Cost of living comparison

Colombo, Sri Lanka

compared to

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 2.9 times more expensive than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 11.3% more in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 0.2% less in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 59.2% more in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 63.7% more in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 12.0 times more in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 63.9% more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 64.6% more in Kuala Lumpur

The cost of childcare, clothing, entertainment and sports, housing, transportation, and restaurants in Kuala Lumpur are more expensive than in Colombo. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kuala Lumpur instead of Colombo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 11.3% more for restaurants

	Colombo	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.40 LKR1,017.07	$4.54 MYR19.34	+33.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.48 LKR2,237.55	$4.54 MYR19.34	-39.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 LKR221.21	$0.84 MYR3.59	+14.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.39 LKR116.96	$0.53 MYR2.27	+36.7%
Average			+11.3%

Colombo vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.2% less for groceries

	Colombo	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$0.57 LKR170.50	$0.95 MYR4.03	+66.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.94 LKR2,075.98	$7.58 MYR32.25	+9.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.54 LKR1,957.35	$7.22 MYR30.72	+10.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.22 LKR663.71	$2.36 MYR10.03	+6.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.38 LKR712.61	$1.94 MYR8.24	-18.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.28 LKR980.64	$1.24 MYR5.28	-62.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR152.72	$0.69 MYR2.94	+35.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.65 LKR791.78	$1.25 MYR5.32	-52.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 LKR158.49	$0.63 MYR2.67	+18.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR152.17	$0.47 MYR1.99	-8.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.55 LKR163.32	$0.51 MYR2.18	-6.1%
Average			-0.2%

Colombo vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

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pay 59.2% more for transportation

	Colombo	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.84 LKR1,447.35	$1.77 MYR7.55	-63.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.80 LKR2,034.14	$11.36 MYR48.34	+67.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,303.89 LKR10,567,356.18	$37,478.71 MYR159,528.11	+6.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.13 LKR935.70	$10.22 MYR43.51	+227.0%
Average			+59.2%

Colombo vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

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pay 63.7% more for housing

	Colombo	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.40 LKR4,908.57	$25.27 MYR107.54	+54.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$297.60 LKR89,078.37	$536.30 MYR2,282.74	+80.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$180.09 LKR53,904.60	$371.69 MYR1,582.10	+106.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$43.85 LKR13,124.37	$50.02 MYR212.93	+14.1%
Average			+63.7%

Colombo vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

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pay 12.0 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$28.60 LKR8,560.34	$250.80 MYR1,067.55	+777.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$586.98 LKR175,698.82	$8,920.55 MYR37,970.33	+1419.7%
Average			+1098.3%

Colombo vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

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pay 63.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.04 LKR610.24	$4.09 MYR17.40	+100.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 LKR775.43	$2.92 MYR12.42	+12.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.34 LKR2,796.94	$4.09 MYR17.40	-56.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.89 LKR4,156.30	$44.75 MYR190.47	+222.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.40 LKR1,017.07	$4.77 MYR20.30	+40.4%
Average			+63.9%

Colombo vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 64.6% more for clothing

	Colombo	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$29.69 LKR8,887.16	$57.74 MYR245.76	+94.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.31 LKR6,678.76	$35.00 MYR148.98	+56.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.77 LKR20,584.61	$76.75 MYR326.70	+11.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$37.51 LKR11,226.89	$73.25 MYR311.80	+95.3%
Average			+64.6%

Colombo vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of clothing

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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: June 2025

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