Cost of living comparison

Rwanda

compared to

Sri Lanka

Colombo vs. Kigali Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 11.1% cheaper than Kigali.

Restaurants: pay 11.3% more in Colombo
Groceries: pay 48.1% more in Colombo
Transportation: pay 39.0% less in Colombo
Housing: pay 24.9% less in Colombo
Childcare: pay 79.4% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.6% more in Colombo
Clothing: pay 48.6% more in Colombo

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

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Colombo vs. Kigali Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 11.3% more for restaurants

	Kigali	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.71 RWF4,005	$3.82 LKR1,265.61	+41.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.77 RWF10,013	$7.56 LKR2,502.59	+11.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 RWF1,155	$0.70 LKR232.56	-10.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 RWF826	$0.26 LKR87.00	-53.0%
Average			+11.3%

Kigali vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 48.1% more for groceries

	Kigali	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.05 RWF1,548	$0.55 LKR181.98	-47.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.11 RWF3,115	$6.89 LKR2,281.50	+226.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.16 RWF4,675	$6.03 LKR1,996.25	+90.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.63 RWF2,412	$1.64 LKR541.78	+0.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.08 RWF3,078	$2.21 LKR731.08	+6.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 RWF1,618	$3.06 LKR1,014.37	+179.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.35 RWF522	$0.37 LKR122.81	+4.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 RWF1,019	$2.03 LKR672.87	+194.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 RWF707	$0.57 LKR187.42	+18.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 RWF333	$0.46 LKR150.85	+102.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.34 RWF499	$0.35 LKR116.82	+4.4%
Average			+48.1%

Kigali vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.0% less for transportation

	Kigali	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.00 RWF10,345	$5.14 LKR1,701.24	-26.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.40 RWF37,550	$7.19 LKR2,381.42	-71.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,080.15 RWF39M	$37,024.95 LKR12M	+42.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.97 RWF28,037	$3.29 LKR1,091.13	-82.6%
Average			-39.0%

Kigali vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

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pay 24.9% less for housing

	Kigali	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.00 RWF31,041	$20.78 LKR6,883.48	-1.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$666.07 RWF985K	$589.61 LKR195K	-11.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$413.79 RWF612K	$270.44 LKR89,571.04	-34.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$64.32 RWF95,077	$41.14 LKR13,624.66	-36.0%
Average			-24.9%

Kigali vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

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pay 79.4% less for childcare

	Kigali	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$112.90 RWF167K	$37.78 LKR12,512.93	-66.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,510.48 RWF14M	$1,208.98 LKR400K	-87.3%
Average			-79.4%

Kigali vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Kigali	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.02 RWF1,502	$2.21 LKR730.76	+117.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 RWF3,578	$2.51 LKR832.69	+3.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.03 RWF3,004	$10.28 LKR3,403.52	+405.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$26.72 RWF39,497	$13.99 LKR4,634.42	-47.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.39 RWF5,007	$4.53 LKR1,501.55	+33.9%
Average			+26.6%

Kigali vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 48.6% more for clothing

	Kigali	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.39 RWF25,701	$18.13 LKR6,006.21	+4.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.58 RWF23,031	$16.62 LKR5,505.69	+6.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$22.24 RWF32,877	$79.09 LKR26,193.74	+255.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$33.87 RWF50,067	$41.76 LKR13,832.48	+23.3%
Average			+48.6%

Kigali 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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