Unit pricing Singapore: pilot dates and comparing pack sizes

Unit pricing in Singapore means a supermarket shows the price per standard unit, such as per 100 g, per 100 ml or per item, beside the shelf price, to help you compare pack sizes and brands on one footing. For now it is a pilot run by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS) and the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE). CCS’s footnotes start the expanded pilot on 1 October 2026 for NTUC FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Prime Supermarket, Don Don Donki and RedMart, and on 1 November 2026 for Cold Storage and Giant, though its About page also says labels are already at all Cold Storage and Giant outlets.

None of the CCS pages we read says supermarkets must show unit prices, and CCS’s 2025 release speaks of the “potential introduction of unit pricing in Singapore”. Our inference is that it is not yet a requirement, so a missing label is not something we can call a breach. Where there is no label you can work out the same number yourself; the habit carries over to phone plans and mattresses.

Which supermarkets show unit prices, and for how long?

CCS says each operator takes part for eight weeks and gives no end dates on the pages we read. Eight weeks from 1 October 2026 is about 26 November 2026, and from 1 November about 27 December 2026. That is our arithmetic, not a CCS date, and CCS has not said what happens afterwards, so a label seen now may not be there in December (our inference).

One conflict sits on CCS’s own page. On About Unit Pricing, read on 3 October 2026 and again on 17 October 2026 (it still says “Last updated on 28 September 2026”), the section “Where can consumers find the unit pricing labels?” says: “Consumers can now find unit pricing labels in most major supermarkets in Singapore during the Stage 2 pilot. This includes all NTUC FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Prime Supermarket, Cold Storage and Giant outlets.” Its footnote says: “NTUC FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Prime Supermarket, Don Don Donki and RedMart will commence the expanded pilot from 1 October 2026, while Cold Storage and Giant will do so from 1 November 2026”. The page does not reconcile the two, so we cannot say whether Cold Storage and Giant labels are in store before 1 November 2026.

Two more details from the same page and release:

• The About page lists five Don Don Donki outlets with labels during Stage 2: Jewel Changi Airport, PLQ Mall, Tiong Bahru Plaza, Bukit Panjang Plaza and Waterway Point. It does not say whether other outlets take part.
• Only Sheng Siong and RedMart are named for online stores from 1 October 2026, and CCS gives no dates for the others. We did not open any online store.

What does the pilot cover, and is unit pricing required?

CCS’s table lists 40 product types in 13 groups, including rice, flour, eggs, cooking oils, formula milk powder, detergents, paper and tissue, diapers, snacks and sauces. Fresh cut or ready-to-eat fruits are excluded, and CCS says coverage “may vary across outlets depending on implementation considerations”, so a listed product can still lack a label in a given store (our reading).

No official page we read says unit pricing is required. CCS calls the programme a pilot “to test the viability and usefulness of making such information available to grocery shoppers”, and says survey feedback “will help to inform our plans to roll out unit pricing more widely at a later stage”. In its joint release of 27 August 2025, which uses the abbreviation CCCS, the chief executive called the pilot “an important step towards the potential introduction of unit pricing in Singapore”. CCS’s Guidelines on Price Transparency (last updated 26 September 2025) and its Weights and Measures Act page (last updated 1 July 2025) do not mention unit prices.

The Guidelines are written for suppliers. They say a supplier’s comparisons with other suppliers’ prices should cover only goods or services accepted to be similar or equivalent, and that a time-limited discount should state its period clearly. We adapt both ideas for shoppers below; that is not CCS guidance on unit prices. CASE’s president said in the 2026 release that consumers can continue to use Price Kaki to compare the unit prices of more than 13,900 daily essentials; we did not open it.

How do you compare pack sizes by unit price?

This is our own method, not a CCS rule.

1. Choose the unit: per 100 g, per 100 ml or per item, as in CCS’s examples, or your own, such as per sheet for tissue.
2. Convert: kilograms to grams and litres to millilitres, then work out price ÷ quantity × 100 for a per-100 g or per-100 ml price. For a per-item price, divide the price by the number of items.
3. Compare like with like: the same kind of product in the same unit.
4. Use the price you will pay, and note when a promotion ends.
5. Check you will finish the pack. A lower unit price saves nothing on food you throw away.

TBYB’s unit price calculator does this arithmetic for the prices and sizes you enter; it is not a rule and rates no product.

Worked example: which rice pack costs less per 100 g?

These prices are illustrative. No supermarket price was checked for this guide.

• Pack A: S$4.80 for 1.2 kg, which is 1,200 g. S$4.80 ÷ 1,200 × 100 = S$0.40 per 100 g.
• Pack B: S$9.50 for 2.5 kg, which is 2,500 g. S$9.50 ÷ 2,500 × 100 = S$0.38 per 100 g.

Pack B’s unit price is S$0.02 lower, or 5% less. Over 2.5 kg that is S$0.50: buying 2.5 kg at Pack A’s rate would cost S$10.00, against S$9.50. Whether that justifies carrying and storing the larger bag is your call, and it counts only if you finish the rice.

A promotion can reverse the order. If Pack A were on offer at S$4.20, it would cost S$4.20 ÷ 1,200 × 100 = S$0.35 per 100 g, below Pack B’s S$0.38, until the offer ends. The year-end sales guide and the 11.11 price-log calendar show how to start a price log beforehand.

Does the same habit work for phone plans and mattresses?

Yes, if you pick the unit that matches what you consume, not what the seller advertises. Both examples are fictional and illustrative; the prices, data use and keep-periods are invented.

Phone plan, S$ per GB. Plan S costs S$18 a month for 30 GB: S$18 ÷ 30 = S$0.60 per GB. Plan L costs S$28 a month for 100 GB: S$28 ÷ 100 = S$0.28 per GB. Plan L looks far cheaper per GB, but if you use about 12 GB a month you pay S$18 ÷ 12 = S$1.50 per GB used on Plan S and S$28 ÷ 12 = about S$2.33 on Plan L: the extra S$10 buys data you will not use. A per-GB price also ignores introductory prices and exit charges, which is why a SIM-only comparison should total the months you will keep the plan.

Mattress, S$ per night of use (counting 365 nights a year). Mattress M costs S$1,290 and Mattress N costs S$890. Kept for 8 years (2,920 nights), M costs S$1,290 ÷ 2,920 = about S$0.44 a night. Kept for 5 years (1,825 nights), N costs S$890 ÷ 1,825 = about S$0.49. Change one assumption and the order flips: if M suited you for only 6 years (2,190 nights), it would cost about S$0.59 a night. The years are assumptions, not evidence about any mattress. The mattress sleep trial guide covers how to test whether you would keep one.

What to check before you buy

• Is there a unit-price label, and do both products show the same unit? If not, work out price ÷ quantity × 100 for each, rounded the same way.
• Is each price one you would pay today, and when does each promotion end? For a multi-buy offer, divide the total price by the total quantity.
• Are the products equivalent, and will you finish the larger pack? A unit price does not show quality or fit; a simple product brief covers describing the task and separating requirements from preferences.
• Did you read the stated weight on the pack, not the size of the box?
• If a label or price looks wrong, photograph it with the date; Before you check out covers the kind of records worth keeping.

Next time you shop, pick one staple such as rice or cooking oil and compare two sizes on one unit. More methods are on the comparing topic page.

Common questions