Cost of living comparison

Sri Lanka

compared to

Iran

Iran vs. Sri Lanka Cost of Living Summary

Iran is 7.7% cheaper than Sri Lanka overall.

Restaurants: pay 17.0% more in Iran
Groceries: pay 47.4% less in Iran
Transportation: pay 13.1% less in Iran
Housing: pay 5.8% more in Iran
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in Iran
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.5% less in Iran
Clothing: pay 63.2% more in Iran

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

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Iran vs. Sri Lanka Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iran instead of Sri Lanka, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 17.0% more for restaurants

	Sri Lanka	Iran
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.19 LKR726.11	$3.73 IRR5M	+70.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.20 LKR2,052.12	$3.95 IRR5M	-36.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 LKR270.87	$0.53 IRR728K	-35.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 LKR101.62	$1.01 IRR1M	+229.4%
Average			+17.0%

Sri Lanka vs. Iran - Cost of restaurants

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pay 47.4% less for groceries

	Sri Lanka	Iran
Bread 1 loaf	$0.50 LKR164.88	$0.45 IRR617K	-9.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.10 LKR1,689.36	$1.73 IRR2M	-66.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.00 LKR1,656.35	$2.48 IRR3M	-50.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.59 LKR525.48	$1.16 IRR2M	-27.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.92 LKR637.54	$1.29 IRR2M	-32.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.39 LKR790.19	$0.42 IRR580K	-82.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.33 LKR110.92	$0.68 IRR934K	+102.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 LKR546.03	$0.39 IRR530K	-76.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 LKR195.36	$0.26 IRR357K	-56.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.45 LKR150.14	$0.23 IRR314K	-49.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.34 LKR113.13	$0.21 IRR291K	-38.0%
Average			-47.4%

Sri Lanka vs. Iran - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.1% less for transportation

	Sri Lanka	Iran
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.79 LKR1,585.93	$1.09 IRR1M	-77.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.92 LKR1,628.00	$9.74 IRR13M	+98.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,619.96 LKR10M	$59,259.42 IRR81B	+100.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.96 LKR979.01	$2.98 IRR4M	+0.7%
Average			-13.1%

Sri Lanka vs. Iran - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.8% more for housing

	Sri Lanka	Iran
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.30 LKR5,399.45	$10.43 IRR14M	-36.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$251.30 LKR83,230.31	$307.16 IRR422M	+22.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$143.93 LKR47,668.88	$226.04 IRR311M	+57.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$35.77 LKR11,847.20	$10.64 IRR15M	-70.3%
Average			+5.8%

Sri Lanka vs. Iran - Cost of housing

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Sri Lanka	Iran
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$28.08 LKR9,301.28	$78.80 IRR108M	+180.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$711.79 LKR236K	$1,441.79 IRR2B	+102.6%
Average			+138.4%

Sri Lanka vs. Iran - Cost of childcare

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pay 42.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Sri Lanka	Iran
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.16 LKR714.17	$0.82 IRR1M	-62.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.16 LKR713.82	$1.17 IRR2M	-45.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.91 LKR3,283.39	$2.02 IRR3M	-79.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$9.67 LKR3,202.38	$17.00 IRR23M	+75.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.64 LKR1,206.25	$1.52 IRR2M	-58.4%
Average			-42.5%

Sri Lanka vs. Iran - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 63.2% more for clothing

	Sri Lanka	Iran
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$21.76 LKR7,207.45	$25.86 IRR36M	+18.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$13.15 LKR4,354.50	$28.80 IRR40M	+119.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.61 LKR23,716.18	$102.33 IRR141M	+42.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$33.60 LKR11,128.93	$64.05 IRR88M	+90.6%
Average			+63.2%

Sri Lanka vs. Iran - 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

Compare further: Sri Lanka vs. Iran

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Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

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Size Comparison · See true size

Sri Lanka is about 25 times smaller than Iran.

Moving from Sri Lanka to Iran · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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