Cost of living comparison

compared to

Sri Lanka vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Sri Lanka is 44.6% cheaper than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 27.6% less in Sri Lanka
Groceries: pay 45.4% less in Sri Lanka
Transportation: pay 38.6% less in Sri Lanka
Housing: pay 51.5% less in Sri Lanka
Childcare: pay 94.0% less in Sri Lanka
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.9% less in Sri Lanka
Clothing: pay 52.1% less in Sri Lanka

Expenses including childcare, clothing, housing, groceries, transportation, and restaurants are lower in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 27.6% less for restaurants

	South Korea	Sri Lanka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩9,865	$3.63 LKR1,116.85	-45.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ₩8,068	$7.90 LKR2,426.61	+43.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,152	$0.73 LKR224.32	-50.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ₩1,211	$0.35 LKR106.15	-58.1%
Average			-27.6%

South Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of restaurants

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pay 45.4% less for groceries

	South Korea	Sri Lanka
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 ₩4,217	$0.48 LKR147.07	-83.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.63 ₩8,255	$5.72 LKR1,758.02	+1.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 ₩11,264	$6.01 LKR1,847.59	-21.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 ₩4,162	$1.94 LKR597.37	-31.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.34 ₩4,896	$2.05 LKR629.94	-38.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 ₩4,748	$2.40 LKR736.93	-25.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩2,037	$0.44 LKR136.48	-68.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.80 ₩4,104	$2.17 LKR665.91	-22.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.40 ₩3,528	$0.55 LKR168.43	-77.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ₩2,616	$0.45 LKR139.78	-74.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,767	$0.51 LKR155.98	-57.8%
Average			-45.4%

South Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of groceries

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pay 38.6% less for transportation

	South Korea	Sri Lanka
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 ₩6,458	$4.12 LKR1,264.88	-6.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.17 ₩69,233	$10.74 LKR3,299.78	-77.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,440.41 ₩38,804,738	$24,680.98 LKR7,584,425.30	-6.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.33 ₩12,228	$3.00 LKR921.91	-64.0%
Average			-38.6%

South Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of transportation

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pay 51.5% less for housing

	South Korea	Sri Lanka
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.68 ₩31,824	$12.84 LKR3,944.37	-40.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$473.91 ₩695,518	$289.17 LKR88,862.02	-39.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.19 ₩524,216	$178.38 LKR54,816.88	-50.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.53 ₩194,509	$31.64 LKR9,722.89	-76.1%
Average			-51.5%

South Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of housing

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pay 94.0% less for childcare

	South Korea	Sri Lanka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$378.52 ₩555,533	$33.87 LKR10,407.01	-91.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,055.40 ₩22,095,763	$466.09 LKR143,227.52	-96.9%
Average			-94.0%

South Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.9% less for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Sri Lanka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 ₩4,576	$2.08 LKR639.65	-33.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 ₩5,236	$2.39 LKR735.74	-32.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,673	$9.25 LKR2,842.89	+190.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 ₩73,176	$15.04 LKR4,620.30	-69.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.12 ₩14,850	$3.12 LKR959.48	-69.1%
Average			-2.9%

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

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pay 52.1% less for clothing

	South Korea	Sri Lanka
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.46 ₩97,538	$25.05 LKR7,697.80	-62.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.68 ₩74,384	$17.03 LKR5,232.27	-66.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.74 ₩106,755	$62.69 LKR19,264.32	-13.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.23 ₩151,509	$35.07 LKR10,776.88	-66.0%
Average			-52.1%

South Korea 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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