Cost of living comparison

Kathmandu, Nepal

compared to

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Colombo vs. Kathmandu Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 28.7% more expensive than Kathmandu.

Restaurants: pay 84.0% more in Colombo
Groceries: pay 2.0 times more in Colombo
Transportation: pay 24.3% less in Colombo
Housing: pay 63.8% more in Colombo
Childcare: pay 76.0% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 43.2% more in Colombo
Clothing: pay 5.9% more in Colombo

The cost of groceries, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Colombo are more expensive than in Kathmandu. Expenses including childcare and transportation are lower in Colombo. Notably, groceries and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Colombo.

Colombo vs. Kathmandu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 84.0% more for restaurants

	Kathmandu	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.47 NPR201.60	$3.40 LKR1,017.07	+130.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.36 NPR1,007.01	$7.48 LKR2,237.55	+1.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 NPR62.42	$0.74 LKR221.21	+62.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.16 NPR22.13	$0.39 LKR116.96	+141.7%
Average			+84.0%

Kathmandu vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.0 times more for groceries

	Kathmandu	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$0.57 NPR77.45	$0.57 LKR170.50	+0.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.70 NPR642.68	$6.94 LKR2,075.98	+47.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.17 NPR434.23	$6.54 LKR1,957.35	+106.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 NPR222.34	$2.22 LKR663.71	+36.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 NPR202.32	$2.38 LKR712.61	+61.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 NPR148.83	$3.28 LKR980.64	+201.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 NPR64.41	$0.51 LKR152.72	+8.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.52 NPR71.49	$2.65 LKR791.78	+406.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 NPR44.82	$0.53 LKR158.49	+61.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.22 NPR29.76	$0.51 LKR152.17	+133.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 NPR40.08	$0.55 LKR163.32	+86.3%
Average			+104.6%

Kathmandu vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.3% less for transportation

	Kathmandu	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.85 NPR664.22	$4.84 LKR1,447.35	-0.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.94 NPR1,360.82	$6.80 LKR2,034.14	-31.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,138.99 NPR4,536,069.77	$35,303.89 LKR10,567,356.18	+6.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.05 NPR1,512.02	$3.13 LKR935.70	-71.7%
Average			-24.3%

Kathmandu vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

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pay 63.8% more for housing

	Kathmandu	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.42 NPR1,426.73	$16.40 LKR4,908.57	+57.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$191.60 NPR26,226.88	$297.60 LKR89,078.37	+55.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$102.03 NPR13,965.21	$180.09 LKR53,904.60	+76.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$26.40 NPR3,613.29	$43.85 LKR13,124.37	+66.1%
Average			+63.8%

Kathmandu vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

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pay 76.0% less for childcare

	Kathmandu	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$91.89 NPR12,577.28	$28.60 LKR8,560.34	-68.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,479.59 NPR476,287.33	$586.98 LKR175,698.82	-83.1%
Average			-76.0%

Kathmandu vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

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pay 43.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Kathmandu	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 NPR352.81	$2.04 LKR610.24	-20.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.66 NPR227.19	$2.59 LKR775.43	+56.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.95 NPR403.21	$9.34 LKR2,796.94	+217.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$22.71 NPR3,108.05	$13.89 LKR4,156.30	-38.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.31 NPR453.61	$3.40 LKR1,017.07	+2.5%
Average			+43.2%

Kathmandu vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.9% more for clothing

	Kathmandu	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.02 NPR3,287.68	$29.69 LKR8,887.16	+23.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.19 NPR4,269.24	$22.31 LKR6,678.76	-28.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$53.29 NPR7,294.85	$68.77 LKR20,584.61	+29.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$37.76 NPR5,168.37	$37.51 LKR11,226.89	-0.7%
Average			+5.9%

Kathmandu vs. Colombo - 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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