Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kathmandu vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Kathmandu is 43.6% more expensive than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 40.5% less in Kathmandu
Groceries: pay 39.5% less in Kathmandu
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in Kathmandu
Housing: pay 44.1% less in Kathmandu
Childcare: pay 4.2 times more in Kathmandu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.6% less in Kathmandu
Clothing: pay 4.2% more in Kathmandu

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

Kathmandu vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 40.5% less for restaurants

	Colombo	Kathmandu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.13 LKR1,269.15	$1.76 NPR251.43	-57.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.26 LKR2,538.29	$6.34 NPR905.14	-23.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 LKR233.26	$0.54 NPR77.36	-28.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 LKR111.43	$0.17 NPR24.29	-53.1%
Average			-40.5%

Colombo vs. Kathmandu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 39.5% less for groceries

	Colombo	Kathmandu
Bread 1 loaf	$0.52 LKR160.10	$0.55 NPR78.26	+5.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.78 LKR2,083.94	$4.49 NPR641.40	-33.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.70 LKR2,060.40	$3.16 NPR450.40	-52.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.95 LKR600.76	$1.77 NPR252.25	-9.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.05 LKR629.94	$1.40 NPR200.11	-31.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.42 LKR1,051.88	$0.97 NPR138.93	-71.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 LKR152.38	$0.45 NPR64.66	-8.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.69 LKR826.88	$0.54 NPR77.46	-79.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 LKR168.43	$0.30 NPR42.90	-45.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR157.17	$0.22 NPR31.20	-57.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 LKR177.69	$0.29 NPR41.60	-49.6%
Average			-39.5%

Colombo vs. Kathmandu - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Colombo	Kathmandu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.12 LKR1,264.88	$4.57 NPR652.11	+11.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.61 LKR2,030.64	$10.57 NPR1,508.56	+60.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,432.11 LKR8,122,543.83	$31,715.30 NPR4,525,675.66	+20.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.04 LKR934.09	$13.39 NPR1,910.84	+340.5%
Average			+107.9%

Colombo vs. Kathmandu - Cost of transportation

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pay 44.1% less for housing

	Colombo	Kathmandu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.01 LKR4,306.40	$8.25 NPR1,177.13	-41.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$360.90 LKR110,903.96	$179.99 NPR25,683.31	-50.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$177.21 LKR54,457.87	$93.92 NPR13,402.12	-47.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$38.78 LKR11,916.86	$23.92 NPR3,412.74	-38.3%
Average			-44.1%

Colombo vs. Kathmandu - Cost of housing

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pay 4.2 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Kathmandu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$33.87 LKR10,407.01	$80.28 NPR11,456.30	+137.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$505.51 LKR155,343.65	$3,085.67 NPR440,316.24	+510.4%
Average			+323.8%

Colombo vs. Kathmandu - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Kathmandu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 LKR710.72	$2.61 NPR372.11	+12.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.67 LKR820.10	$1.78 NPR254.59	-33.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.24 LKR3,147.49	$2.82 NPR402.28	-72.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.33 LKR4,097.53	$21.82 NPR3,113.82	+63.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.30 LKR1,015.32	$3.17 NPR452.57	-4.0%
Average			-6.6%

Colombo vs. Kathmandu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.2% more for clothing

	Colombo	Kathmandu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.56 LKR8,162.73	$22.91 NPR3,268.54	-13.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.76 LKR5,457.33	$26.63 NPR3,799.33	+49.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 LKR20,653.71	$56.89 NPR8,117.48	-15.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$38.07 LKR11,700.33	$36.56 NPR5,217.10	-4.0%
Average			+4.2%

Colombo vs. Kathmandu - 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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