Cost of living comparison

Sri Lanka

compared to

China

Beijing vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 50.0% more expensive than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 8.1% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 1.5% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 24.5% more in Beijing
Housing: pay 56.5% more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 18.6 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.5% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 2.4 times more in Beijing

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

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Beijing vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 8.1% less for restaurants

	Colombo	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.82 LKR1,267.96	$4.47 CN¥29.86	+17.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.56 LKR2,507.24	$5.22 CN¥34.84	-30.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 LKR232.99	$0.52 CN¥3.48	-25.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.26 LKR87.16	$0.27 CN¥1.82	+3.7%
Average			-8.1%

Colombo vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.5% less for groceries

	Colombo	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 LKR182.32	$1.73 CN¥11.53	+214.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.89 LKR2,285.74	$7.22 CN¥48.15	+4.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.03 LKR1,999.97	$6.41 CN¥42.77	+6.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 LKR542.79	$2.02 CN¥13.49	+23.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.21 LKR732.44	$1.47 CN¥9.78	-33.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.06 LKR1,016.26	$0.93 CN¥6.23	-69.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.37 LKR123.04	$0.79 CN¥5.27	+112.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.03 LKR674.12	$0.93 CN¥6.19	-54.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 LKR187.77	$0.71 CN¥4.74	+25.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 LKR151.13	$0.32 CN¥2.14	-29.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.35 LKR117.03	$0.40 CN¥2.65	+12.6%
Average			-1.5%

Colombo vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.5% more for transportation

	Colombo	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.14 LKR1,704.41	$4.96 CN¥33.11	-3.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$7.19 LKR2,385.85	$34.30 CN¥228.95	+377.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,024.95 LKR12M	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-47.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.29 LKR1,093.16	$4.68 CN¥31.26	+42.2%
Average			+24.5%

Colombo vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 56.5% more for housing

	Colombo	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.78 LKR6,896.28	$14.27 CN¥95.23	-31.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$589.61 LKR196K	$936.67 CN¥6,251.34	+58.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$270.44 LKR89,737.55	$530.98 CN¥3,543.75	+96.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.14 LKR13,649.99	$44.49 CN¥296.91	+8.1%
Average			+56.5%

Colombo vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 18.6 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$37.78 LKR12,536.19	$653.29 CN¥4,360.04	+1629.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,208.98 LKR401K	$24,281.96 CN¥162K	+1908.5%
Average			+1763.6%

Colombo vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 29.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.21 LKR732.11	$1.19 CN¥7.96	-45.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.51 LKR834.24	$3.60 CN¥24.03	+43.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.28 LKR3,409.84	$4.33 CN¥28.87	-57.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.99 LKR4,643.03	$41.45 CN¥276.62	+196.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.53 LKR1,504.34	$7.46 CN¥49.77	+64.5%
Average			+29.5%

Colombo vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.4 times more for clothing

	Colombo	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.13 LKR6,017.37	$70.55 CN¥470.84	+289.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.62 LKR5,515.93	$40.41 CN¥269.68	+143.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$79.09 LKR26,242.43	$86.99 CN¥580.54	+10.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.76 LKR13,858.19	$125.40 CN¥836.91	+200.3%
Average			+136.4%

Colombo vs. Beijing - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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