Cost of living comparison

Colombo, Sri Lanka

compared to

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Riyadh vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Riyadh is 4.2 times more expensive than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 33.2% more in Riyadh
Groceries: pay 13.5% more in Riyadh
Transportation: pay 3.1 times more in Riyadh
Housing: pay 3.6 times more in Riyadh
Childcare: pay 15.1 times more in Riyadh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.1 times more in Riyadh
Clothing: pay 2.0 times more in Riyadh

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

Riyadh vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Riyadh instead of Colombo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 33.2% more for restaurants

	Colombo	Riyadh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.40 LKR1,011.42	$8.39 SAR31.48	+146.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.48 LKR2,225.13	$7.99 SAR29.98	+6.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 LKR219.98	$0.76 SAR2.86	+3.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.39 LKR116.31	$0.30 SAR1.12	-23.9%
Average			+33.2%

Colombo vs. Riyadh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.5% more for groceries

	Colombo	Riyadh
Bread 1 loaf	$0.57 LKR169.55	$1.24 SAR4.65	+117.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.94 LKR2,064.45	$3.91 SAR14.67	-43.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.54 LKR1,946.48	$6.64 SAR24.93	+1.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.22 LKR660.02	$2.63 SAR9.89	+18.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.38 LKR708.65	$3.80 SAR14.26	+59.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.28 LKR975.20	$1.03 SAR3.88	-68.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR151.87	$0.78 SAR2.95	+53.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.65 LKR787.39	$0.82 SAR3.07	-69.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 LKR157.61	$0.76 SAR2.84	+42.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR151.33	$0.60 SAR2.25	+17.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.55 LKR162.42	$0.64 SAR2.41	+17.8%
Average			+13.5%

Colombo vs. Riyadh - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.1 times more for transportation

	Colombo	Riyadh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.84 LKR1,439.32	$2.31 SAR8.68	-52.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.80 LKR2,022.84	$37.27 SAR139.89	+448.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,303.89 LKR10,508,660.48	$33,280.09 SAR124,901.32	-5.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.13 LKR930.51	$16.70 SAR62.66	+434.1%
Average			+206.2%

Colombo vs. Riyadh - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.6 times more for housing

	Colombo	Riyadh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.40 LKR4,881.31	$74.70 SAR280.34	+355.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$297.60 LKR88,583.59	$1,116.87 SAR4,191.65	+275.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$180.09 LKR53,605.19	$782.38 SAR2,936.32	+334.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$43.85 LKR13,051.47	$81.80 SAR307.00	+86.6%
Average			+262.9%

Colombo vs. Riyadh - Cost of housing

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pay 15.1 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Riyadh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$28.60 LKR8,512.79	$360.22 SAR1,351.92	+1159.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$586.98 LKR174,722.92	$10,375.93 SAR38,941.24	+1667.7%
Average			+1413.7%

Colombo vs. Riyadh - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Riyadh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.04 LKR606.85	$2.13 SAR7.99	+4.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 LKR771.12	$4.25 SAR15.95	+64.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.34 LKR2,781.41	$7.45 SAR27.98	-20.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.89 LKR4,133.21	$101.01 SAR379.11	+627.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.40 LKR1,011.42	$15.97 SAR59.95	+370.1%
Average			+209.2%

Colombo vs. Riyadh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.0 times more for clothing

	Colombo	Riyadh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$29.69 LKR8,837.79	$52.20 SAR195.93	+75.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.31 LKR6,641.66	$54.44 SAR204.31	+144.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.77 LKR20,470.27	$107.53 SAR403.56	+56.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$37.51 LKR11,164.53	$89.80 SAR337.01	+139.4%
Average			+103.9%

Colombo vs. Riyadh - 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: April 2025

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