Cost of living comparison
Colombo is 31.9% more expensive than Chennai.
If you lived in Colombo instead of Chennai, you would:
pay 64.4% more for restaurants
Chennai
|
Colombo
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$1.80
₹149.71
|
$3.32
LKR990.73
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.35
₹362.69
|
$6.65
LKR1,981.47
|
|
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.47
₹39.48
|
$0.69
LKR204.30
|
|
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.21
₹17.75
|
$0.37
LKR111.46
|
|
pay 2.2 times more for groceries
Chennai
|
Colombo
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.53
₹44.12
|
$0.61
LKR182.93
|
|
Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.88
₹323.34
|
$7.00
LKR2,085.91
|
|
Milk (1 gallon) |
$2.43
₹202.24
|
$6.30
LKR1,879.33
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$0.89
₹73.93
|
$2.23
LKR664.35
|
|
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.50
₹125.05
|
$2.36
LKR703.03
|
|
Apples (1 lb) |
$1.23
₹102.64
|
$3.37
LKR1,004.18
|
|
Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.40
₹33.68
|
$0.50
LKR150.38
|
|
Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.69
₹57.37
|
$2.74
LKR818.15
|
|
Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.23
₹19.22
|
$0.56
LKR167.93
|
|
Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.22
₹18.09
|
$0.48
LKR144.50
|
|
Onions (1 lb) |
$0.21
₹17.83
|
$0.53
LKR157.05
|
|
pay 13.9% more for transportation
Chennai
|
Colombo
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.73
₹394.07
|
$4.74
LKR1,414.68
|
|
Monthly public transit pass |
$11.98
₹998.08
|
$6.31
LKR1,882.39
|
|
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$15,576.23
₹1,297,508.52
|
$33,878.30
LKR10,100,520.09
|
|
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$3.59
₹299.43
|
$3.06
LKR911.47
|
|
pay 44.7% more for housing
Chennai
|
Colombo
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$9.23
₹768.85
|
$17.03
LKR5,076.43
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$210.00
₹17,492.73
|
$303.18
LKR90,389.79
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$121.87
₹10,151.56
|
$159.51
LKR47,555.17
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$30.33
₹2,526.35
|
$36.13
LKR10,772.97
|
|
pay 68.5% less for childcare
Chennai
|
Colombo
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$86.37
₹7,194.52
|
$25.07
LKR7,475.53
|
|
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$1,468.96
₹122,365.03
|
$500.02
LKR149,076.14
|
|
pay 28.3% more for entertainment and sports
Chennai
|
Colombo
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.16
₹179.66
|
$1.99
LKR594.44
|
|
Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.64
₹136.58
|
$2.49
LKR741.63
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.31
₹359.31
|
$8.14
LKR2,427.30
|
|
Monthly membership at local gym |
$16.99
₹1,415.59
|
$14.54
LKR4,334.46
|
|
Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.00
₹249.52
|
$3.69
LKR1,099.71
|
|
pay 15.4% more for clothing
Chennai
|
Colombo
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$25.30
₹2,107.35
|
$28.44
LKR8,478.69
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$23.65
₹1,970.29
|
$19.86
LKR5,919.63
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$43.17
₹3,596.22
|
$64.29
LKR19,166.87
|
|
Men's business shoes (leather) |
$31.38
₹2,614.30
|
$36.55
LKR10,898.06
|
|
Change currency:
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Colombo or Chennai. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.