Cost of living comparison

Somalia

compared to

Sri Lanka

Colombo vs. Mogadishu Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 34.3% more expensive than Mogadishu.

Restaurants: pay 18.8% more in Colombo
Groceries: pay 2.2% less in Colombo
Transportation: pay 24.0% more in Colombo
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Colombo
Childcare: pay 12.4% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.7% less in Colombo
Clothing: pay 58.1% more in Colombo

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

Planning a move to Sri Lanka? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Colombo vs. Mogadishu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 18.8% more for restaurants

	Mogadishu	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.00 SOS1,717	$3.82 LKR1,265.61	+27.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.50 SOS2,576	$7.56 LKR2,502.59	+67.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.17 SOS668	$0.70 LKR232.56	-39.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 SOS296	$0.26 LKR87.00	-49.2%
Average			+18.8%

Mogadishu vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.2% less for groceries

	Mogadishu	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 SOS930	$0.55 LKR181.98	-66.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.50 SOS1,431	$6.89 LKR2,281.50	+175.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.92 SOS2,817	$6.03 LKR1,996.25	+22.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.90 SOS1,087	$1.64 LKR541.78	-13.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.76 SOS1,006	$2.21 LKR731.08	+25.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.70 SOS974	$3.06 LKR1,014.37	+80.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.45 SOS260	$0.37 LKR122.81	-18.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.36 SOS779	$2.03 LKR672.87	+49.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 SOS332	$0.57 LKR187.42	-2.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.68 SOS389	$0.46 LKR150.85	-33.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.79 SOS454	$0.35 LKR116.82	-55.6%
Average			-2.2%

Mogadishu vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 24.0% more for transportation

	Mogadishu	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.38 SOS1,935	$5.14 LKR1,701.24	+51.9%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$7.19 LKR2,381.42
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$37,024.95 LKR12M
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.40 SOS3,091	$3.29 LKR1,091.13	-39.0%
Average			+24.0%

Mogadishu vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Mogadishu	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$66.67 SOS38,156	$20.78 LKR6,883.48	-68.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$195.00 SOS112K	$589.61 LKR195K	+202.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$77.50 SOS44,357	$270.44 LKR89,571.04	+249.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$122.35 SOS70,028	$41.14 LKR13,624.66	-66.4%
Average			+105.6%

Mogadishu vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 12.4% less for childcare

	Mogadishu	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$78.33 SOS44,834	$37.78 LKR12,512.93	-51.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$760.00 SOS435K	$1,208.98 LKR400K	+59.1%
Average			-12.4%

Mogadishu vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 29.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Mogadishu	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	??	$2.21 LKR730.76
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.00 SOS1,145	$2.51 LKR832.69	+25.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$10.28 LKR3,403.52
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.67 SOS18,124	$13.99 LKR4,634.42	-55.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$4.53 LKR1,501.55
Average			-29.7%

Mogadishu vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 58.1% more for clothing

	Mogadishu	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.00 SOS8,013	$18.13 LKR6,006.21	+29.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$14.00 SOS8,013	$16.62 LKR5,505.69	+18.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$25.00 SOS14,309	$79.09 LKR26,193.74	+216.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$32.50 SOS18,601	$41.76 LKR13,832.48	+28.5%
Average			+58.1%

Mogadishu vs. Colombo - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Mogadishu vs. Colombo

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Colombo?

More cost comparisons

Mogadishu vs.

London

Mogadishu vs.

Berlin

Mogadishu vs.

Cairo

Mogadishu vs.

Warsaw

Mogadishu vs.

Vienna

Mogadishu vs.

Athens

Mogadishu vs.

Bangkok

Mogadishu vs.

Moscow

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Somalia vs. Sri Lanka. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Somalia and Sri Lanka.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Mogadishu

Add prices for Colombo

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Colombo or Mogadishu. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.