Cost of living comparison
compared to
India vs. Sri Lanka Cost of Living Summary
India is 3.7% cheaper than Sri Lanka overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 47.1% less in India
- Groceries
-
pay 51.2% less in India
- Transportation
-
pay 13.2% less in India
- Housing
-
pay 40.7% less in India
- Childcare
-
pay 2.5 times more in India
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 20.6% less in India
- Clothing
-
pay 4.7% less in India
Expenses including groceries, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, and clothing are lower in India. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in India.
India vs. Sri Lanka Cost Breakdown
If you lived in India instead of Sri Lanka, you would:
pay 47.1% less for restaurants
|
Sri Lanka
|
India
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.63
LKR1,116.85
|
$2.31
₹206.21
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$7.90
LKR2,426.61
|
$3.75
₹335.49
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.73
LKR224.32
|
$0.39
₹35.17
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.35
LKR106.15
|
$0.16
₹14.36
|
|
Sri Lanka vs. India - Cost of restaurants
pay 51.2% less for groceries
|
Sri Lanka
|
India
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.48
LKR147.07
|
$0.46
₹40.99
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.72
LKR1,758.02
|
$2.49
₹222.53
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.01
LKR1,847.59
|
$2.50
₹223.40
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.94
LKR597.37
|
$0.92
₹82.29
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.05
LKR629.94
|
$1.32
₹117.54
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.40
LKR736.93
|
$0.88
₹78.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.44
LKR136.48
|
$0.32
₹28.22
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.17
LKR665.91
|
$0.46
₹40.66
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.55
LKR168.43
|
$0.22
₹19.70
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.45
LKR139.78
|
$0.17
₹14.91
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.51
LKR155.98
|
$0.19
₹17.39
|
|
Sri Lanka vs. India - Cost of groceries
pay 13.2% less for transportation
|
Sri Lanka
|
India
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.12
LKR1,264.88
|
$4.38
₹391.36
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$10.74
LKR3,299.78
|
$9.48
₹847.15
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,680.98
LKR7,584,425.30
|
$13,332.05
₹1,191,189.91
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$3.00
LKR921.91
|
$2.95
₹263.95
|
|
Sri Lanka vs. India - Cost of transportation
pay 40.7% less for housing
|
Sri Lanka
|
India
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$12.84
LKR3,944.37
|
$7.18
₹641.55
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$289.17
LKR88,862.02
|
$129.45
₹11,566.12
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$178.38
LKR54,816.88
|
$85.74
₹7,660.63
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$31.64
LKR9,722.89
|
$27.98
₹2,500.20
|
|
Sri Lanka vs. India - Cost of housing
pay 2.5 times more for childcare
|
Sri Lanka
|
India
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$33.87
LKR10,407.01
|
$54.51
₹4,870.23
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$466.09
LKR143,227.52
|
$1,593.07
₹142,337.57
|
|
Sri Lanka vs. India - Cost of childcare
pay 20.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Sri Lanka
|
India
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.08
LKR639.65
|
$1.84
₹164.03
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.39
LKR735.74
|
$1.58
₹141.02
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.25
LKR2,842.89
|
$3.49
₹311.70
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$15.04
LKR4,620.30
|
$15.59
₹1,392.59
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.12
LKR959.48
|
$3.17
₹283.17
|
|
Sri Lanka vs. India - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.7% less for clothing
|
Sri Lanka
|
India
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$25.05
LKR7,697.80
|
$22.98
₹2,053.12
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$17.03
LKR5,232.27
|
$23.83
₹2,129.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$62.69
LKR19,264.32
|
$40.59
₹3,626.97
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$35.07
LKR10,776.88
|
$29.72
₹2,655.10
|
|
Sri Lanka vs. India - Cost of clothing
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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