Cost of living comparison
compared to
Colombo vs. Apia Cost of Living Summary
Colombo is 17.9% more expensive than Apia.
- Restaurants
-
pay 67.1% less in Colombo
- Groceries
-
pay 2.3 times more in Colombo
- Transportation
-
pay 46.4% less in Colombo
- Housing
-
pay 60.7% more in Colombo
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 9.3% more in Colombo
The cost of groceries, housing, and entertainment and sports in Colombo are more expensive than in Apia. Expenses including restaurants and transportation are lower in Colombo. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in Colombo.
Colombo vs. Apia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Colombo instead of Apia, you would:
pay 67.1% less for restaurants
|
Apia
|
Colombo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$53.35
WST150.23
|
$4.13
LKR1,269.15
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$13.95
WST39.30
|
$8.26
LKR2,538.29
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.07
WST5.84
|
$0.76
LKR233.26
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.30
WST3.65
|
$0.36
LKR111.43
|
|
Apia vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.3 times more for groceries
|
Apia
|
Colombo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.81
WST2.28
|
$0.52
LKR160.10
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$0.45
WST1.26
|
$6.78
LKR2,083.94
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.80
WST19.14
|
$6.70
LKR2,060.40
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.22
WST11.90
|
$1.95
LKR600.76
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.63
WST4.59
|
$2.05
LKR629.94
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.28
WST6.42
|
$3.42
LKR1,051.88
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.81
WST2.29
|
$0.50
LKR152.38
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.81
WST2.29
|
$2.69
LKR826.88
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.96
WST5.51
|
$0.55
LKR168.43
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.63
WST4.59
|
$0.51
LKR157.17
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.49
WST1.38
|
$0.58
LKR177.69
|
|
Apia vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries
pay 46.4% less for transportation
|
Apia
|
Colombo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.08
WST11.49
|
$4.12
LKR1,264.88
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$6.61
LKR2,030.64
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? |
$26,432.11
LKR8,122,543.83
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$48.49
WST136.55
|
$3.04
LKR934.09
|
|
Apia vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation
pay 60.7% more for housing
|
Apia
|
Colombo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$35.92
WST101.15
|
$14.01
LKR4,306.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | ?? |
$360.90
LKR110,903.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | ?? |
$177.21
LKR54,457.87
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$13.73
WST38.67
|
$38.78
LKR11,916.86
|
|
Apia vs. Colombo - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Apia
|
Colombo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$33.87
LKR10,407.01
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$505.51
LKR155,343.65
|
Apia vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare
pay 9.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Apia
|
Colombo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.31
WST12.14
|
$2.31
LKR710.72
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.50
WST7.05
|
$2.67
LKR820.10
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.11
WST17.20
|
$10.24
LKR3,147.49
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym | ?? |
$13.33
LKR4,097.53
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$3.30
LKR1,015.32
|
|
Apia vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Apia
|
Colombo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$26.56
LKR8,162.73
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$17.76
LKR5,457.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$67.21
LKR20,653.71
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) | ?? |
$38.07
LKR11,700.33
|
Apia vs. Colombo - Cost of clothing
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: December 2025
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