Cost of living comparison

Suriname

compared to

Sri Lanka

Colombo vs. Paramaribo Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 17.1% cheaper than Paramaribo.

Restaurants: pay 58.2% less in Colombo
Groceries: pay 38.4% less in Colombo
Transportation: pay 3.8% more in Colombo
Housing: pay 12.8% more in Colombo
Childcare: pay 35.5% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.6% less in Colombo
Clothing: pay 32.9% less in Colombo

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

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

Display currency: USD

pay 58.2% less for restaurants

	Paramaribo	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.20 SRD496.97	$3.82 LKR1,265.61	-71.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.99 SRD413.72	$7.56 LKR2,502.59	-31.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.39 SRD52.25	$0.70 LKR232.56	-49.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 SRD31.47	$0.26 LKR87.00	-68.6%
Average			-58.2%

Paramaribo vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 38.4% less for groceries

	Paramaribo	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.37 SRD51.65	$0.55 LKR181.98	-60.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.90 SRD222.10	$6.89 LKR2,281.50	+16.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.81 SRD256.22	$6.03 LKR1,996.25	-11.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.04 SRD114.28	$1.64 LKR541.78	-46.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.78 SRD104.74	$2.21 LKR731.08	-20.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.20 SRD82.78	$3.06 LKR1,014.37	+39.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 SRD52.42	$0.37 LKR122.81	-73.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.69 SRD63.71	$2.03 LKR672.87	+20.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.71 SRD101.97	$0.57 LKR187.42	-79.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 SRD22.95	$0.46 LKR150.85	-25.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.89 SRD33.38	$0.35 LKR116.82	-60.2%
Average			-38.4%

Paramaribo vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.8% more for transportation

	Paramaribo	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.36 SRD164.08	$5.14 LKR1,701.24	+17.8%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$7.19 LKR2,381.42
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,000.00 SRD941K	$37,024.95 LKR12M	+48.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.40 SRD542.03	$3.29 LKR1,091.13	-77.1%
Average			+3.8%

Paramaribo vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 12.8% more for housing

	Paramaribo	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.37 SRD1,143.15	$20.78 LKR6,883.48	-31.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$484.98 SRD18,255.37	$589.61 LKR195K	+21.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$265.59 SRD9,997.38	$270.44 LKR89,571.04	+1.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$28.73 SRD1,081.26	$41.14 LKR13,624.66	+43.2%
Average			+12.8%

Paramaribo vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.5% less for childcare

	Paramaribo	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$62.79 SRD2,363.55	$37.78 LKR12,512.93	-39.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,745.94 SRD65,719.74	$1,208.98 LKR400K	-30.8%
Average			-35.5%

Paramaribo vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Paramaribo	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.64 SRD99.39	$2.21 LKR730.76	-16.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.83 SRD106.37	$2.51 LKR832.69	-11.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.68 SRD213.70	$10.28 LKR3,403.52	+81.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$13.54 SRD509.72	$13.99 LKR4,634.42	+3.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.00 SRD188.21	$4.53 LKR1,501.55	-9.3%
Average			-1.6%

Paramaribo vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.9% less for clothing

	Paramaribo	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$33.33 SRD1,254.67	$18.13 LKR6,006.21	-45.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.08 SRD793.55	$16.62 LKR5,505.69	-21.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.25 SRD2,531.34	$79.09 LKR26,193.74	+17.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.71 SRD3,903.78	$41.76 LKR13,832.48	-59.7%
Average			-32.9%

Paramaribo 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: Paramaribo vs. Colombo

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Colombo?

More cost comparisons

Paramaribo vs.

Madrid

Paramaribo vs.

Moscow

Paramaribo vs.

Rome

Paramaribo vs.

New York City

Paramaribo vs.

Bangkok

Paramaribo vs.

Cairo

Paramaribo vs.

Reykjavik

Paramaribo vs.

Ho Chi Minh City

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

Add prices for Colombo

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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