Cost of living comparison

compared to

Colombo vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 24.2% cheaper than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 5.4% more in Colombo
Groceries: pay 11.6% more in Colombo
Transportation: pay 7.4% less in Colombo
Housing: pay 37.1% less in Colombo
Childcare: pay 90.8% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.7% less in Colombo
Clothing: pay 46.5% less in Colombo

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

Colombo vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Colombo instead of Kuala Lumpur, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 5.4% more for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.74 MYR19.59	$4.13 LKR1,269.15	-12.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.74 MYR19.59	$8.26 LKR2,538.29	+74.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 MYR3.66	$0.76 LKR233.26	-14.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 MYR2.01	$0.36 LKR111.43	-25.5%
Average			+5.4%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.6% more for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$0.98 MYR4.03	$0.52 LKR160.10	-46.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.13 MYR29.45	$6.78 LKR2,083.94	-4.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.98 MYR32.96	$6.70 LKR2,060.40	-15.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.23 MYR9.21	$1.95 LKR600.76	-12.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.09 MYR8.65	$2.05 LKR629.94	-2.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.32 MYR5.45	$3.42 LKR1,051.88	+159.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 MYR3.09	$0.50 LKR152.38	-33.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 MYR5.04	$2.69 LKR826.88	+120.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR2.86	$0.55 LKR168.43	-20.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 MYR2.34	$0.51 LKR157.17	-9.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.56	$0.58 LKR177.69	-6.8%
Average			+11.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.4% less for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.87 MYR7.71	$4.12 LKR1,264.88	+120.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.85 MYR48.96	$6.61 LKR2,030.64	-44.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,284.36 MYR166,475.12	$26,432.11 LKR8,122,543.83	-34.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.66 MYR44.07	$3.04 LKR934.09	-71.5%
Average			-7.4%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

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pay 37.1% less for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.49 MYR105.32	$14.01 LKR4,306.40	-45.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$573.16 MYR2,368.60	$360.90 LKR110,903.96	-37.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$350.71 MYR1,449.31	$177.21 LKR54,457.87	-49.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$46.59 MYR192.54	$38.78 LKR11,916.86	-16.8%
Average			-37.1%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

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pay 90.8% less for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$264.45 MYR1,092.86	$33.87 LKR10,407.01	-87.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,004.74 MYR37,212.09	$505.51 LKR155,343.65	-94.4%
Average			-90.8%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.27 MYR17.63	$2.31 LKR710.72	-45.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.06 MYR12.65	$2.67 LKR820.10	-12.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.27 MYR17.63	$10.24 LKR3,147.49	+140.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.43 MYR191.86	$13.33 LKR4,097.53	-71.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.98 MYR20.56	$3.30 LKR1,015.32	-33.6%
Average			-4.7%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 46.5% less for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.66 MYR254.80	$26.56 LKR8,162.73	-56.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.10 MYR153.34	$17.76 LKR5,457.33	-52.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.80 MYR362.83	$67.21 LKR20,653.71	-23.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.47 MYR340.83	$38.07 LKR11,700.33	-53.8%
Average			-46.5%

Kuala Lumpur 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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