Cost of living comparison

compared to

Sri Lanka vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Sri Lanka is 21.0% cheaper than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 14.3% less in Sri Lanka
Groceries: pay 25.3% more in Sri Lanka
Transportation: pay 39.4% less in Sri Lanka
Housing: pay 28.2% less in Sri Lanka
Childcare: pay 89.8% less in Sri Lanka
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.0% more in Sri Lanka
Clothing: pay 13.8% less in Sri Lanka

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

Sri Lanka vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sri Lanka instead of Nairobi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 14.3% less for restaurants

	Nairobi	Sri Lanka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.80 KES751.45	$3.63 LKR1,116.85	-37.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.97 KES901.74	$7.90 LKR2,426.61	+13.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 KES90.86	$0.73 LKR224.32	+4.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 KES71.09	$0.35 LKR106.15	-37.1%
Average			-14.3%

Nairobi vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.3% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Sri Lanka
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES70.74	$0.48 LKR147.07	-12.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.57 KES720.62	$5.72 LKR1,758.02	+2.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.36 KES434.42	$6.01 LKR1,847.59	+79.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 KES212.89	$1.94 LKR597.37	+18.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.92 KES377.80	$2.05 LKR629.94	-29.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.41 KES182.10	$2.40 LKR736.93	+70.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 KES61.45	$0.44 LKR136.48	-6.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 KES115.16	$2.17 LKR665.91	+143.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES59.05	$0.55 LKR168.43	+20.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.55	$0.45 LKR139.78	-7.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 KES65.57	$0.51 LKR155.98	+0.2%
Average			+25.3%

Nairobi vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.4% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Sri Lanka
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 KES698.91	$4.12 LKR1,264.88	-23.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.96 KES4,007.74	$10.74 LKR3,299.78	-65.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,671.83 KES2,805,417.96	$24,680.98 LKR7,584,425.30	+13.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.03 KES2,204.26	$3.00 LKR921.91	-82.4%
Average			-39.4%

Nairobi vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.2% less for housing

	Nairobi	Sri Lanka
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.86 KES5,160.40	$12.84 LKR3,944.37	-67.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$476.96 KES61,741.91	$289.17 LKR88,862.02	-39.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.31 KES26,706.75	$178.38 LKR54,816.88	-13.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.32 KES3,796.09	$31.64 LKR9,722.89	+7.9%
Average			-28.2%

Nairobi vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of housing

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pay 89.8% less for childcare

	Nairobi	Sri Lanka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$224.14 KES29,014.37	$33.87 LKR10,407.01	-84.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,775.09 KES1,135,934.95	$466.09 LKR143,227.52	-94.7%
Average			-89.8%

Nairobi vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of childcare

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pay 13.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Sri Lanka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.32 KES300.58	$2.08 LKR639.65	-10.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 KES306.78	$2.39 LKR735.74	+1.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.10 KES400.77	$9.25 LKR2,842.89	+198.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.30 KES5,863.82	$15.04 LKR4,620.30	-66.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.35 KES951.84	$3.12 LKR959.48	-57.5%
Average			+13.0%

Nairobi vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.8% less for clothing

	Nairobi	Sri Lanka
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.62 KES2,540.20	$25.05 LKR7,697.80	+27.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.88 KES3,220.51	$17.03 LKR5,232.27	-31.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.92 KES8,791.98	$62.69 LKR19,264.32	-7.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$62.28 KES8,061.57	$35.07 LKR10,776.88	-43.7%
Average			-13.8%

Nairobi vs. Sri Lanka - 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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