Cost of living comparison

Zimbabwe

compared to

Sri Lanka

Colombo vs. Harare Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 24.0% cheaper than Harare.

Restaurants: pay 34.7% less in Colombo
Groceries: pay 11.4% less in Colombo
Transportation: pay 48.2% less in Colombo
Housing: pay 5.1% more in Colombo
Childcare: pay 88.9% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.2% less in Colombo
Clothing: pay 6.8% more in Colombo

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

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Colombo vs. Harare Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 34.7% less for restaurants

	Harare	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	$3.82 LKR1,265.61	-61.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.75 ZWL1,851.50	$7.56 LKR2,502.59	+31.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.96 ZWL308.58	$0.70 LKR232.56	-26.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 ZWL151.05	$0.26 LKR87.00	-44.0%
Average			-34.7%

Harare vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.4% less for groceries

	Harare	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZWL322.00	$0.55 LKR181.98	-45.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.73 ZWL1,845.30	$6.89 LKR2,281.50	+20.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.73 ZWL1,843.59	$6.03 LKR1,996.25	+5.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.93 ZWL622.53	$1.64 LKR541.78	-15.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.46 ZWL791.38	$2.21 LKR731.08	-10.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.37 ZWL439.66	$3.06 LKR1,014.37	+124.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.76 ZWL243.55	$0.37 LKR122.81	-51.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.92 ZWL296.54	$2.03 LKR672.87	+120.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZWL226.23	$0.57 LKR187.42	-19.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.78 ZWL251.62	$0.46 LKR150.85	-41.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.80 ZWL257.47	$0.35 LKR116.82	-55.9%
Average			-11.4%

Harare vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

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pay 48.2% less for transportation

	Harare	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.91 ZWL2,223.82	$5.14 LKR1,701.24	-25.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$60.00 ZWL19,320.00	$7.19 LKR2,381.42	-88.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,000.00 ZWL7M	$37,024.95 LKR12M	+68.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.00 ZWL6,440.00	$3.29 LKR1,091.13	-83.5%
Average			-48.2%

Harare vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.1% more for housing

	Harare	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.99 ZWL22,213.67	$20.78 LKR6,883.48	-69.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$390.00 ZWL126K	$589.61 LKR195K	+51.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$316.60 ZWL102K	$270.44 LKR89,571.04	-14.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 ZWL12,644.39	$41.14 LKR13,624.66	+4.8%
Average			+5.1%

Harare vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

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pay 88.9% less for childcare

	Harare	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$433.79 ZWL140K	$37.78 LKR12,512.93	-91.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,555.56 ZWL3M	$1,208.98 LKR400K	-85.9%
Average			-88.9%

Harare vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

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pay 23.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Harare	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.25 ZWL402.50	$2.21 LKR730.76	+76.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.00 ZWL966.00	$2.51 LKR832.69	-16.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.00 ZWL644.00	$10.28 LKR3,403.52	+413.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.92 ZWL15,429.17	$13.99 LKR4,634.42	-70.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	$4.53 LKR1,501.55	-54.7%
Average			-23.2%

Harare vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.8% more for clothing

	Harare	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.22 ZWL7,477.56	$18.13 LKR6,006.21	-21.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.15 ZWL6,809.04	$16.62 LKR5,505.69	-21.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$38.68 ZWL12,453.92	$79.09 LKR26,193.74	+104.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$40.37 ZWL12,998.47	$41.76 LKR13,832.48	+3.5%
Average			+6.8%

Harare 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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