Cost of living comparison

compared to

Colombo vs. Harare Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 1.2% cheaper than Harare.

Restaurants: pay 8.1% less in Colombo
Groceries: pay 12.1% more in Colombo
Transportation: pay 46.0% less in Colombo
Housing: pay 37.1% less in Colombo
Childcare: pay 90.5% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.3 times more in Colombo
Clothing: pay 29.9% more in Colombo

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

Colombo vs. Harare Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 8.1% less for restaurants

	Harare	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	$4.13 LKR1,269.15	-58.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.00 ZWL1,932.00	$8.26 LKR2,538.29	+37.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.69 ZWL223.71	$0.76 LKR233.26	+9.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 ZWL147.28	$0.36 LKR111.43	-20.7%
Average			-8.1%

Harare vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.1% more for groceries

	Harare	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZWL322.00	$0.52 LKR160.10	-47.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.77 ZWL1,857.25	$6.78 LKR2,083.94	+17.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.10 ZWL1,963.08	$6.70 LKR2,060.40	+10.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.09 ZWL672.39	$1.95 LKR600.76	-6.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.97 ZWL956.35	$2.05 LKR629.94	-31.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.34 ZWL430.38	$3.42 LKR1,051.88	+156.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 ZWL239.53	$0.50 LKR152.38	-33.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.02 ZWL328.63	$2.69 LKR826.88	+163.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.75 ZWL242.73	$0.55 LKR168.43	-27.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZWL229.11	$0.51 LKR157.17	-28.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.97 ZWL311.47	$0.58 LKR177.69	-40.2%
Average			+12.1%

Harare vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

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pay 46.0% less for transportation

	Harare	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.94 ZWL1,912.67	$4.12 LKR1,264.88	-30.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$55.00 ZWL17,710.00	$6.61 LKR2,030.64	-88.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,000.00 ZWL7,084,000.00	$26,432.11 LKR8,122,543.83	+20.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.00 ZWL6,762.00	$3.04 LKR934.09	-85.5%
Average			-46.0%

Harare vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

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pay 37.1% less for housing

	Harare	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$93.58 ZWL30,133.83	$14.01 LKR4,306.40	-85.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$402.94 ZWL129,747.06	$360.90 LKR110,903.96	-10.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$284.62 ZWL91,646.15	$177.21 LKR54,457.87	-37.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$45.88 ZWL14,774.12	$38.78 LKR11,916.86	-15.5%
Average			-37.1%

Harare vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

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pay 90.5% less for childcare

	Harare	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$255.56 ZWL82,288.89	$33.87 LKR10,407.01	-86.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,812.50 ZWL2,837,625.00	$505.51 LKR155,343.65	-94.3%
Average			-90.5%

Harare vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports

	Harare	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.50 ZWL483.00	$2.31 LKR710.72	+54.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 ZWL937.59	$2.67 LKR820.10	-8.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.20 ZWL386.40	$10.24 LKR3,147.49	+753.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.38 ZWL17,833.85	$13.33 LKR4,097.53	-75.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	$3.30 LKR1,015.32	-67.0%
Average			+131.3%

Harare vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 29.9% more for clothing

	Harare	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.92 ZWL6,091.17	$26.56 LKR8,162.73	+40.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.50 ZWL6,923.00	$17.76 LKR5,457.33	-17.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$33.85 ZWL10,898.46	$67.21 LKR20,653.71	+98.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$38.85 ZWL12,508.46	$38.07 LKR11,700.33	-2.0%
Average			+29.9%

Harare vs. Colombo - 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: December 2025

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