Cost of living comparison

compared to

Dushanbe vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Dushanbe is 2.3 times more expensive than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 7.8% more in Dushanbe
Groceries: pay 10.8% less in Dushanbe
Transportation: pay 5.7% more in Dushanbe
Housing: pay 27.2% more in Dushanbe
Childcare: pay 9.1 times more in Dushanbe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 25.1% more in Dushanbe
Clothing: pay 55.9% more in Dushanbe

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

Dushanbe vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 7.8% more for restaurants

	Colombo	Dushanbe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.13 LKR1,269.15	$6.09 TJS56.16	+47.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.26 LKR2,538.29	$9.00 TJS83.01	+9.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 LKR233.26	$0.60 TJS5.53	-21.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 LKR111.43	$0.35 TJS3.21	-4.1%
Average			+7.8%

Colombo vs. Dushanbe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.8% less for groceries

	Colombo	Dushanbe
Bread 1 loaf	$0.52 LKR160.10	$0.59 TJS5.48	+14.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.78 LKR2,083.94	$5.82 TJS53.71	-14.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.70 LKR2,060.40	$3.96 TJS36.56	-40.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.95 LKR600.76	$1.76 TJS16.26	-9.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.05 LKR629.94	$2.05 TJS18.94	+0.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.42 LKR1,051.88	$0.77 TJS7.15	-77.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 LKR152.38	$1.34 TJS12.33	+169.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.69 LKR826.88	$0.92 TJS8.51	-65.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 LKR168.43	$0.57 TJS5.26	+4.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR157.17	$0.31 TJS2.85	-39.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 LKR177.69	$0.24 TJS2.19	-58.9%
Average			-10.8%

Colombo vs. Dushanbe - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.7% more for transportation

	Colombo	Dushanbe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.12 LKR1,264.88	$4.12 TJS38.00	+0.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.61 LKR2,030.64	$10.59 TJS97.66	+60.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,432.11 LKR8,122,543.83	$11,647.15 TJS107,429.74	-55.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.04 LKR934.09	$3.60 TJS33.21	+18.4%
Average			+5.7%

Colombo vs. Dushanbe - Cost of transportation

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pay 27.2% more for housing

	Colombo	Dushanbe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.01 LKR4,306.40	$19.59 TJS180.68	+39.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$360.90 LKR110,903.96	$432.36 TJS3,987.92	+19.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$177.21 LKR54,457.87	$249.58 TJS2,302.07	+40.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$38.78 LKR11,916.86	$42.01 TJS387.48	+8.3%
Average			+27.2%

Colombo vs. Dushanbe - Cost of housing

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pay 9.1 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Dushanbe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$33.87 LKR10,407.01	$105.88 TJS976.63	+212.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$505.51 LKR155,343.65	$7,623.59 TJS70,317.65	+1408.1%
Average			+810.4%

Colombo vs. Dushanbe - Cost of childcare

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pay 25.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Dushanbe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 LKR710.72	$1.06 TJS9.77	-54.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.67 LKR820.10	$1.94 TJS17.90	-27.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.24 LKR3,147.49	$3.18 TJS29.30	-69.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.33 LKR4,097.53	$42.10 TJS388.33	+215.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.30 LKR1,015.32	$5.29 TJS48.83	+60.2%
Average			+25.1%

Colombo vs. Dushanbe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 55.9% more for clothing

	Colombo	Dushanbe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.56 LKR8,162.73	$32.43 TJS299.09	+22.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.76 LKR5,457.33	$40.87 TJS376.98	+130.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 LKR20,653.71	$79.41 TJS732.48	+18.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$38.07 LKR11,700.33	$58.24 TJS537.15	+53.0%
Average			+55.9%

Colombo vs. Dushanbe - 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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