Cost of living comparison

Singapore

compared to

Sri Lanka

Colombo vs. Singapore Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 74.0% cheaper than Singapore.

Restaurants: pay 54.9% less in Colombo
Groceries: pay 50.1% less in Colombo
Transportation: pay 75.4% less in Colombo
Housing: pay 81.0% less in Colombo
Childcare: pay 96.7% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 69.7% less in Colombo
Clothing: pay 63.8% less in Colombo

Expenses including childcare, housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, clothing, and restaurants are lower in Colombo.

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Colombo vs. Singapore Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 54.9% less for restaurants

	Singapore	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.72 SGD15.02	$3.82 LKR1,265.61	-67.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.59 SGD11.01	$7.56 LKR2,502.59	-12.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.81 SGD2.32	$0.70 LKR232.56	-61.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.22 SGD1.56	$0.26 LKR87.00	-78.4%
Average			-54.9%

Singapore vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.1% less for groceries

	Singapore	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$2.52 SGD3.23	$0.55 LKR181.98	-78.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.61 SGD13.60	$6.89 LKR2,281.50	-35.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$11.31 SGD14.49	$6.03 LKR1,996.25	-46.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.63 SGD4.66	$1.64 LKR541.78	-55.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.43 SGD5.67	$2.21 LKR731.08	-50.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.04 SGD2.62	$3.06 LKR1,014.37	+50.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 SGD1.78	$0.37 LKR122.81	-73.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.11 SGD2.70	$2.03 LKR672.87	-3.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.00 SGD1.29	$0.57 LKR187.42	-43.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.15 SGD1.48	$0.46 LKR150.85	-60.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.07 SGD1.37	$0.35 LKR116.82	-67.1%
Average			-50.1%

Singapore vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

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pay 75.4% less for transportation

	Singapore	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.42 SGD12.07	$5.14 LKR1,701.24	-45.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$95.32 SGD122.14	$7.19 LKR2,381.42	-92.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$158K SGD202K	$37,024.95 LKR12M	-76.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.84 SGD12.61	$3.29 LKR1,091.13	-66.5%
Average			-75.4%

Singapore vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

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pay 81.0% less for housing

	Singapore	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.68 SGD34.19	$20.78 LKR6,883.48	-22.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,972.36 SGD3,808.76	$589.61 LKR195K	-80.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,133.71 SGD2,734.12	$270.44 LKR89,571.04	-87.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$133.12 SGD170.58	$41.14 LKR13,624.66	-69.1%
Average			-81.0%

Singapore vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

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pay 96.7% less for childcare

	Singapore	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,466.84 SGD1,879.60	$37.78 LKR12,512.93	-97.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$28,413.66 SGD36,409.09	$1,208.98 LKR400K	-95.7%
Average			-96.7%

Singapore vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

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pay 69.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Singapore	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.20 SGD10.51	$2.21 LKR730.76	-73.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.19 SGD6.65	$2.51 LKR832.69	-51.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.06 SGD18.02	$10.28 LKR3,403.52	-26.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$110.24 SGD141.26	$13.99 LKR4,634.42	-87.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.72 SGD15.02	$4.53 LKR1,501.55	-61.3%
Average			-69.7%

Singapore vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 63.8% less for clothing

	Singapore	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$80.66 SGD103.36	$18.13 LKR6,006.21	-77.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.96 SGD65.30	$16.62 LKR5,505.69	-67.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$110.36 SGD141.41	$79.09 LKR26,193.74	-28.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$127.45 SGD163.31	$41.76 LKR13,832.48	-67.2%
Average			-63.8%

Singapore 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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