Cost of living comparison

compared to

Colombo vs. Gaborone Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 15.6% cheaper than Gaborone.

Restaurants: pay 13.6% less in Colombo
Groceries: pay 49.8% more in Colombo
Transportation: pay 34.9% less in Colombo
Housing: pay 13.2% less in Colombo
Childcare: pay 81.5% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.5% more in Colombo
Clothing: pay 33.4% less in Colombo

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

Colombo vs. Gaborone Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 13.6% less for restaurants

	Gaborone	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.33 BWP147.32	$4.13 LKR1,269.15	-60.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.01 BWP85.71	$8.26 LKR2,538.29	+37.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 BWP11.68	$0.76 LKR233.26	-7.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 BWP6.86	$0.36 LKR111.43	-24.6%
Average			-13.6%

Gaborone vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 49.8% more for groceries

	Gaborone	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$0.86 BWP12.24	$0.52 LKR160.10	-39.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.42 BWP48.81	$6.78 LKR2,083.94	+98.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.53 BWP78.90	$6.70 LKR2,060.40	+21.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.32 BWP33.16	$1.95 LKR600.76	-15.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.34 BWP33.41	$2.05 LKR629.94	-12.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.80 BWP11.38	$3.42 LKR1,051.88	+329.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 BWP9.27	$0.50 LKR152.38	-23.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 BWP11.42	$2.69 LKR826.88	+236.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 BWP10.44	$0.55 LKR168.43	-25.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 BWP9.17	$0.51 LKR157.17	-20.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 BWP8.25	$0.58 LKR177.69	-0.1%
Average			+49.8%

Gaborone vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 34.9% less for transportation

	Gaborone	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.28 BWP61.12	$4.12 LKR1,264.88	-3.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.79 BWP439.28	$6.61 LKR2,030.64	-78.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,652.69 BWP294,641.57	$26,432.11 LKR8,122,543.83	+28.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.46 BWP291.96	$3.04 LKR934.09	-85.1%
Average			-34.9%

Gaborone vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.2% less for housing

	Gaborone	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.19 BWP744.64	$14.01 LKR4,306.40	-73.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$262.85 BWP3,749.98	$360.90 LKR110,903.96	+37.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$160.93 BWP2,295.91	$177.21 LKR54,457.87	+10.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$52.95 BWP755.42	$38.78 LKR11,916.86	-26.8%
Average			-13.2%

Gaborone vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 81.5% less for childcare

	Gaborone	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$147.01 BWP2,097.31	$33.87 LKR10,407.01	-77.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,593.57 BWP51,267.63	$505.51 LKR155,343.65	-85.9%
Average			-81.5%

Gaborone vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Gaborone	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 BWP32.14	$2.31 LKR710.72	+2.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.30 BWP32.75	$2.67 LKR820.10	+16.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.68 BWP52.50	$10.24 LKR3,147.49	+178.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.35 BWP461.48	$13.33 LKR4,097.53	-58.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.76 BWP96.43	$3.30 LKR1,015.32	-51.1%
Average			+17.5%

Gaborone vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 33.4% less for clothing

	Gaborone	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.00 BWP656.25	$26.56 LKR8,162.73	-42.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.41 BWP348.21	$17.76 LKR5,457.33	-27.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.82 BWP1,024.55	$67.21 LKR20,653.71	-6.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$90.12 BWP1,285.71	$38.07 LKR11,700.33	-57.8%
Average			-33.4%

Gaborone vs. Colombo - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Gaborone vs.

Bangkok

Gaborone vs.

Kiev

Gaborone vs.

Rome

Gaborone vs.

Manila

Gaborone vs.

London

Gaborone vs.

Canberra

Gaborone vs.

Dodoma

Gaborone vs.

Beijing

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Botswana vs. Sri Lanka. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Botswana and Sri Lanka.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Gaborone

Add prices for Colombo

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Colombo or Gaborone. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.