Cost of living comparison

Sri Lanka

compared to

Bhutan

Thimphu vs. Colombo Cost of Living Summary

Thimphu is 44.0% cheaper than Colombo.

Restaurants: pay 32.8% less in Thimphu
Groceries: pay 30.4% less in Thimphu
Transportation: pay 32.9% less in Thimphu
Housing: pay 67.8% less in Thimphu
Childcare: pay 25.2% less in Thimphu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.4% more in Thimphu
Clothing: pay 4.1% more in Thimphu

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

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Thimphu vs. Colombo Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 32.8% less for restaurants

	Colombo	Thimphu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.82 LKR1,265.61	$2.58 BTN245.70	-32.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.56 LKR2,502.59	$4.91 BTN466.83	-35.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 LKR232.56	$0.50 BTN47.50	-28.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.26 LKR87.00	$0.18 BTN17.20	-31.1%
Average			-32.8%

Colombo vs. Thimphu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 30.4% less for groceries

	Colombo	Thimphu
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 LKR181.98	$1.07 BTN101.96	+95.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.89 LKR2,281.50	$1.88 BTN178.54	-72.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.03 LKR1,996.25	$3.03 BTN288.32	-49.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 LKR541.78	$1.88 BTN178.87	+15.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.21 LKR731.08	$1.79 BTN170.51	-18.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.06 LKR1,014.37	$1.15 BTN109.22	-62.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.37 LKR122.81	$0.69 BTN65.75	+86.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.03 LKR672.87	$0.73 BTN69.10	-64.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 LKR187.42	$0.33 BTN31.76	-40.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 LKR150.85	$0.26 BTN24.52	-43.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.35 LKR116.82	$0.31 BTN29.53	-11.9%
Average			-30.4%

Colombo vs. Thimphu - Cost of groceries

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pay 32.9% less for transportation

	Colombo	Thimphu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.14 LKR1,701.24	$2.79 BTN264.82	-45.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$7.19 LKR2,381.42	$5.17 BTN491.40	-28.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,024.95 LKR12M	$16,591.53 BTN2M	-55.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.29 LKR1,091.13	$13.18 BTN1,253.06	+300.2%
Average			-32.9%

Colombo vs. Thimphu - Cost of transportation

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pay 67.8% less for housing

	Colombo	Thimphu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.78 LKR6,883.48	$24.17 BTN2,297.69	+16.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$589.61 LKR195K	$127.00 BTN12,071.65	-78.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$270.44 LKR89,571.04	$86.02 BTN8,176.19	-68.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.14 LKR13,624.66	$25.81 BTN2,452.87	-37.3%
Average			-67.8%

Colombo vs. Thimphu - Cost of housing

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pay 25.2% less for childcare

	Colombo	Thimphu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$37.78 LKR12,512.93	$44.98 BTN4,275.09	+19.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,208.98 LKR400K	$568.68 BTN54,053.67	-53.0%
Average			-25.2%

Colombo vs. Thimphu - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Colombo	Thimphu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.21 LKR730.76	$2.58 BTN245.70	+17.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.51 LKR832.69	$1.28 BTN121.21	-49.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.28 LKR3,403.52	$3.88 BTN368.55	-62.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.99 LKR4,634.42	$46.53 BTN4,422.57	+232.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.53 LKR1,501.55	$3.10 BTN294.84	-31.6%
Average			+0.4%

Colombo vs. Thimphu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.1% more for clothing

	Colombo	Thimphu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.13 LKR6,006.21	$49.97 BTN4,750.10	+175.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.62 LKR5,505.69	$24.99 BTN2,375.05	+50.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$79.09 LKR26,193.74	$67.21 BTN6,388.16	-15.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.76 LKR13,832.48	$13.96 BTN1,326.77	-66.6%
Average			+4.1%

Colombo vs. Thimphu - 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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