Cost of living comparison

Thimphu, Bhutan

compared to

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Colombo vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 52.1% more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 78.0% more in Colombo
Groceries: pay 100.0% more in Colombo
Transportation: pay 20.4% more in Colombo
Housing: pay 95.3% more in Colombo
Childcare: pay 50.9% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.8% more in Colombo
Clothing: pay 2.1 times more in Colombo

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

Colombo vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 78.0% more for restaurants

	Thimphu	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.95 BTN251.27	$3.40 LKR1,017.60	+15.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$2.95 BTN251.27	$7.48 LKR2,238.72	+153.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 BTN47.24	$0.74 LKR221.33	+33.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.19 BTN15.91	$0.39 LKR117.02	+109.4%
Average			+78.0%

Thimphu vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 100.0% more for groceries

	Thimphu	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$0.94 BTN80.41	$0.57 LKR170.58	-39.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.68 BTN143.22	$6.94 LKR2,077.06	+312.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.17 BTN270.13	$6.54 LKR1,958.37	+106.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.20 BTN187.95	$2.22 LKR664.05	+0.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.74 BTN148.17	$2.38 LKR712.98	+37.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.07 BTN91.18	$3.28 LKR981.16	+206.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 BTN55.85	$0.51 LKR152.80	-22.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 BTN70.21	$2.65 LKR792.20	+221.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.37 BTN31.46	$0.53 LKR158.58	+43.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 BTN19.60	$0.51 LKR152.25	+121.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN21.88	$0.55 LKR163.41	+112.6%
Average			+100.0%

Thimphu vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 20.4% more for transportation

	Thimphu	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.93 BTN334.77	$4.84 LKR1,448.11	+23.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$3.97 BTN338.24	$6.80 LKR2,035.20	+71.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,215.98 BTN1,809,146.99	$35,303.89 LKR10,572,858.00	+66.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.09 BTN1,286.50	$3.13 LKR936.19	-79.3%
Average			+20.4%

Thimphu vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 95.3% more for housing

	Thimphu	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$31.25 BTN2,664.40	$16.40 LKR4,911.13	-47.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$124.45 BTN10,612.31	$297.60 LKR89,124.75	+139.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$79.38 BTN6,769.15	$180.09 LKR53,932.67	+126.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$16.69 BTN1,422.96	$43.85 LKR13,131.20	+162.8%
Average			+95.3%

Thimphu vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 50.9% less for childcare

	Thimphu	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$246.05 BTN20,981.08	$28.60 LKR8,564.80	-88.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$677.73 BTN57,792.20	$586.98 LKR175,790.30	-13.4%
Average			-50.9%

Thimphu vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.43 BTN548.43	$2.04 LKR610.56	-68.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.53 BTN130.66	$2.59 LKR775.83	+69.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.83 BTN326.65	$9.34 LKR2,798.40	+143.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.11 BTN4,187.84	$13.89 LKR4,158.46	-71.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.54 BTN301.52	$3.40 LKR1,017.60	-3.9%
Average			+13.8%

Thimphu vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for clothing

	Thimphu	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$9.43 BTN804.07	$29.69 LKR8,891.78	+214.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$11.79 BTN1,005.08	$22.31 LKR6,682.24	+89.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$32.41 BTN2,763.97	$68.77 LKR20,595.33	+112.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$32.41 BTN2,763.97	$37.51 LKR11,232.73	+15.7%
Average			+108.0%

Thimphu vs. Colombo - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: May 2025

More cost comparisons

Thimphu vs.

Berlin

Thimphu vs.

Kiev

Thimphu vs.

Cairo

Thimphu vs.

Quito

Thimphu vs.

Warsaw

Thimphu vs.

Nairobi

Thimphu vs.

Rome

Thimphu vs.

Madrid

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Bhutan vs. Sri Lanka. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Thimphu

Add prices for Colombo

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Colombo or Thimphu. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.