Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Badulla and Hong Kong

For one person, living is cheaper in Badulla: $547 a month against $3,050 in Hong Kong, rent and utilities included – about $30,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

26

Cost of Living Index in Badulla
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Badulla Living Index
147

Cost of Living Index in Hong Kong
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Hong Kong Living Index

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Badulla

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$547

/mo nomad

Hong Kong

🇭🇰 Hong Kong (China)

$3,050

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Badulla and in Hong Kong

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $547 in Badulla versus $3,050 in Hong Kong.

Badulla $547
Hong Kong $3,050

Estimated couple costs with rent: $883 in Badulla versus $4,786 in Hong Kong.

Badulla $883
Hong Kong $4,786

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,219 in Badulla versus $6,522 in Hong Kong.

Badulla $1,219
Hong Kong $6,522

Living in Badulla costs roughly 82% less than in Hong Kong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Badulla is 60% below, Hong Kong is 126% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.84 LKR 1,275

$8.37 HK$65.6

-54.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.93 LKR 8,288

$63.4 HK$497

-60.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 LKR 2,506

$6.53 HK$51.2

15.47%

Cappuccino

$2.47 LKR 823

$5.15 HK$40.33

-52.04%

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

$0.68 LKR 227

$1.38 HK$10.80

-50.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 90.5

$1.13 HK$8.86

-76.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 LKR 752

$7.73 HK$60.6

-70.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 LKR 1,005

$5.56 HK$43.62

-45.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 LKR 539

$2.94 HK$23.01

-44.90%

White Bread (500g)

$0.57 LKR 190

$2.41 HK$18.91

-76.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.61 LKR 203

$2.22 HK$17.42

-72.52%

Eggs

$1.65 LKR 548

$3.41 HK$26.73

-51.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.15 LKR 5,036

$23.18 HK$182

-34.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.70 LKR 1,230

$8.67 HK$68.0

-57.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.60 LKR 2,528

$17.90 HK$140

-57.54%

Apples (1kg)

$6.61 LKR 2,198

$4.21 HK$33.02

57.01%

Banana (1kg)

$0.89 LKR 296

$2.58 HK$20.19

-65.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.27 LKR 1,420

$4.68 HK$36.68

-8.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.26 LKR 420

$4.00 HK$31.33

-68.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.09 LKR 362

$3.19 HK$24.98

-65.83%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 LKR 261

$3.27 HK$25.60

-75.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 LKR 405

$1.57 HK$12.29

-22.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.46 LKR 152

$1.71 HK$13.44

-73.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.15 LKR 3,374

$13.33 HK$105

-23.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.31 LKR 4,426

$15.56 HK$122

-14.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 LKR 634

$2.02 HK$15.87

-5.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 LKR 947

$2.28 HK$17.83

25.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.23 HK$9.67

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.6 HK$686

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.41 LKR 136

$3.76 HK$29.46

-89.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.33 LKR 111

$1.30 HK$10.19

-74.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 LKR 288

$15.93 HK$125

-94.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 LKR 454

$4.27 HK$33.48

-67.92%

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

$42.8K LKR 14.2M

$45.0K HK$352.7K

-4.86%

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

$46.1K LKR 15.3M

$37.6K HK$294.8K

22.59%

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

$56.2 LKR 18.7K

$237 HK$1,859

-76.29%

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

$4.32 LKR 1,437

$15.46 HK$121

-72.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.66 LKR 6,870

$22.46 HK$176

-8.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$97.4 HK$764

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.02 HK$70.7

Cinema Ticket

$4.39 LKR 1,460

$12.98 HK$102

-66.18%

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

$40.51 LKR 13.5K

$1,302 HK$10.2K

-96.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.5K LKR 5.8M

$30.3K HK$237.2K

-42.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.24 LKR 6,066

$68.0 HK$533

-73.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.37 LKR 5,777

$42.80 HK$335

-59.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.6 LKR 25.8K

$81.3 HK$637

-4.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.18 LKR 13.7K

$121 HK$949

-65.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$76.3 LKR 25.4K

$2,385 HK$18.7K

-96.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$44.38 LKR 14.8K

$1,794 HK$14.1K

-97.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,695 HK$44.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$89.8 LKR 29.9K

$3,786 HK$29.7K

-97.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,570 LKR 1.5M

$28.8K HK$226.0K

-84.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$747 LKR 248.3K

$18.9K HK$147.9K

-96.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$222 LKR 73.6K

$3,194 HK$25.0K

-93.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.5

3.89

221.34%

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

Last update for Badulla: November 1, 2026

Last update for Hong Kong: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Badulla

$237 43.3%

Hong Kong

$407 13.3% 71.9% $170

Eating Out

Badulla

$104 19.1%

Hong Kong

$208 6.8% 99.8% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Badulla

$81 14.9%

Hong Kong

$275 9% 239% $194

Clothing & Footwear

Badulla

$69 12.7%

Hong Kong

$141 4.6% 103% $71

Accommodation & Living

Badulla

$44 8.1%

Hong Kong

$1.8K 58.8% 3942% $1.7K

Sport & Entertainment

Badulla

$8.8 * 1.6%

Hong Kong

$123 4% 1305% $115

Getting Around

Badulla

$2.1 * 0.4%

Hong Kong

$103 3.4% 4841% $101

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $76 in Badulla and $2,385 in Hong Kong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hong Kong pays about 14 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $25 in Badulla vs $63 in Hong Kong for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $407 per month, with Badulla cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Badulla

🇭🇰 Hong Kong

🕒 Local time

06:11 6:11 AM

08:41 8:41 AM

2 h 30 min ahead of Badulla

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

110,000

1,367,900 Capital

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Hong Kong Dollar HKD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR

1 HKD = 0.128 USD

1 HKD = 0.114 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

HKD, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 373 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR).

Hong Kong Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 7.84 HKD (1 HKD = 0.128 USD). 1 EUR = 8.8 HKD (1 HKD = 0.114 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Badulla Hong Kong 3,930 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Badulla
Hong Kong

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

Badulla vs Hong Kong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Badulla is about 82% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 93% lower in Badulla. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $76 in Badulla versus $2,385 in Hong Kong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $41 in Badulla versus $1,302 in Hong Kong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Badulla – a meal for two runs $25 versus $63 in Hong Kong. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $547 in Badulla versus $3,050 in Hong Kong, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Badulla but tight or insufficient in Hong Kong. The gap between the two cities makes Badulla the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Badulla and Hong Kong are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.

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