Cost of living comparison

Bhutan

compared to

Sri Lanka

Colombo vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 78.7% more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 48.9% more in Colombo
Groceries: pay 43.7% more in Colombo
Transportation: pay 49.0% more in Colombo
Housing: pay 3.1 times more in Colombo
Childcare: pay 33.6% more in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.4% less in Colombo
Clothing: pay 4.0% less in Colombo

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

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Colombo vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 48.9% more for restaurants

	Thimphu	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.58 BTN245.70	$3.82 LKR1,265.61	+47.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 BTN466.83	$7.56 LKR2,502.59	+53.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 BTN47.50	$0.70 LKR232.56	+40.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.18 BTN17.20	$0.26 LKR87.00	+45.2%
Average			+48.9%

Thimphu vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 43.7% more for groceries

	Thimphu	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 BTN101.96	$0.55 LKR181.98	-48.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.88 BTN178.54	$6.89 LKR2,281.50	+266.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.03 BTN288.32	$6.03 LKR1,996.25	+98.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.88 BTN178.87	$1.64 LKR541.78	-13.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.79 BTN170.51	$2.21 LKR731.08	+23.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 BTN109.22	$3.06 LKR1,014.37	+166.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 BTN65.75	$0.37 LKR122.81	-46.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 BTN69.10	$2.03 LKR672.87	+179.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 BTN31.76	$0.57 LKR187.42	+69.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN24.52	$0.46 LKR150.85	+76.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.31 BTN29.53	$0.35 LKR116.82	+13.5%
Average			+43.7%

Thimphu vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

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pay 49.0% more for transportation

	Thimphu	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.79 BTN264.82	$5.14 LKR1,701.24	+84.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$5.17 BTN491.40	$7.19 LKR2,381.42	+39.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,591.53 BTN2M	$37,024.95 LKR12M	+123.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.18 BTN1,253.06	$3.29 LKR1,091.13	-75.0%
Average			+49.0%

Thimphu vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.1 times more for housing

	Thimphu	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.17 BTN2,297.69	$20.78 LKR6,883.48	-14.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$127.00 BTN12,071.65	$589.61 LKR195K	+364.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$86.02 BTN8,176.19	$270.44 LKR89,571.04	+214.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$25.81 BTN2,452.87	$41.14 LKR13,624.66	+59.4%
Average			+211.0%

Thimphu vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

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pay 33.6% more for childcare

	Thimphu	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$44.98 BTN4,275.09	$37.78 LKR12,512.93	-16.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$568.68 BTN54,053.67	$1,208.98 LKR400K	+112.6%
Average			+33.6%

Thimphu vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 BTN245.70	$2.21 LKR730.76	-14.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.28 BTN121.21	$2.51 LKR832.69	+97.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.88 BTN368.55	$10.28 LKR3,403.52	+165.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.53 BTN4,422.57	$13.99 LKR4,634.42	-69.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.10 BTN294.84	$4.53 LKR1,501.55	+46.2%
Average			-0.4%

Thimphu vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.0% less for clothing

	Thimphu	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.97 BTN4,750.10	$18.13 LKR6,006.21	-63.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.99 BTN2,375.05	$16.62 LKR5,505.69	-33.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 BTN6,388.16	$79.09 LKR26,193.74	+17.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$13.96 BTN1,326.77	$41.76 LKR13,832.48	+199.2%
Average			-4.0%

Thimphu 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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