Cost of living comparison

Sri Lanka

compared to

Zimbabwe

Harare vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Harare is 31.6% more expensive than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 53.2% more in Harare
Groceries: pay 12.8% more in Harare
Transportation: pay 93.1% more in Harare
Housing: pay 4.8% less in Harare
Childcare: pay 9.0 times more in Harare
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.1% more in Harare
Clothing: pay 6.3% less in Harare

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

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Harare vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 53.2% more for restaurants

	Colombo	Harare
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.82 LKR1,265.61	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	+161.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.56 LKR2,502.59	$5.75 ZWL1,851.50	-23.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 LKR232.56	$0.96 ZWL308.58	+36.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.26 LKR87.00	$0.47 ZWL151.05	+78.6%
Average			+53.2%

Colombo vs. Harare - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.8% more for groceries

	Colombo	Harare
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 LKR181.98	$1.00 ZWL322.00	+82.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.89 LKR2,281.50	$5.73 ZWL1,845.30	-16.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.03 LKR1,996.25	$5.73 ZWL1,843.59	-5.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 LKR541.78	$1.93 ZWL622.53	+18.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.21 LKR731.08	$2.46 ZWL791.38	+11.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.06 LKR1,014.37	$1.37 ZWL439.66	-55.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.37 LKR122.81	$0.76 ZWL243.55	+104.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.03 LKR672.87	$0.92 ZWL296.54	-54.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 LKR187.42	$0.70 ZWL226.23	+24.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 LKR150.85	$0.78 ZWL251.62	+71.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.35 LKR116.82	$0.80 ZWL257.47	+126.7%
Average			+12.8%

Colombo vs. Harare - Cost of groceries

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pay 93.1% more for transportation

	Colombo	Harare
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.14 LKR1,701.24	$6.91 ZWL2,223.82	+34.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$7.19 LKR2,381.42	$60.00 ZWL19,320.00	+734.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,024.95 LKR12M	$22,000.00 ZWL7M	-40.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.29 LKR1,091.13	$20.00 ZWL6,440.00	+507.1%
Average			+93.1%

Colombo vs. Harare - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.8% less for housing

	Colombo	Harare
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.78 LKR6,883.48	$68.99 ZWL22,213.67	+231.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$589.61 LKR195K	$390.00 ZWL126K	-33.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$270.44 LKR89,571.04	$316.60 ZWL102K	+17.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.14 LKR13,624.66	$39.27 ZWL12,644.39	-4.5%
Average			-4.8%

Colombo vs. Harare - Cost of housing

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pay 9.0 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Harare
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$37.78 LKR12,512.93	$433.79 ZWL140K	+1048.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,208.98 LKR400K	$8,555.56 ZWL3M	+607.7%
Average			+801.4%

Colombo vs. Harare - Cost of childcare

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pay 30.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Harare
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.21 LKR730.76	$1.25 ZWL402.50	-43.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.51 LKR832.69	$3.00 ZWL966.00	+19.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.28 LKR3,403.52	$2.00 ZWL644.00	-80.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.99 LKR4,634.42	$47.92 ZWL15,429.17	+242.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.53 LKR1,501.55	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	+120.6%
Average			+30.1%

Colombo vs. Harare - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.3% less for clothing

	Colombo	Harare
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.13 LKR6,006.21	$23.22 ZWL7,477.56	+28.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.62 LKR5,505.69	$21.15 ZWL6,809.04	+27.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$79.09 LKR26,193.74	$38.68 ZWL12,453.92	-51.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.76 LKR13,832.48	$40.37 ZWL12,998.47	-3.3%
Average			-6.3%

Colombo vs. Harare - 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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