Cost of living comparison

Sri Lanka

compared to

India

Delhi vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Delhi is 33.6% cheaper than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 32.1% less in Delhi
Groceries: pay 53.7% less in Delhi
Transportation: pay 24.5% less in Delhi
Housing: pay 47.1% less in Delhi
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Delhi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.7% more in Delhi
Clothing: pay 11.1% more in Delhi

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

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Delhi vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 32.1% less for restaurants

	Colombo	Delhi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.82 LKR1,273.30	$3.62 ₹339.71	-5.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.56 LKR2,517.80	$3.67 ₹344.56	-51.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 LKR233.97	$0.36 ₹33.72	-48.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.26 LKR87.52	$0.17 ₹16.07	-34.9%
Average			-32.1%

Colombo vs. Delhi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 53.7% less for groceries

	Colombo	Delhi
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 LKR183.09	$0.54 ₹50.25	-2.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.89 LKR2,295.37	$2.27 ₹213.14	-67.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.03 LKR2,008.39	$2.66 ₹249.73	-55.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 LKR545.08	$1.09 ₹102.19	-33.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.21 LKR735.52	$1.55 ₹145.58	-29.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.06 LKR1,020.54	$0.88 ₹83.01	-71.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.37 LKR123.56	$0.34 ₹32.38	-7.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.03 LKR676.96	$0.45 ₹41.88	-78.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 LKR188.56	$0.23 ₹21.13	-60.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 LKR151.77	$0.13 ₹11.92	-72.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.35 LKR117.53	$0.17 ₹16.10	-51.4%
Average			-53.7%

Colombo vs. Delhi - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.5% less for transportation

	Colombo	Delhi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.14 LKR1,711.59	$4.06 ₹380.82	-21.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$7.19 LKR2,395.90	$15.50 ₹1,455.91	+115.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,024.95 LKR12M	$10,335.43 ₹971K	-72.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.29 LKR1,097.76	$3.05 ₹286.33	-7.5%
Average			-24.5%

Colombo vs. Delhi - Cost of transportation

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pay 47.1% less for housing

	Colombo	Delhi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.78 LKR6,925.33	$6.60 ₹619.88	-68.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$589.61 LKR196K	$267.93 ₹25,161.07	-54.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$270.44 LKR90,115.57	$153.58 ₹14,423.19	-43.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.14 LKR13,707.49	$31.95 ₹3,000.79	-22.3%
Average			-47.1%

Colombo vs. Delhi - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Delhi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$37.78 LKR12,589.00	$100.91 ₹9,476.17	+167.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,208.98 LKR403K	$2,228.58 ₹209K	+84.3%
Average			+121.9%

Colombo vs. Delhi - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Delhi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.21 LKR735.20	$2.07 ₹194.12	-6.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.51 LKR837.76	$2.27 ₹213.38	-9.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.28 LKR3,424.21	$4.96 ₹465.89	-51.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.99 LKR4,662.59	$19.31 ₹1,813.27	+38.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.53 LKR1,510.68	$5.17 ₹485.30	+14.0%
Average			+0.7%

Colombo vs. Delhi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.1% more for clothing

	Colombo	Delhi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.13 LKR6,042.72	$23.81 ₹2,235.99	+31.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.62 LKR5,539.16	$28.14 ₹2,642.99	+69.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$79.09 LKR26,352.98	$52.37 ₹4,917.73	-33.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.76 LKR13,916.57	$43.28 ₹4,064.41	+3.6%
Average			+11.1%

Colombo vs. Delhi - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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