Cost of living comparison

Tonga

compared to

Sri Lanka

Colombo vs. Nuku'alofa Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 32.3% cheaper than Nuku'alofa.

Restaurants: pay 56.1% less in Colombo
Groceries: pay 35.9% less in Colombo
Transportation: pay 7.8% less in Colombo
Housing: pay 39.2% less in Colombo
Childcare: pay 7.8% more in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 57.8% less in Colombo
Clothing: pay 59.2% more in Colombo

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

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Colombo vs. Nuku'alofa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Colombo instead of Nuku'alofa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 56.1% less for restaurants

	Nuku'alofa	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.31 TOP20.00	$3.82 LKR1,265.61	-54.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.38 TOP25.00	$7.56 LKR2,502.59	-27.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.84 TOP6.83	$0.70 LKR232.56	-75.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 TOP5.92	$0.26 LKR87.00	-89.3%
Average			-56.1%

Nuku'alofa vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 35.9% less for groceries

	Nuku'alofa	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.04 TOP2.50	$0.55 LKR181.98	-47.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 TOP10.83	$6.89 LKR2,281.50	+53.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.92 TOP14.26	$6.03 LKR1,996.25	+1.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.09 TOP12.27	$1.64 LKR541.78	-67.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.67 TOP6.43	$2.21 LKR731.08	-17.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$3.06 LKR1,014.37	+143.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$0.37 LKR122.81	-70.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 TOP3.18	$2.03 LKR672.87	+54.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 TOP4.08	$0.57 LKR187.42	-66.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 TOP3.48	$0.46 LKR150.85	-68.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 TOP2.87	$0.35 LKR116.82	-70.4%
Average			-35.9%

Nuku'alofa vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.8% less for transportation

	Nuku'alofa	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.50 TOP13.25	$5.14 LKR1,701.24	-6.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.53 TOP100.00	$7.19 LKR2,381.42	-82.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	$37,024.95 LKR12M	+536.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.69 TOP45.00	$3.29 LKR1,091.13	-82.4%
Average			-7.8%

Nuku'alofa vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

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pay 39.2% less for housing

	Nuku'alofa	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$124.60 TOP300.00	$20.78 LKR6,883.48	-83.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	$589.61 LKR195K	-5.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	??	$270.44 LKR89,571.04
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$142.92 TOP344.12	$41.14 LKR13,624.66	-71.2%
Average			-39.2%

Nuku'alofa vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

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pay 7.8% more for childcare

	Nuku'alofa	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$157.82 TOP380.00	$37.78 LKR12,512.93	-76.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$249.19 TOP600.00	$1,208.98 LKR400K	+385.2%
Average			+7.8%

Nuku'alofa vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

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pay 57.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Nuku'alofa	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.32 TOP8.00	$2.21 LKR730.76	-33.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 TOP7.00	$2.51 LKR832.69	-13.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.18 TOP24.50	$10.28 LKR3,403.52	+1.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.15 TOP75.00	$13.99 LKR4,634.42	-55.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$41.53 TOP100.00	$4.53 LKR1,501.55	-89.1%
Average			-57.8%

Nuku'alofa vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 59.2% more for clothing

	Nuku'alofa	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.54 TOP35.00	$18.13 LKR6,006.21	+24.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.65 TOP42.50	$16.62 LKR5,505.69	-5.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$20.77 TOP50.00	$79.09 LKR26,193.74	+280.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$29.07 TOP70.00	$41.76 LKR13,832.48	+43.7%
Average			+59.2%

Nuku'alofa 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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