Cost of living comparison

compared to

Colombo vs. Hanoi Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 4.3% cheaper than Hanoi.

Restaurants
pay 60.8% more in Colombo
Groceries
pay 14.3% more in Colombo
Transportation
pay 8.5% more in Colombo
Housing
pay 11.4% more in Colombo
Childcare
pay 95.4% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports
pay 32.1% more in Colombo
Clothing
pay 41.2% less in Colombo

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

Colombo vs. Hanoi Cost Breakdown

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

pay 60.8% more for restaurants

 
Hanoi
Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $2.12
₫54,624
$3.82
LKR1,269.46
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.41
₫114K
$7.56
LKR2,510.21
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.49
₫12,663
$0.70
LKR233.27

Improve prices ·

pay 14.3% more for groceries

 
Hanoi
Colombo
Bread
1 loaf
$1.08
₫27,995
$0.55
LKR182.54
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.21
₫134K
$6.89
LKR2,288.45
Milk (1 gallon) $5.70
₫147K
$6.03
LKR2,002.34

Improve prices ·

pay 8.5% more for transportation

 
Hanoi
Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.47
₫89,502
$5.14
LKR1,706.43
Monthly public transit pass $9.24
₫238K
$7.19
LKR2,388.67
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $30,715.02
₫793M
$37,024.95
LKR12M

Improve prices ·

pay 11.4% more for housing

 
Hanoi
Colombo
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$8.84
₫228K
$20.78
LKR6,904.45
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $407.99
₫11M
$589.61
LKR196K
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $278.92
₫7M
$270.44
LKR89,843.92

Improve prices ·

pay 95.4% less for childcare

 
Hanoi
Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $771.38
₫20M
$37.78
LKR12,551.05
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $27,672.00
₫714M
$1,208.98
LKR402K

Improve prices ·

pay 32.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
Hanoi
Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.08
₫27,799
$2.21
LKR732.98
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.88
₫48,502
$2.51
LKR835.23
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.40
₫36,151
$10.28
LKR3,413.89

Improve prices ·

pay 41.2% less for clothing

 
Hanoi
Colombo
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$48.20
₫1M
$18.13
LKR6,024.51
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$26.30
₫679K
$16.62
LKR5,522.46
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$83.83
₫2M
$79.09
LKR26,273.54

Improve prices ·

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

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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