Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alexandria, Romania and Colombo

For one person, living is cheaper in Colombo: $804 a month against $866 in Alexandria, rent and utilities included – about $740 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Alexandria
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Alexandria Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Colombo
Learn more

Colombo Living Index

Jump to prices

Alexandria

🇷🇴 Romania

$866

/mo nomad

Colombo

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$804

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Alexandria and in Colombo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Alexandria and in Colombo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $866 in Alexandria versus $804 in Colombo.

Alexandria $866
Colombo $804

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,322 in Alexandria versus $1,240 in Colombo.

Alexandria $1,322
Colombo $1,240

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,778 in Alexandria versus $1,675 in Colombo.

Alexandria $1,778
Colombo $1,675

Living in Alexandria is roughly 8% more expensive than in Colombo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Alexandria 36% lower, Colombo 41% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.43 RON 40.29

$3.74 LKR 1,243

125.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.79 RON 142

$24.72 LKR 8,219

20.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 RON 35.93

$7.60 LKR 2,529

-1.05%

Cappuccino

$1.69 RON 8.09

$2.45 LKR 814

-31.02%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 RON 8.38

$0.68 LKR 227

157.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.43 RON 6.85

$0.27 LKR 89.9

429.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.07 RON 9.89

$2.22 LKR 739

-6.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 RON 11.80

$3.07 LKR 1,020

-19.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 RON 6.84

$1.57 LKR 521

-8.92%

White Bread (500g)

$0.87 RON 4.16

$0.54 LKR 178

61.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.13 RON 5.41

$0.80 LKR 266

41.25%

Eggs

$2.11 RON 10.08

$1.71 LKR 568

23.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.07 RON 24.24

$13.92 LKR 4,628

-63.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 RON 21.05

$4.78 LKR 1,591

-7.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.92 RON 37.87

$7.46 LKR 2,481

6.17%

Apples (1kg)

$0.91 RON 4.33

$6.40 LKR 2,127

-85.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 RON 5.64

$0.85 LKR 284

38.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.97 RON 4.64

$4.26 LKR 1,416

-77.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.92 RON 4.38

$1.33 LKR 443

-30.83%

Potato (1kg)

$0.65 RON 3.09

$1.00 LKR 334

-35.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.62 RON 2.94

$0.81 LKR 270

-23.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 RON 3.59

$0.93 LKR 308

-19.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 RON 3.95

$0.45 LKR 151

84.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.29 RON 25.27

$10.33 LKR 3,436

-48.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.21 RON 24.89

$12.87 LKR 4,280

-59.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 RON 4.56

$1.93 LKR 642

-50.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.07 RON 5.10

$3.00 LKR 999

-64.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.65 RON 3.12

$0.18 LKR 59.4

261.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.63 RON 199

$5.96 LKR 1,983

598.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.43 RON 2.06

$0.40 LKR 134

7.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 RON 1.91

$0.35 LKR 116

14.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.33 RON 25.45

$0.94 LKR 312

467.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.76 RON 8.42

$1.32 LKR 438

33.33%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$16.5K RON 78.9K

$43.4K LKR 14.4M

-61.99%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$22.4K RON 107.1K

$39.7K LKR 13.2M

-43.55%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$116 RON 553

$58.9 LKR 19.6K

96.81%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$5.26 RON 25.15

$4.20 LKR 1,397

25.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.55 RON 36.07

$20.61 LKR 6,855

-63.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.9 RON 277

$19.88 LKR 6,613

191.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.58 RON 117

$5.81 LKR 1,933

323.06%

Cinema Ticket

$6.09 RON 29.12

$4.42 LKR 1,469

37.78%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$318 RON 1,519

$38.13 LKR 12.7K

733.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,749 RON 32.2K

$1,214 LKR 403.6K

456.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.0 RON 248

$17.77 LKR 5,909

192.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.29 RON 106

$16.62 LKR 5,527

34.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$62.0 RON 296

$77.8 LKR 25.9K

-20.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$63.6 RON 304

$42.22 LKR 14.0K

50.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$309 RON 1,475

$586 LKR 194.8K

-47.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$242 RON 1,155

$275 LKR 91.5K

-12.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$573 RON 2,739

$1,677 LKR 557.7K

-65.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$411 RON 1,966

$490 LKR 163.0K

-16.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,269 RON 6,064

$3,636 LKR 1.2M

-65.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$793 RON 3,792

$1,158 LKR 385.1K

-31.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$846 RON 4,043

$259 LKR 86.0K

227.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.73

12.69

-46.97%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Alexandria: October 26, 2026

Last update for Colombo: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Alexandria

$242 27.9%

Colombo

$275 34.2% 13.8% $33

Groceries & Markets

Alexandria

$151 17.4%

Colombo

$235 29.2% 56.2% $85

Eating Out

Alexandria

$138 16%

Colombo

$103 12.8% 25.4% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alexandria

$129 14.9%

Colombo

$84 10.4% 35% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Alexandria

$90 10.4%

Colombo

$69 8.6% 22.7% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Alexandria

$70 8.1%

Colombo

$29 3.6% 59% $41

Getting Around

Alexandria

$47 5.4%

Colombo

$8.8 1.1% 81.1% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $309 in Alexandria and $586 in Colombo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Alexandria pays about 3.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $30 in Alexandria vs $25 in Colombo. Groceries flip the comparison at $151 vs $235, with Alexandria cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Alexandria

🇱🇰 Colombo

🕒 Local time

18:04 6:04 PM

21:34 9:34 PM

3 h 30 min ahead of Alexandria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,434

753,000

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 371 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Alexandria Colombo 6,680 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Alexandria
Colombo

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Alexandria vs Colombo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Colombo wins on cost – living expenses run 7% lower than in Alexandria. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Colombo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Alexandria is about 3.3 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $309 in Alexandria versus $586 in Colombo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $866 per month in Alexandria versus $804 in Colombo – Colombo is about 7% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Colombo runs roughly 86% less than in Alexandria. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Colombo is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Colombo wins on affordability, Alexandria on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.