How many customers do you actually need every day to survive in Singapore?
We calculated the daily cover requirement for F&B operators across Singapore subzones using real URA rent transaction data. The highest PSF in our database is SGD 22.05 - requiring 139 daily covers just to clear costs. The most interesting finding is what happens when two subzones have almost identical PSF but very different demand scores.
Rent as a monthly number feels abstract. The more useful frame is daily covers: how many paying customers do you need before your rent is covered? That number changes dramatically across Singapore - and it reveals something important about the relationship between cost and value.
We calculated break-even daily covers for a standard 800 sq ft unit at SGD 12 average ticket, with rent at 35% of total monthly operating costs and 30 trading days per month. The PSF figures come directly from URA commercial rental transaction data in our database.
Break-even by location
The most interesting comparison in the dataset
Sengkang Town Centre and Raffles Place sit at almost identical PSF - SGD 13.12 and SGD 12.98 respectively. Their daily cover requirements are nearly identical: 83 vs 82. But their F&B scores are 90 and 72. That 18-point gap reflects the structural difference between a residential interchange with habitual local demand and a CBD commuter hub with transient, competition-saturated traffic.
Same cost. Same daily target. Very different probability of hitting it.
Sengkang Town Centre
PSF
$13.12
Daily covers
83
F&B score
90
Score 90. Residential interchange. 43,540 tap-outs. Local demand.
Raffles Place
PSF
$12.98
Daily covers
82
F&B score
72
Score 72. CBD commuter hub. 60,990 tap-outs. Saturated competition.
The Safti outlier
At SGD 22.05 psf - the highest in our database - Safti in Jurong West requires 139 daily covers and scores only 15 out of 100. This is an industrial zone; the PSF reflects commercial infrastructure cost in a restricted area, not a viable F&B location. It appears here to illustrate the ceiling of what Singapore's commercial PSF range looks like - and why score matters as much as rent.
What changes your number
The table uses standard assumptions. Three variables shift it significantly in practice:
- Unit size. A 500 sq ft unit at the same PSF has a proportionally lower rent - and a lower cover requirement.
- Ticket price. A SGD 18 average ticket (vs SGD 12) reduces required covers by 33% at identical rent.
- Negotiated rent. If your landlord quotes above the URA subzone median, your break-even is higher than the table shows. If you negotiate below, it's lower.
Your address report calculates all three for your specific unit, lease terms, and concept.
About this analysis. PSF figures from URA commercial rental transaction data (mid-2026). Break-even calculated as (PSF × 800 sq ft ÷ 0.35) ÷ (SGD 12 × 30 days). F&B scores from SiteMetriq database. Figures are illustrative; actual break-even varies by unit size, lease terms, ticket price, and operating model. Full methodology: SiteMetriq.sg/sg/about