Cost of living comparison

Sri Lanka

compared to

Bangladesh

Dhaka vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Dhaka is 37.9% cheaper than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 38.2% less in Dhaka
Groceries: pay 40.3% less in Dhaka
Transportation: pay 20.2% more in Dhaka
Housing: pay 67.3% less in Dhaka
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Dhaka
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.7% more in Dhaka
Clothing: pay 9.4% less in Dhaka

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

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Dhaka vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 38.2% less for restaurants

	Colombo	Dhaka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.82 LKR1,265.61	$2.44 BDT300.03	-36.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.56 LKR2,502.59	$4.87 BDT600.07	-35.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 LKR232.56	$0.32 BDT39.71	-54.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.26 LKR87.00	$0.16 BDT20.27	-37.4%
Average			-38.2%

Colombo vs. Dhaka - Cost of restaurants

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pay 40.3% less for groceries

	Colombo	Dhaka
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 LKR181.98	$0.62 BDT76.17	+12.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.89 LKR2,281.50	$4.37 BDT538.89	-36.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.03 LKR1,996.25	$3.12 BDT384.64	-48.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 LKR541.78	$1.20 BDT147.46	-26.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.21 LKR731.08	$1.49 BDT183.07	-32.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.06 LKR1,014.37	$1.26 BDT154.61	-59.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.37 LKR122.81	$0.41 BDT50.70	+11.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.03 LKR672.87	$1.07 BDT131.88	-47.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 LKR187.42	$0.28 BDT34.76	-50.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 LKR150.85	$0.12 BDT14.18	-74.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.35 LKR116.82	$0.22 BDT26.97	-37.9%
Average			-40.3%

Colombo vs. Dhaka - Cost of groceries

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pay 20.2% more for transportation

	Colombo	Dhaka
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.14 LKR1,701.24	$4.23 BDT521.32	-17.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$7.19 LKR2,381.42	$22.73 BDT2,800.32	+216.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,024.95 LKR12M	$29,699.61 BDT4M	-19.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.29 LKR1,091.13	$4.46 BDT550.06	+35.5%
Average			+20.2%

Colombo vs. Dhaka - Cost of transportation

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pay 67.3% less for housing

	Colombo	Dhaka
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.78 LKR6,883.48	$10.78 BDT1,328.27	-48.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$589.61 LKR195K	$152.72 BDT18,814.62	-74.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$270.44 LKR89,571.04	$73.69 BDT9,077.95	-72.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.14 LKR13,624.66	$34.91 BDT4,300.35	-15.1%
Average			-67.3%

Colombo vs. Dhaka - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Dhaka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$37.78 LKR12,512.93	$90.60 BDT11,161.97	+139.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,208.98 LKR400K	$2,631.62 BDT324K	+117.7%
Average			+128.5%

Colombo vs. Dhaka - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Dhaka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.21 LKR730.76	$4.87 BDT600.07	+120.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.51 LKR832.69	$2.38 BDT292.85	-5.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.28 LKR3,403.52	$3.25 BDT400.05	-68.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.99 LKR4,634.42	$16.52 BDT2,034.84	+18.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.53 LKR1,501.55	$4.06 BDT500.06	-10.5%
Average			+4.7%

Colombo vs. Dhaka - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.4% less for clothing

	Colombo	Dhaka
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.13 LKR6,006.21	$16.79 BDT2,068.36	-7.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.62 LKR5,505.69	$21.19 BDT2,610.88	+27.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$79.09 LKR26,193.74	$50.86 BDT6,265.41	-35.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.76 LKR13,832.48	$37.02 BDT4,561.23	-11.4%
Average			-9.4%

Colombo vs. Dhaka - 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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