Cost of living comparison

compared to

Sri Lanka vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Sri Lanka is 26.8% cheaper than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 23.2% less in Sri Lanka
Groceries: pay 33.3% more in Sri Lanka
Transportation: pay 37.5% less in Sri Lanka
Housing: pay 52.7% less in Sri Lanka
Childcare: pay 84.3% less in Sri Lanka
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.0% more in Sri Lanka
Clothing: pay 47.3% less in Sri Lanka

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

Sri Lanka vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sri Lanka instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 23.2% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Sri Lanka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$3.63 LKR1,116.85	-61.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$7.90 LKR2,426.61	+54.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$0.73 LKR224.32	-29.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$0.35 LKR106.15	-57.0%
Average			-23.2%

South Africa vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of restaurants

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pay 33.3% more for groceries

	South Africa	Sri Lanka
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$0.48 LKR147.07	-52.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$5.72 LKR1,758.02	+47.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$6.01 LKR1,847.59	+37.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$1.94 LKR597.37	-16.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$2.05 LKR629.94	-3.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$2.40 LKR736.93	+229.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$0.44 LKR136.48	-31.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$2.17 LKR665.91	+217.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$0.55 LKR168.43	-22.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$0.45 LKR139.78	-22.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$0.51 LKR155.98	-15.4%
Average			+33.3%

South Africa vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of groceries

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pay 37.5% less for transportation

	South Africa	Sri Lanka
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$4.12 LKR1,264.88	-16.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	$10.74 LKR3,299.78	-80.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	$24,680.98 LKR7,584,425.30	+15.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	$3.00 LKR921.91	-67.9%
Average			-37.5%

South Africa vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of transportation

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pay 52.7% less for housing

	South Africa	Sri Lanka
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$12.84 LKR3,944.37	-67.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$289.17 LKR88,862.02	-28.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$178.38 LKR54,816.88	-50.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$31.64 LKR9,722.89	-64.1%
Average			-52.7%

South Africa vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of housing

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pay 84.3% less for childcare

	South Africa	Sri Lanka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$33.87 LKR10,407.01	-80.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$466.09 LKR143,227.52	-88.2%
Average			-84.3%

South Africa vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.0% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Sri Lanka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$2.08 LKR639.65	-4.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$2.39 LKR735.74	+16.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$9.25 LKR2,842.89	+212.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$15.04 LKR4,620.30	-50.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$3.12 LKR959.48	-54.4%
Average			+24.0%

South Africa vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 47.3% less for clothing

	South Africa	Sri Lanka
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$25.05 LKR7,697.80	-50.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$17.03 LKR5,232.27	-48.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$62.69 LKR19,264.32	-33.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$35.07 LKR10,776.88	-57.1%
Average			-47.3%

South Africa 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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