Myanmar Maid Salary in Singapore 2026 — What You'll Actually Pay

A Myanmar helper's salary comes down to one thing: where she has worked before. Not her age, not her education — where she has worked.

Here are the questions employers actually ask us, in the order they ask them.

What is the market salary for a fresh Myanmar helper with no experience?

$550 a month.

This is not a range. It is the market standard, and nearly every first-time Myanmar helper is placed at exactly this figure. If someone quotes you $480 or $520 for a genuine first-timer, ask what is missing.

What makes up the $550:

Your helper is entitled to one rest day a week. At least one a month she must actually take — that one cannot be paid off. The other three she can agree to work, and you compensate her for each.

Three things employers get caught out by:

• If she takes all four rest days, you pay $493, not $550. The $57 is compensation for days worked, not part of her wage.
• $493 is the figure you declare to MOM, and it becomes your legal floor.
• Round the compensation up, never down. MOM requires at least one day's salary per rest day worked.

What about helpers with overseas experience — ex-Dubai, ex-Oman, ex-Malaysia?

Around $600 — roughly $50 above a fresh helper.

She has done the job before, in someone else's home, under a contract she completed. She has also usually picked up some English along the way. Neither is Singapore experience, but both mean you are not starting from zero.

One thing worth knowing: experience inside Myanmar does not move the price. Helpers on our books with two, three, even six years of domestic work in Myanmar sit at $550 — the same as someone with none. Only work abroad counts, because only work abroad brings the English and the exposure to a different household.

How much for a helper with Singapore experience?

This is where a real range opens up.

Above two years, almost everything is negotiable and the number depends on what she can actually do. Singapore infant care experience and elderly care experience are what push a helper to the top of that range — those are the skills families compete for.

A completed contract matters more than raw time. Among our ex-Singapore listings, helpers who finished one full contract ask a median of $700; those who finished two ask $750. Finishing a contract says she lasted, got along with the family, and was asked back — which is information no biodata can give you.

Why do Singapore-experienced helpers cost more?

Three reasons, and they are all practical.

She speaks English. This is the big one. A first-time Myanmar helper usually arrives with very little English. You will be demonstrating tasks rather than explaining them, and anything complicated has to be shown. A helper who has worked here can take an instruction on day one.

She knows how a Singapore household runs. An HDB kitchen, the wet market, the laundry routine, how Singaporean families eat and what they expect. None of that has to be taught.

She is unlikely to get homesick. She has already spent two years away from home and chose to come back. Month three, when a first-timer is often struggling, is a non-event for her.

That is what the extra $100 to $200 a month buys: a helper you can talk to, who does not need training, and who is far less likely to want to go home early.

So which should I hire?

A fresh helper at $550 works if:

• Someone is home during the day to show her how things are done
• The work is straightforward — cleaning, laundry, simple cooking
• You can communicate patiently and simply for the first few months
• Budget matters more than speed

Pay $650 or more for a Singapore-experienced helper if:

• Both parents work and nobody is free to train her
• You need infant care or elderly care, where instructions must be understood the first time
• You want her productive in week one, not month three

There is no better or worse choice here — only whether you have the time to train.

What will I actually pay each month?

Salary is the biggest line, not the only one.

If your household has a child under 16, someone aged 67 or above, or a person with disabilities, you may qualify for the concessionary levy of $60 instead of $300 — which brings a fresh helper down to $610 a month. Check your eligibility with MOM before you budget anything. It is the single biggest saving available to you.

Food, accommodation and medical care are your responsibility on top of this.

What does HippoMaid charge?

Nothing is bundled, so you take only what you want.

"No service charge" means we don't bill you for the work — it does not mean the process is free of cost. MOM's own fees still apply and they go to the government, not to us: the Work Permit is $35 on application and $35 on issuance. The $5,000 security bond and the insurance minimums are statutory requirements too, not our charges.

You should be able to see which line is a government fee and which is an agency charging you. With us there is no third category.

Salary figures reflect our own Myanmar listings and placements as at 13 September 2026 — not a market-wide survey. Levy and rest-day rules verified against MOM's published pages the same day. Reviewed annually.