Cost of living comparison

Qatar

compared to

Sri Lanka

Colombo vs. Doha Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 54.6% cheaper than Doha.

Restaurants: pay 40.6% less in Colombo
Groceries: pay 8.9% less in Colombo
Transportation: pay 10.9% less in Colombo
Housing: pay 69.8% less in Colombo
Childcare: pay 91.6% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 71.8% less in Colombo
Clothing: pay 56.5% less in Colombo

Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, clothing, restaurants, and transportation are lower in Colombo.

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Colombo vs. Doha Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 40.6% less for restaurants

	Doha	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.61 QAR35.18	$3.82 LKR1,273.30	-60.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.23 QAR30.16	$7.56 LKR2,517.80	-8.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.94 QAR3.45	$0.70 LKR233.97	-25.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 QAR1.53	$0.26 LKR87.52	-37.1%
Average			-40.6%

Doha vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.9% less for groceries

	Doha	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.39 QAR5.08	$0.55 LKR183.09	-60.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.62 QAR20.59	$6.89 LKR2,295.37	+22.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.97 QAR29.21	$6.03 LKR2,008.39	-24.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.41 QAR12.50	$1.64 LKR545.08	-52.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.56 QAR13.02	$2.21 LKR735.52	-37.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.01 QAR3.71	$3.06 LKR1,020.54	+202.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 QAR3.02	$0.37 LKR123.56	-55.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.70 QAR2.57	$2.03 LKR676.96	+189.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 QAR2.04	$0.57 LKR188.56	+1.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.44 QAR1.60	$0.46 LKR151.77	+4.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.45 QAR1.63	$0.35 LKR117.53	-20.8%
Average			-8.9%

Doha vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.9% less for transportation

	Doha	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.14 QAR7.82	$5.14 LKR1,711.59	+140.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$27.44 QAR100.52	$7.19 LKR2,395.90	-73.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,978.05 QAR102K	$37,024.95 LKR12M	+32.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.39 QAR67.35	$3.29 LKR1,097.76	-82.1%
Average			-10.9%

Doha vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

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pay 69.8% less for housing

	Doha	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$86.45 QAR316.63	$20.78 LKR6,925.33	-76.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,897.48 QAR6,950.09	$589.61 LKR196K	-68.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,178.09 QAR4,315.08	$270.44 LKR90,115.57	-77.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$65.24 QAR238.97	$41.14 LKR13,707.49	-36.9%
Average			-69.8%

Doha vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

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pay 91.6% less for childcare

	Doha	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$670.94 QAR2,457.53	$37.78 LKR12,589.00	-94.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,605.02 QAR35,181.22	$1,208.98 LKR403K	-87.4%
Average			-91.6%

Doha vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

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pay 71.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Doha	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$12.21 QAR44.73	$2.21 LKR735.20	-81.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.87 QAR21.50	$2.51 LKR837.76	-57.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.45 QAR23.62	$10.28 LKR3,424.21	+59.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$125.60 QAR460.06	$13.99 LKR4,662.59	-88.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.35 QAR45.23	$4.53 LKR1,510.68	-63.3%
Average			-71.8%

Doha vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 56.5% less for clothing

	Doha	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.60 QAR221.98	$18.13 LKR6,042.72	-70.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.93 QAR197.52	$16.62 LKR5,539.16	-69.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.54 QAR364.61	$79.09 LKR26,352.98	-20.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$85.38 QAR312.72	$41.76 LKR13,916.57	-51.1%
Average			-56.5%

Doha vs. Colombo - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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