Cost of living comparison

compared to

Phnom Penh vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Phnom Penh is 2.9 times more expensive than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 45.0% more in Phnom Penh
Groceries: pay 29.9% more in Phnom Penh
Transportation: pay 83.4% more in Phnom Penh
Housing: pay 63.5% more in Phnom Penh
Childcare: pay 11.4 times more in Phnom Penh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.2% more in Phnom Penh
Clothing: pay 29.3% more in Phnom Penh

The cost of childcare, transportation, housing, restaurants, groceries, and clothing in Phnom Penh are more expensive than in Colombo. Notably, childcare and transportation are significantly more expensive in Phnom Penh.

Phnom Penh vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Phnom Penh instead of Colombo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 45.0% more for restaurants

	Colombo	Phnom Penh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.13 LKR1,269.15	$5.00 KHR20,025.00	+21.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.26 LKR2,538.29	$7.00 KHR28,035.00	-15.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 LKR233.26	$0.93 KHR3,722.29	+22.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 LKR111.43	$0.91 KHR3,657.75	+151.9%
Average			+45.0%

Colombo vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.9% more for groceries

	Colombo	Phnom Penh
Bread 1 loaf	$0.52 LKR160.10	$1.65 KHR6,610.31	+216.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.78 LKR2,083.94	$6.70 KHR26,833.50	-1.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.70 LKR2,060.40	$8.17 KHR32,711.86	+21.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.95 LKR600.76	$1.82 KHR7,284.65	-7.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.05 LKR629.94	$2.01 KHR8,043.68	-2.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.42 LKR1,051.88	$1.81 KHR7,251.42	-47.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 LKR152.38	$0.88 KHR3,542.45	+78.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.69 LKR826.88	$1.91 KHR7,666.22	-28.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 LKR168.43	$0.73 KHR2,942.96	+34.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR157.17	$0.88 KHR3,512.17	+71.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 LKR177.69	$0.54 KHR2,149.69	-7.2%
Average			+29.9%

Colombo vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of groceries

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pay 83.4% more for transportation

	Colombo	Phnom Penh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.12 LKR1,264.88	$4.33 KHR17,341.84	+5.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.61 LKR2,030.64	$9.60 KHR38,448.00	+45.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,432.11 LKR8,122,543.83	$49,000.00 KHR196,245,000.00	+85.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.04 LKR934.09	$9.05 KHR36,256.50	+197.8%
Average			+83.4%

Colombo vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of transportation

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pay 63.5% more for housing

	Colombo	Phnom Penh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.01 LKR4,306.40	$21.29 KHR85,250.07	+51.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$360.90 LKR110,903.96	$481.60 KHR1,928,817.37	+33.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$177.21 LKR54,457.87	$273.92 KHR1,097,042.67	+54.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$38.78 LKR11,916.86	$82.99 KHR332,359.07	+114.0%
Average			+63.5%

Colombo vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of housing

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pay 11.4 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Phnom Penh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$33.87 LKR10,407.01	$293.33 KHR1,174,800.00	+766.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$505.51 LKR155,343.65	$7,141.67 KHR28,602,375.00	+1312.8%
Average			+1039.5%

Colombo vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of childcare

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pay 18.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Phnom Penh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 LKR710.72	$1.21 KHR4,838.88	-47.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.67 LKR820.10	$2.53 KHR10,117.89	-5.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.24 LKR3,147.49	$1.88 KHR7,509.38	-81.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.33 LKR4,097.53	$41.67 KHR166,875.00	+212.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.30 LKR1,015.32	$3.75 KHR15,018.75	+13.5%
Average			+18.2%

Colombo vs. Phnom Penh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 29.3% more for clothing

	Colombo	Phnom Penh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.56 LKR8,162.73	$25.75 KHR103,128.75	-3.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.76 LKR5,457.33	$23.33 KHR93,450.00	+31.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 LKR20,653.71	$88.00 KHR352,440.00	+30.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$38.07 LKR11,700.33	$60.20 KHR241,101.00	+58.1%
Average			+29.3%

Colombo vs. Phnom Penh - 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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