Cost of living comparison

compared to

Sri Lanka vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Sri Lanka is 20.2% cheaper than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 28.0% more in Sri Lanka
Groceries: pay 23.2% more in Sri Lanka
Transportation: pay 17.0% less in Sri Lanka
Housing: pay 38.4% less in Sri Lanka
Childcare: pay 96.6% less in Sri Lanka
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.2% more in Sri Lanka
Clothing: pay 50.8% less in Sri Lanka

The cost of restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Sri Lanka are more expensive than in Beijing. Expenses including childcare, clothing, housing, and transportation are lower in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sri Lanka instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 28.0% more for restaurants

	Beijing	Sri Lanka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.76	$3.63 LKR1,116.85	-13.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.72	$7.90 LKR2,426.61	+60.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.39	$0.73 LKR224.32	+52.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.17	$0.35 LKR106.15	+12.5%
Average			+28.0%

Beijing vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.2% more for groceries

	Beijing	Sri Lanka
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.07	$0.48 LKR147.07	-72.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.84	$5.72 LKR1,758.02	-23.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.99	$6.01 LKR1,847.59	-9.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.57	$1.94 LKR597.37	+9.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.83	$2.05 LKR629.94	+33.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.95	$2.40 LKR736.93	+144.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.44	$0.44 LKR136.48	-42.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.66	$2.17 LKR665.91	+170.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.26	$0.55 LKR168.43	-9.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.47	$0.45 LKR139.78	+30.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.92	$0.51 LKR155.98	+23.0%
Average			+23.2%

Beijing vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.0% less for transportation

	Beijing	Sri Lanka
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.80	$4.12 LKR1,264.88	-2.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥223.19	$10.74 LKR3,299.78	-66.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,952.02	$24,680.98 LKR7,584,425.30	+35.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.73	$3.00 LKR921.91	-35.2%
Average			-17.0%

Beijing vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.4% less for housing

	Beijing	Sri Lanka
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.49	$12.84 LKR3,944.37	-0.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,617.06	$289.17 LKR88,862.02	-69.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,568.82	$178.38 LKR54,816.88	-64.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥277.81	$31.64 LKR9,722.89	-19.4%
Average			-38.4%

Beijing vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of housing

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pay 96.6% less for childcare

	Beijing	Sri Lanka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,028.87	$33.87 LKR10,407.01	-95.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥164,449.26	$466.09 LKR143,227.52	-98.0%
Average			-96.6%

Beijing vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Sri Lanka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.94	$2.08 LKR639.65	+85.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.53	$2.39 LKR735.74	-17.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.76	$9.25 LKR2,842.89	+120.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥409.21	$15.04 LKR4,620.30	-74.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.52	$3.12 LKR959.48	-62.9%
Average			+10.2%

Beijing vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 50.8% less for clothing

	Beijing	Sri Lanka
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥440.79	$25.05 LKR7,697.80	-59.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥257.35	$17.03 LKR5,232.27	-53.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥578.34	$62.69 LKR19,264.32	-23.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥746.66	$35.07 LKR10,776.88	-66.8%
Average			-50.8%

Beijing vs. Sri Lanka - 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: December 2025

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