Cost of living comparison

compared to

Tehran vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Tehran is 42.9% more expensive than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 22.2% more in Tehran
Groceries: pay 45.9% less in Tehran
Transportation: pay 29.3% more in Tehran
Housing: pay 5.5% less in Tehran
Childcare: pay 3.8 times more in Tehran
Entertainment and Sports: pay 38.3% less in Tehran
Clothing: pay 56.7% more in Tehran

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

Tehran vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 22.2% more for restaurants

	Colombo	Tehran
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.13 LKR1,277.42	$3.80 IRR160K	-8.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.26 LKR2,554.84	$4.50 IRR189K	-45.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 LKR234.78	$0.47 IRR19,786	-38.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 LKR112.16	$1.02 IRR42,795	+180.4%
Average			+22.2%

Colombo vs. Tehran - Cost of restaurants

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pay 45.9% less for groceries

	Colombo	Tehran
Bread 1 loaf	$0.52 LKR161.15	$0.54 IRR22,577	+3.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.78 LKR2,097.52	$1.89 IRR79,388	-72.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.70 LKR2,073.82	$2.35 IRR99,002	-64.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.95 LKR604.67	$1.11 IRR46,839	-43.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.05 LKR634.05	$1.41 IRR59,393	-31.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.42 LKR1,058.73	$0.41 IRR17,223	-88.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 LKR153.37	$0.68 IRR28,706	+37.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.69 LKR832.27	$0.38 IRR16,013	-85.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 LKR169.53	$0.29 IRR12,049	-47.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR158.20	$0.24 IRR10,242	-52.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 LKR178.85	$0.23 IRR9,689	-60.2%
Average			-45.9%

Colombo vs. Tehran - Cost of groceries

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pay 29.3% more for transportation

	Colombo	Tehran
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.12 LKR1,273.13	$2.75 IRR116K	-33.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.61 LKR2,043.87	$6.55 IRR276K	-0.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,432.11 LKR8M	$68,000.00 IRR3B	+157.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.04 LKR940.18	$2.85 IRR120K	-6.2%
Average			+29.3%

Colombo vs. Tehran - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.5% less for housing

	Colombo	Tehran
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.01 LKR4,334.47	$5.76 IRR242K	-58.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$360.90 LKR112K	$450.54 IRR19M	+24.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$177.21 LKR54,812.81	$321.19 IRR14M	+81.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$38.78 LKR11,994.53	$12.05 IRR507K	-68.9%
Average			-5.5%

Colombo vs. Tehran - Cost of housing

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pay 3.8 times more for childcare

	Colombo	Tehran
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$33.87 LKR10,474.84	$123.82 IRR5M	+265.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$505.51 LKR156K	$2,011.10 IRR85M	+297.8%
Average			+281.7%

Colombo vs. Tehran - Cost of childcare

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pay 38.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Tehran
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 LKR715.35	$0.65 IRR27,356	-71.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.67 LKR825.45	$1.23 IRR51,885	-53.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.24 LKR3,168.00	$2.50 IRR105K	-75.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.33 LKR4,124.24	$21.91 IRR922K	+64.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.30 LKR1,021.94	$1.50 IRR63,129	-54.6%
Average			-38.3%

Colombo vs. Tehran - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 56.7% more for clothing

	Colombo	Tehran
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.56 LKR8,215.94	$25.24 IRR1M	-5.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.76 LKR5,492.90	$30.76 IRR1M	+73.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 LKR20,788.32	$117.65 IRR5M	+75.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$38.07 LKR11,776.59	$69.84 IRR3M	+83.4%
Average			+56.7%

Colombo vs. Tehran - 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: February 2026

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