Cost of living comparison

Sri Lanka

compared to

Rwanda

Kigali vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Kigali is 12.5% more expensive than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 10.1% less in Kigali
Groceries: pay 32.5% less in Kigali
Transportation: pay 63.8% more in Kigali
Housing: pay 33.2% more in Kigali
Childcare: pay 4.8 times more in Kigali
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.0% less in Kigali
Clothing: pay 32.7% less in Kigali

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

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Kigali vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 10.1% less for restaurants

	Colombo	Kigali
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.82 LKR1,265.61	$2.71 RWF4,005	-29.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.56 LKR2,502.59	$6.77 RWF10,013	-10.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 LKR232.56	$0.78 RWF1,155	+11.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.26 LKR87.00	$0.56 RWF826	+112.8%
Average			-10.1%

Colombo vs. Kigali - Cost of restaurants

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pay 32.5% less for groceries

	Colombo	Kigali
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 LKR181.98	$1.05 RWF1,548	+90.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.89 LKR2,281.50	$2.11 RWF3,115	-69.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.03 LKR1,996.25	$3.16 RWF4,675	-47.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 LKR541.78	$1.63 RWF2,412	-0.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.21 LKR731.08	$2.08 RWF3,078	-5.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.06 LKR1,014.37	$1.09 RWF1,618	-64.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.37 LKR122.81	$0.35 RWF522	-4.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.03 LKR672.87	$0.69 RWF1,019	-66.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 LKR187.42	$0.48 RWF707	-15.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 LKR150.85	$0.23 RWF333	-50.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.35 LKR116.82	$0.34 RWF499	-4.3%
Average			-32.5%

Colombo vs. Kigali - Cost of groceries

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pay 63.8% more for transportation

	Colombo	Kigali
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.14 LKR1,701.24	$7.00 RWF10,345	+36.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$7.19 LKR2,381.42	$25.40 RWF37,550	+253.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,024.95 LKR12M	$26,080.15 RWF39M	-29.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.29 LKR1,091.13	$18.97 RWF28,037	+475.7%
Average			+63.8%

Colombo vs. Kigali - Cost of transportation

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pay 33.2% more for housing

	Colombo	Kigali
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.78 LKR6,883.48	$21.00 RWF31,041	+1.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$589.61 LKR195K	$666.07 RWF985K	+13.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$270.44 LKR89,571.04	$413.79 RWF612K	+53.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.14 LKR13,624.66	$64.32 RWF95,077	+56.4%
Average			+33.2%

Colombo vs. Kigali - Cost of housing

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pay 4.8 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Kigali
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$37.78 LKR12,512.93	$112.90 RWF167K	+198.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,208.98 LKR400K	$9,510.48 RWF14M	+686.7%
Average			+384.8%

Colombo vs. Kigali - Cost of childcare

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pay 21.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Kigali
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.21 LKR730.76	$1.02 RWF1,502	-53.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.51 LKR832.69	$2.42 RWF3,578	-3.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.28 LKR3,403.52	$2.03 RWF3,004	-80.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.99 LKR4,634.42	$26.72 RWF39,497	+91.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.53 LKR1,501.55	$3.39 RWF5,007	-25.3%
Average			-21.0%

Colombo vs. Kigali - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 32.7% less for clothing

	Colombo	Kigali
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.13 LKR6,006.21	$17.39 RWF25,701	-4.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.62 LKR5,505.69	$15.58 RWF23,031	-6.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$79.09 LKR26,193.74	$22.24 RWF32,877	-71.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.76 LKR13,832.48	$33.87 RWF50,067	-18.9%
Average			-32.7%

Colombo vs. Kigali - 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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