Cost of living comparison

compared to

Bishkek vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Bishkek is 2.3 times more expensive than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 5.9% more in Bishkek
Groceries: pay 23.6% less in Bishkek
Transportation: pay 25.1% more in Bishkek
Housing: pay 28.4% more in Bishkek
Childcare: pay 8.1 times more in Bishkek
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.9% more in Bishkek
Clothing: pay 97.8% more in Bishkek

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

Bishkek vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 5.9% more for restaurants

	Colombo	Bishkek
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.13 LKR1,269.15	$6.86 KGS600.00	+66.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.26 LKR2,538.29	$5.72 KGS500.00	-30.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 LKR233.26	$0.69 KGS60.00	-9.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 LKR111.43	$0.36 KGS31.09	-2.0%
Average			+5.9%

Colombo vs. Bishkek - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.6% less for groceries

	Colombo	Bishkek
Bread 1 loaf	$0.52 LKR160.10	$0.49 KGS42.62	-6.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.78 LKR2,083.94	$4.06 KGS355.39	-40.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.70 LKR2,060.40	$3.57 KGS312.12	-46.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.95 LKR600.76	$1.72 KGS150.42	-12.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.05 LKR629.94	$2.18 KGS190.68	+6.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.42 LKR1,051.88	$0.49 KGS43.27	-85.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 LKR152.38	$0.85 KGS74.62	+72.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.69 LKR826.88	$0.93 KGS81.41	-65.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 LKR168.43	$0.71 KGS62.37	+30.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR157.17	$0.26 KGS22.54	-49.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 LKR177.69	$0.22 KGS19.17	-62.1%
Average			-23.6%

Colombo vs. Bishkek - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.1% more for transportation

	Colombo	Bishkek
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.12 LKR1,264.88	$3.11 KGS272.26	-24.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.61 LKR2,030.64	$11.66 KGS1,020.00	+76.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,432.11 LKR8,122,543.83	$37,735.85 KGS3,300,000.00	+42.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.04 LKR934.09	$3.20 KGS280.00	+5.3%
Average			+25.1%

Colombo vs. Bishkek - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.4% more for housing

	Colombo	Bishkek
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.01 LKR4,306.40	$11.91 KGS1,041.67	-15.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$360.90 LKR110,903.96	$506.26 KGS44,272.71	+40.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$177.21 LKR54,457.87	$375.78 KGS32,861.85	+112.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$38.78 LKR11,916.86	$29.63 KGS2,591.13	-23.6%
Average			+28.4%

Colombo vs. Bishkek - Cost of housing

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pay 8.1 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Bishkek
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$33.87 LKR10,407.01	$199.59 KGS17,454.55	+489.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$505.51 LKR155,343.65	$5,249.21 KGS459,043.75	+938.4%
Average			+713.9%

Colombo vs. Bishkek - Cost of childcare

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pay 30.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Bishkek
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 LKR710.72	$1.37 KGS120.00	-40.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.67 LKR820.10	$2.13 KGS186.30	-20.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.24 LKR3,147.49	$1.83 KGS160.00	-82.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.33 LKR4,097.53	$46.97 KGS4,107.14	+252.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.30 LKR1,015.32	$4.80 KGS420.00	+45.4%
Average			+30.9%

Colombo vs. Bishkek - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 97.8% more for clothing

	Colombo	Bishkek
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.56 LKR8,162.73	$38.88 KGS3,400.00	+46.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.76 LKR5,457.33	$39.76 KGS3,476.92	+123.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 LKR20,653.71	$96.12 KGS8,405.88	+43.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$38.07 LKR11,700.33	$105.77 KGS9,250.00	+177.8%
Average			+97.8%

Colombo vs. Bishkek - 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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