What a cup of bubble tea actually costs, shop by shop.
Regular (M) size. Where pearls cost extra, that's shown in the small print, not folded into the price here.
Published price A build-your-own combo total, shown directly on the business's own page.
I Love Taimei has the lowest classic milk tea with pearls at S$3.50 -- and it’s one of several businesses here where pearls are never bundled free, always a separate paid topping (+S$0.80 M).
Ranked at the base drink price; the topping surcharge is disclosed, not folded in.
Happy Cup tops the classic lane at S$6.60, a build-your-own combo (base tea + milk + one topping) rather than a single named menu item -- the total is shown directly on its own ordering page.
Singapore's claimed original bubble tea brand, founded 1996.
R&B Tea is the cleanest worked example: its plain ‘Milk Tea’ is S$3.20, and ‘Pearl Milk Tea’ is S$3.70 -- a directly observed S$0.50 pearl surcharge. Playmade, I Love Taimei and Happy Cup all charge separately for pearls too; Koi, LiHO and Each-A-Cup bundle them free when the item name says so (‘Golden Bubble’, ‘Pearl’).
Whether pearls are free depends entirely on the business, not the vertical.
LiHO calls its brown-sugar item ‘Red Sugar’, not ‘Brown Sugar’. Naixue’s ‘Boba Milk Tea’ describes its pearls as ‘brown sugar boba’ even though it isn’t brown-sugar flavoured -- caramelised pearls are now nearly universal. Both are ranked on the label’s likely meaning, flagged for confirmation.
Same caution the methodology applies to every vertical: read each business's own label, don't assume a shared definition.
Happy Cup doesn’t sell a single item called ‘milk tea with pearls’ -- it sells build-your-own tea, and the S$6.60 figure here is its own page’s stated total for milk plus one topping, not something we worked out by hand.
The base 'Just Tea' alone is S$3.80; milk and a topping are priced add-ons shown directly on the page.
Three businesses were excluded even though they publish a ‘Milk Tea’ or a ‘Brown Sugar Milk Tea’ by name: SOD Café, Woobbee and Yolé. None of the three offers pearls or boba anywhere on its menu -- they’re tea cafés and a frozen-yogurt shop, not bubble tea shops.
Confirmed by reading each business's full published menu, not assumed from the category name.
None of the nine ranked businesses states whether its price includes GST. Where a page shows a GST registration number (Woobbee, excluded on scope grounds, is one example) it still never says whether the menu price itself is GST-inclusive.
Logged as 'Not stated' throughout, never assumed either way.
Each-A-Cup, Happy Cup, I Love Taimei, LiHO, Naixue / NaiSnow, Playmade by 丸作, R&B Tea and Tealive all publish a usable price in both lanes. Koi Thé is the one exception: its classic ‘Golden Bubble’ milk tea is ranked, but its own menu shows no price for its confirmed brown-sugar item.
See the small print for exactly what each business's brown-sugar item is called.
Every fact above comes from the business's own page, linked in the card, read on 22 Sep 2026. Details in "The boring bit" at the bottom.
The nine classic milk tea prices bunch fairly closely, with a gap of S$1.10 between S$5.50 and S$6.60 being the only real break. Nothing here rates the drink. We compare prices only.
8 businesses
Eight classic milk tea prices bunched within S$2 of each other.
I Love Taimei, Each-A-Cup, R&B Tea, LiHO, Playmade by 丸作, Naixue / NaiSnow, Koi Thé, Tealive
1 business
One price, S$1.10 clear of the rest.
Happy Cup
Businesses use "brown sugar" and "red sugar" to mean the same caramelised-pearl style of drink; each business's own label is in the small print.
Published price A build-your-own combo total.
The two ladders above use one standard item each, so businesses compare fairly. But most of these nine businesses (and 47 more we read along the way) publish a full menu — 869 priced items in all, across eight categories. Here's every one of them, tabbed by category.
Each tab is a category. The number in brackets is how many priced menu items we found in it, and how many different businesses sell at least one.
Middle of the 150 plotted dots: S$4.90 (an even sample of 328 items)
328 items in this category — an even spread of 150 shown for readability.
Each dot is one priced menu item, from the business’s own page. Hover, tap or focus a dot to see which one. Categories below the three-business minimum are left out.
Bucketing every priced item by price, regardless of category:
46% of the 869 priced menu items captured across every business is under S$5, yet 3% is S$8 or more.
Two different pricing structures, not two different quality levels.
The cheapest classic milk tea with pearls in the ladder, though pearls are a separate S$0.80 topping here, not included.
The most expensive, and the only build-your-own combo price on the ladder rather than a single named menu item.
Neither business says why its price sits where it does, and price alone says nothing about quality. We don't rate the drinks. The middle of the nine classic milk tea prices sits at about S$4.10.
| Business | Price used | GST | Page date | Pearls / toppings basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Each-A-CupBrown sugar boba milk: Brown Sugar Pearl Milk Tea | S$4 | Not stated | Copyright 2026 footer | 'Pearl' named in the item; treated as included on the same basis as the classic-lane row. |
| Happy CupBrown sugar boba milk: Brown Sugar Fresh Milk Tea | S$5.60 | Not stated | © 2026 Happy Cup 100AM (Take App footer) | total |
| I Love TaimeiBrown sugar boba milk: Brown Sugar Milk Tea | S$3.90 | Not stated | Homepage blog posts dated 15-16 Sept 2026 | Same paid-topping basis as the classic-lane row: pearls +S$0.80 M, not included. |
| LiHOBrown sugar boba milk: Red Sugar Pearl Lover Fresh Milk | S$4.80 | Not stated | No date/version stamp visible on the menu graphic | Pearls included (named in the item, same rule as above). LiHO's own label is 'Red Sugar', not 'Brown Sugar' -- flagged per the labels-aren't-standardised rule; treated as the same thing pending confirmation. |
| Naixue / NaiSnowBrown sugar boba milk: Brown Sugar Boba Fresh Milk | S$4.90 | Not stated | Menu highlight posted ~38 weeks before check date | Fresh-milk based (no tea) -- the more clearly genuine brown-sugar-style item of the two; same price as the classic-lane row above, worth a fact card. |
| Playmade by 丸作Brown sugar boba milk: Brown Sugar Milk Tea | S$4.90 | Not stated | Footer: (c) 2025 Cray Ventures Pte Ltd | Same paid-topping basis as the classic-lane row above: +S$1.20 (M) for pearls, not included. |
| R&B TeaBrown sugar boba milk: Brown Sugar Boba Fresh Milk | S$4.10 | Not stated | No last-updated stamp; footer (c) 2026 R&B Tea Singapore | Fresh-milk based (no tea), a clean brown-sugar-style item. |
| TealiveBrown sugar boba milk: Signature Brown Sugar Pearl Milk Tea | S$5.50 | Not stated | Live e-commerce menu, current as of 2026-09-22 | Same naming-vs-inclusion ambiguity as TL-01: 'Brown Sugar Pearl' is in the name, but the same menu-wide 'PEARLS +$0.80' customiser note is attached to every row including this one. Ranked at the stated base price regardless; flagged for confirmation. |
| Each-A-CupClassic milk tea with pearls: Pearl Milk Tea | S$3.60 | Not stated | Copyright 2026 footer | Own page states pearls are included in the base recipe. |
| Happy CupClassic milk tea with pearls: Tea (build-your-own: Milk + 1 Topping) | S$6.60 | Not stated | © 2026 Happy Cup 100AM (Take App footer) | Combo = Fresh Milk + Boba Pearls (one of 8 topping choices; combo price is flat regardless of topping picked) |
| I Love TaimeiClassic milk tea with pearls: Milk Tea | S$3.50 | Not stated | Homepage blog posts dated 15-16 Sept 2026 | Pearls are always a separate paid topping here (+S$0.80 M / +S$1.20 L), never bundled free even into the Brown Sugar item. Ranked at the base price per the standard-item rule. |
| Koi ThéClassic milk tea with pearls: Golden Bubble Milk Tea | S$5.20 | Not stated | No date/version stamp on menu image; site footer shows (c) 2026 KOI CAFE GROUP | 'Golden Bubble' is Koi's own name for its tapioca-pearl topping; pearls are included in the stated price because the topping is already named in the item (per Koi's own topping wording: pearls are NOT included unless 'Golden Bubble' is in the item name). |
| LiHOClassic milk tea with pearls: Classic Milk Tea with Pearl | S$3.90 | Not stated | No date/version stamp visible on the menu graphic | 'Pearl' toppings cost S$1.00 extra at LiHO unless already named in the item (LiHO's own wording); this item has 'Pearl' in its name, so the price already includes it. |
| Naixue / NaiSnowClassic milk tea with pearls: Boba Milk Tea | S$4.90 | Not stated | Menu highlight posted ~38 weeks before check date | Own topping wording describes this as containing 'brown sugar boba' -- possibly just the pearl type (caramelised pearls are now near-universal) rather than making this a brown-sugar-flavoured drink. Ranked here provisionally; flagged for a second read to confirm it is genuinely distinct from the Brown sugar lane row below. |
| Playmade by 丸作Classic milk tea with pearls: Taiwan Milk Tea | S$4.10 | Not stated | Footer: (c) 2025 Cray Ventures Pte Ltd | Pearls/toppings are NOT included free here: regular topping is +S$1.20 (M) / +S$1.50 (L), on top of every drink price. Ranked at the base drink price per the standard-item rule; the surcharge is disclosed, not folded in. |
| R&B TeaClassic milk tea with pearls: Pearl Milk Tea | S$3.70 | Not stated | No last-updated stamp; footer (c) 2026 R&B Tea Singapore | Pearls included. R&B also publishes plain 'Milk Tea' (no pearls) at the same size for S$3.20 -- a directly observed S$0.50 pearl surcharge, the cleanest worked example of this found in batch 1. |
| TealiveClassic milk tea with pearls: Original Pearl Milk Tea | S$5.50 | Not stated | Live e-commerce menu, current as of 2026-09-22 | Reclassified from the agent's 'brown sugar or boba milk' tag to Classic milk tea: 'Original' and no brown-sugar wording in the name. Genuinely ambiguous whether 'Pearl' in the name means pearls are already included, or the menu-wide 'PEARLS +$0.80' customiser note still applies on top -- flagged for confirmation, same pattern as Naixue and The Alley. |
Prices and wording from each business's own page, read on 22 Sep 2026.
Score: 0 out of 0
96 rounds mixing who's cheaper, cheapest-of-three, guess-the-price, who-offers-this and higher-or-lower questions, each about businesses on the same price list; every question rests on fixed prices. The middle in higher-or-lower questions counts every ranked price.
How much does bubble tea cost in Singapore? S$3.50 to S$6.60 for a classic milk tea with pearls, across 9 businesses.
Classic milk tea with pearls: S$3.50 to S$6.60 across 9 businesses. Brown sugar boba milk: S$3.90 to S$5.60 across 8 businesses. Read from each business's own page on 22 Sep 2026.
This comparison covers 9 businesses priced, 56 read. Every price comes from the business's own website, read and dated, and the comparison was last verified on 22 Sep 2026. No business pays to be included or to rank.
The ladder at the top lines up every business from cheapest to priciest. Below it are the standout findings, how prices spread out, and the details that matter before you book or buy. We compare prices that are comparable enough, not identical, and “The boring bit” says exactly where we drew the line.
Methodology, caveats and what we left out. Everything above rests on this.
9 businesses with a usable price, out of 56 we found in Singapore. That 56 is our own count from searching, a floor and not an official figure. We looked into all 56: 9 have a ranked price, 3 have prices we are holding back pending confirmation, 3 are not comparable, 11 have pages with no published price, 12 have no source we could read yet, 2 are part-priced and part-unread (Sharetea, Tuk Tuk Cha), and 16 are closed, out of scope or no longer trading in Singapore (see the directory). A business counts once, not once per branch. Eight businesses publish a usable price in both lanes.
Discovery stopped on 22 Sep 2026 after two consecutive dedicated batches, and a four-batch browser-agent sweep of the wider "needs manual capture" backlog before that, all yielded zero or close to zero newly ranked businesses. The remaining unresolved and blocked businesses are listed in the directory below, so the report can be extended later.
22 Sep 2026. Every price was read from the business's own website, ordering page or an official social media account's own dated post, either directly or via a browser agent for pages our own tools couldn't reach (robots-blocked sites, JavaScript-rendered menus, or menus shown as images). Two browser-agent finds were excluded after review for resting on a delivery platform or a news article rather than a first-party source (see the small print notes for Heytea and Kebuke in the directory). This report says "read from each business's own page," not "checked by hand."
We compare prices that are comparable enough for a fair reading, not strictly identical. The standard item is classic/signature milk tea with pearls, Regular (M) size, ranked on the base drink price; a second lane covers brown sugar boba milk, Regular size. The two lanes are never mixed on one ladder. The line was drawn here:
Every price is published by the business itself: on its own site, its own ordering page or app, or an official social media account's own dated post. Each business name links to the page we read.
Every business here is named alongside what we found and the page we read. Publish your prices somewhere we missed, or think we got something wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.
| Business | What we found | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Each-A-Cup | Classic milk tea with pearls: priced, S$3.60; Brown sugar boba milk: priced, S$4 | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Happy Cup | Classic milk tea with pearls: priced, S$6.60; Brown sugar boba milk: priced, S$5.60 | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| I Love Taimei | Classic milk tea with pearls: priced, S$3.50; Brown sugar boba milk: priced, S$3.90 | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Koi Thé | Classic milk tea with pearls: priced, S$5.20; Brown sugar boba milk: page(s) checked, no price published | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| LiHO | Classic milk tea with pearls: priced, S$3.90; Brown sugar boba milk: priced, S$4.80 | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Naixue / NaiSnow | Classic milk tea with pearls: priced, S$4.90; Brown sugar boba milk: priced, S$4.90 | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Playmade by 丸作 | Classic milk tea with pearls: priced, S$4.10; Brown sugar boba milk: priced, S$4.90 | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| R&B Tea | Classic milk tea with pearls: priced, S$3.70; Brown sugar boba milk: priced, S$4.10 | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Tealive | Classic milk tea with pearls: priced, S$5.50; Brown sugar boba milk: priced, S$5.50 | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| 7 TEA Café 台灣茶飲小舖 | Classic milk tea with pearls: no usable source found yet; Brown sugar boba milk: no usable source found yet | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| A Little Tea | Classic milk tea with pearls: page(s) checked, no price published; Brown sugar boba milk: page(s) checked, no price published | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Amps Tea | Classic milk tea with pearls: page(s) checked, no price published; Brown sugar boba milk: page(s) checked, no price published | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Beutea | Classic milk tea with pearls: page(s) checked, no price published; Brown sugar boba milk: page(s) checked, no price published | own page or account (see notes) |
| Bober Tea | Classic milk tea with pearls: page(s) checked, no price published; Brown sugar boba milk: page(s) checked, no price published | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Bobii Frutii | Confirmed defunct, not just missing a menu page: both Singapore outlets (Clementi Mall, Suntec City) have permanently closed and the domain itself no longer resolves. No nav links to check since the site never loads. | own page or account (see notes) |
| Bubble Bliss | Classic milk tea with pearls: page(s) checked, no price published; Brown sugar boba milk: page(s) checked, no price published | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| CHAGEE | Classic milk tea with pearls: page(s) checked, no price published; Brown sugar boba milk: page(s) checked, no price published | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| CHICHA San Chen | Classic milk tea with pearls: page(s) checked, no price published; Brown sugar boba milk: page(s) checked, no price published | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Cai Ca | Classic milk tea with pearls: no usable source found yet; Brown sugar boba milk: no usable source found yet | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| ChaPanda | Classic milk tea with pearls: no usable source found yet; Brown sugar boba milk: no usable source found yet | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Chatime | Confirmed closed: the corporate entity was struck off the Singapore business registry effective 16 Aug 2026. This resolves the earlier 'trading status genuinely unclear' flag -- treat as ceased trading, same as Gong Cha and Xing Fu Tang. | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Chun Fun How | Classic milk tea with pearls: no usable source found yet; Brown sugar boba milk: no usable source found yet | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Emma | Classic milk tea with pearls: priced but held back pending confirmation, not ranked; Brown sugar boba milk: priced but held back pending confirmation, not ranked | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Feng Cha (Bencoolen St stall -- not the Feng Cha 奉茶 chain) | Classic milk tea with pearls: not comparable (see notes); Brown sugar boba milk: not comparable (see notes) | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Gong Cha | All Singapore outlets closed since 1 Oct 2025. Domain now a blank 'Site Offline' countdown page; official Facebook returns 'content isn't available'; Instagram has only 9 dormant 2018-era posts. Global CEO has said it will relaunch in Singapore 'in 2026' under a new franchisee, b… | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Hey Yogurt | Confirmed closed: the business's own Oddle ordering page states outright 'this Shop is currently closed -- No stores are available to accept delivery and takeaway orders.' Corroborated by Burpple ([CLOSED] on both VivoCity and Jurong Point listings) and shopsinsg.com. No official… | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Heytea | Classic milk tea with pearls: no usable source found yet; Brown sugar boba milk: no usable source found yet | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Hollin | Most Singapore outlets are reported to have abruptly closed in Jan 2026 (Straits Times, AsiaOne, Vulcan Post, Inside Retail Asia all independently reported this), with only a Punggol Plaza outlet reported as possibly still open in one source -- worth a specific re-check before ru… | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Jiak Zua | No first-party source could be found or verified at all -- candidate FB/IG pages could not be confirmed as the brand's own. Treated as closed on a third-party status signal ('[CLOSED]' on a directory listing) used only to establish trading status, never as a price source, per met… | own page or account (see notes) |
| Kebuke | Classic milk tea with pearls: no usable source found yet; Brown sugar boba milk: no usable source found yet | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Machi Machi | Closed: official Oddle ordering site reports no stores available, official IG has been removed entirely, and FB's last substantive post is from 18 Jun 2023. No menu captured. | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Milksha | Confirmed not currently operating in Singapore: the brand's own Taiwan HQ site (milksha.com) lists its current markets as Taiwan, UK, Australia, Philippines and Hong Kong -- Singapore is explicitly not among them. SG-specific Instagram and Facebook accounts both return 'not avail… | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Mixue | Classic milk tea with pearls: no usable source found yet; Brown sugar boba milk: no usable source found yet | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Molly Tea | Classic milk tea with pearls: page(s) checked, no price published; Brown sugar boba milk: page(s) checked, no price published | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Mong Cha Cha (vegan) | Confirmed closed by the business's own words: an official FB post states it closed its doors on 20 Dec 2021 (plant-based boba cafe). Direct read of the page was blocked by robots.txt, but the closure post itself is a first-party, dated, unambiguous statement -- no menu needed. | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Mr. Sun Tea | Classic milk tea with pearls: page(s) checked, no price published; Brown sugar boba milk: page(s) checked, no price published | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| No.17 Tea | Classic milk tea with pearls: page(s) checked, no price published; Brown sugar boba milk: page(s) checked, no price published | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| One Zo (ONEZO / 丸作食茶) | Classic milk tea with pearls: page(s) checked, no price published; Brown sugar boba milk: page(s) checked, no price published | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Partea | Classic milk tea with pearls: priced but held back pending confirmation, not ranked; Brown sugar boba milk: priced but held back pending confirmation, not ranked | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| SOD Café | SCOPE RESOLVED: out of scope, not a data gap. Full 24-item live menu read -- no pearls, boba, or any bubble-tea-format topping is offered anywhere across the entire menu (checked explicitly). SOD Café is a specialty tea café (rooibos, floral, oolong series), not a bubble tea shop… | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Sharetea | Classic milk tea with pearls: priced but held back pending confirmation, not ranked; Brown sugar boba milk: no usable source found yet | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Sweet Talk | Classic milk tea with pearls: no usable source found yet; Brown sugar boba milk: no usable source found yet | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| TP Tea | Classic milk tea with pearls: no usable source found yet; Brown sugar boba milk: no usable source found yet | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Tea Pulse | Classic milk tea with pearls: not comparable (see notes); Brown sugar boba milk: not comparable (see notes) | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Teafolia | Classic milk tea with pearls: not comparable (see notes); Brown sugar boba milk: not comparable (see notes) | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Teamoo | Confirmed closed: Google Maps lists the business as 'Permanently closed'; IG has been inactive since 7 Oct 2025. No menu captured. | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| TenRen's Tea (Singapore) | Classic milk tea with pearls: no usable source found yet; Brown sugar boba milk: no usable source found yet | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| The Alley | Classic milk tea with pearls: priced but held back pending confirmation, not ranked; Brown sugar boba milk: priced but held back pending confirmation, not ranked | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| The Whale Tea | Classic milk tea with pearls: no usable source found yet; Brown sugar boba milk: no usable source found yet | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Tiger Sugar | Classic milk tea with pearls: no usable source found yet; Brown sugar boba milk: no usable source found yet | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Truedan (formerly Jenjudan) | Multiple independent (non-first-party) signals converge on this brand having exited Singapore entirely: its former CityLink Mall and Orchard Gateway outlets are no longer listed as trading, and no live Facebook, Instagram or ordering page exists under either 'Truedan' or the lega… | own page or account (see notes) |
| Tuk Tuk Cha | Classic milk tea with pearls: priced but held back pending confirmation, not ranked; Brown sugar boba milk: page(s) checked, no price published | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Woobbee | SCOPE RESOLVED: out of scope, not a data gap. The full priced 52-item own-site menu ('View Menu' PDF) has no pearls, boba, or any bubble-tea-format topping anywhere -- only grass jelly, aloe, pudding and oat milk are offered as add-ins. Consistent with Woobbee's own branding as t… | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Xing Fu Tang | Confirmed exited the Singapore market: multiple independent 2023 news reports (Mothership, SETHLUI, Singapore Foodie, Yahoo Life SG) document its last outlet (Northpoint City) closing in Jan/Feb 2023 with a farewell promotion. No evidence of any outlet reopening since. Kept as a … | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Yanmi Yogurt | Confirmed closed on unusually strong evidence for this vertical: ACRA (Singapore's own company registry) shows the company struck off as of 25 May 2026, on top of a dormant Facebook/Instagram since Dec 2021 and a flagship Funan outlet closure announced back in July 2021. Also con… | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
| Yolé | SCOPE RESOLVED: out of scope, not a data gap. Yolé's Singapore page and Instagram present it purely as self-serve, pay-by-weight frozen yogurt -- no pearls, boba or milk-tea-format drinks anywhere on any SG channel, and no prices exist at all (consistent with a by-weight model, w… | page checked (opens in a new tab) |
none listed here. The 12 businesses marked “no usable source found yet” in the directory above are the ones still to be read.
No payment, gift or sponsorship affects who is included, how they rank or how they are described.
Report an error. Corrections are logged publicly with a date.