Cost of living comparison

compared to

Colombo vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 4.1% cheaper than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 1.4% less in Colombo
Groceries: pay 47.5% more in Colombo
Transportation: pay 23.5% less in Colombo
Housing: pay 3.7% more in Colombo
Childcare: pay 87.8% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.7% more in Colombo
Clothing: pay 14.0% more in Colombo

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

Colombo vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 1.4% less for restaurants

	Nairobi	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.85 KES497.08	$3.40 LKR1,004.51	-11.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 KES795.33	$7.48 LKR2,209.92	+21.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.66 KES85.49	$0.74 LKR218.48	+11.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 KES68.69	$0.39 LKR115.52	-26.6%
Average			-1.4%

Nairobi vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 47.5% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$0.56 KES72.00	$0.57 LKR168.39	+2.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.59 KES721.09	$6.94 LKR2,050.34	+24.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.35 KES432.35	$6.54 LKR1,933.18	+95.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 KES219.65	$2.22 LKR655.51	+30.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.71 KES349.53	$2.38 LKR703.81	-12.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 KES163.02	$3.28 LKR968.53	+159.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 KES64.45	$0.51 LKR150.83	+2.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.87 KES112.71	$2.65 LKR782.01	+202.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES58.97	$0.53 LKR156.54	+15.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 KES62.24	$0.51 LKR150.29	+5.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.56 KES71.76	$0.55 LKR161.31	-1.9%
Average			+47.5%

Nairobi vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

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pay 23.5% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.17 KES796.50	$4.84 LKR1,429.48	-21.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.83 KES3,976.67	$6.80 LKR2,009.02	-78.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,266.80 KES2,485,417.29	$35,303.89 LKR10,436,845.97	+83.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.87 KES1,789.50	$3.13 LKR924.15	-77.5%
Average			-23.5%

Nairobi vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.7% more for housing

	Nairobi	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.39 KES5,081.66	$16.40 LKR4,847.95	-58.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$428.53 KES55,280.12	$297.60 LKR87,978.23	-30.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$166.44 KES21,470.18	$180.09 LKR53,238.86	+8.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$22.39 KES2,888.63	$43.85 LKR12,962.28	+95.8%
Average			+3.7%

Nairobi vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

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pay 87.8% less for childcare

	Nairobi	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$166.67 KES21,501.04	$28.60 LKR8,454.62	-82.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,008.06 KES1,033,039.32	$586.98 LKR173,528.89	-92.7%
Average			-87.8%

Nairobi vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

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pay 18.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 KES298.25	$2.04 LKR602.71	-11.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.24 KES289.07	$2.59 LKR765.85	+15.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.08 KES397.67	$9.34 LKR2,762.40	+203.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.12 KES5,691.10	$13.89 LKR4,104.96	-68.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.17 KES795.33	$3.40 LKR1,004.51	-44.9%
Average			+18.7%

Nairobi vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.0% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$16.84 KES2,172.73	$29.69 LKR8,777.40	+76.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.95 KES2,960.41	$22.31 LKR6,596.27	-2.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$61.84 KES7,977.01	$68.77 LKR20,330.38	+11.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.50 KES6,772.72	$37.51 LKR11,088.23	-28.6%
Average			+14.0%

Nairobi 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: March 2025

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