.93
MYR4.13
$2.11
SGD2.82
Local cheese (8 oz) $6.15
MYR27.35
$8.41
SGD11.26
Milk (1 gallon) $6.75
MYR30.01
$10.38
SGD13.89

Improve prices ·

pay 5.0 times more for transportation

 
Johor Bahru
Singapore
Gasoline (1 gallon) $1.78
MYR7.92
$8.18
SGD10.95
Monthly public transit pass $11.36
MYR50.50
$90.29
SGD120.76
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $27,257.24
MYR121,199.32
$135,434.68
SGD181,143.88

Improve prices ·

pay 4.4 times more for housing

 
Johor Bahru
Singapore
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$24.11
MYR107.19
$36.16
SGD48.36
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $404.32
MYR1,797.79
$2,745.11
SGD3,671.59
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $363.43
MYR1,615.99
$1,988.78
SGD2,659.99

Improve prices ·

pay 4.9 times more for childcare

 
Johor Bahru
Singapore
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $180.77
MYR803.79
$1,189.74
SGD1,591.28
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $8,555.74
MYR38,043.12
$27,370.99
SGD36,608.70

Improve prices ·

pay 2.5 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Johor Bahru
Singapore
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $4.09
MYR18.18
$6.73
SGD9.01
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.91
MYR12.95
$4.71
SGD6.30
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.08
MYR18.13
$12.64
SGD16.91

Improve prices ·

pay 80.7% more for clothing

 
Johor Bahru
Singapore
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$47.05
MYR209.21
$66.32
SGD88.70
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$26.12
MYR116.15
$44.36
SGD59.34
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$53.54
MYR238.07
$96.71
SGD129.34

Improve prices ·
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: March 2025
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Malaysia vs. Singapore. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Malaysia and Singapore.

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 Singapore or Johor Bahru. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.