Cost of living comparison

Uganda

compared to

Sri Lanka

Colombo vs. Kampala Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 7.3% more expensive than Kampala.

Restaurants: pay 31.1% more in Colombo
Groceries: pay 29.8% more in Colombo
Transportation: pay 4.0% more in Colombo
Housing: pay 23.1% more in Colombo
Childcare: pay 85.2% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.5% less in Colombo
Clothing: pay 41.9% more in Colombo

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

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Colombo vs. Kampala Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 31.1% more for restaurants

	Kampala	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.45 UGX10,151	$3.82 LKR1,265.61	+55.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.36 UGX30,452	$7.56 LKR2,502.59	+2.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 UGX1,523	$0.70 LKR232.56	+90.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 UGX1,107	$0.26 LKR87.00	-1.9%
Average			+31.1%

Kampala vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.8% more for groceries

	Kampala	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$0.91 UGX3,747	$0.55 LKR181.98	-39.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.18 UGX9,009	$6.89 LKR2,281.50	+216.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.90 UGX11,976	$6.03 LKR1,996.25	+108.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.58 UGX6,530	$1.64 LKR541.78	+3.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.05 UGX8,472	$2.21 LKR731.08	+7.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.95 UGX3,939	$3.06 LKR1,014.37	+221.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.57 UGX2,353	$0.37 LKR122.81	-34.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.59 UGX2,430	$2.03 LKR672.87	+245.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 UGX2,225	$0.57 LKR187.42	+5.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 UGX2,302	$0.46 LKR150.85	-18.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.56 UGX2,302	$0.35 LKR116.82	-36.6%
Average			+29.8%

Kampala vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.0% more for transportation

	Kampala	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.31 UGX21,961	$5.14 LKR1,701.24	-3.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$42.68 UGX177K	$7.19 LKR2,381.42	-83.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,361.98 UGX30M	$37,024.95 LKR12M	+402.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.94 UGX12,181	$3.29 LKR1,091.13	+11.9%
Average			+4.0%

Kampala vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

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pay 23.1% more for housing

	Kampala	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.66 UGX143K	$20.78 LKR6,883.48	-40.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$482.64 UGX2M	$589.61 LKR195K	+22.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$167.36 UGX692K	$270.44 LKR89,571.04	+61.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$53.08 UGX220K	$41.14 LKR13,624.66	-22.5%
Average			+23.1%

Kampala vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

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pay 85.2% less for childcare

	Kampala	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$251.43 UGX1M	$37.78 LKR12,512.93	-85.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,279.19 UGX34M	$1,208.98 LKR400K	-85.4%
Average			-85.2%

Kampala vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

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pay 18.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Kampala	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.23 UGX5,075	$2.21 LKR730.76	+79.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.53 UGX10,471	$2.51 LKR832.69	-0.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.45 UGX10,151	$10.28 LKR3,403.52	+318.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.21 UGX228K	$13.99 LKR4,634.42	-74.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.36 UGX30,452	$4.53 LKR1,501.55	-38.4%
Average			-18.5%

Kampala vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 41.9% more for clothing

	Kampala	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$13.80 UGX57,098	$18.13 LKR6,006.21	+31.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$12.88 UGX53,292	$16.62 LKR5,505.69	+29.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$31.90 UGX132K	$79.09 LKR26,193.74	+147.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$43.25 UGX179K	$41.76 LKR13,832.48	-3.4%
Average			+41.9%

Kampala 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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