Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bansko and Gampaha

For one person, living is cheaper in Gampaha: $450 a month against $956 in Bansko, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Bansko
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Bansko Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Gampaha
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Gampaha Living Index

Jump to prices

Bansko

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

$956

/mo nomad

Gampaha

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$450

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bansko and in Gampaha

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

A single person spends $956 per month in Bansko vs $450 in Gampaha, rent included.

Bansko $956
Gampaha $450

A couple spends around $1,467 per month in Bansko vs $765 in Gampaha, rent included.

Bansko $1,467
Gampaha $765

A family of three spends $1,979 per month in Bansko vs $1,079 in Gampaha, rent included.

Bansko $1,979
Gampaha $1,079

Bansko costs about 113% more than Gampaha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Bansko and Gampaha are more affordable than the global median – Bansko 29% lower, Gampaha 67% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.66 BGN 15.06

$1.81 LKR 600

378.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.94 BGN 78.2

$18.00 LKR 5,961

149.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.78 BGN 15.28

$5.20 LKR 1,723

68.85%

Cappuccino

$2.33 BGN 4.05

$1.25 LKR 414

86.40%

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

$1.57 BGN 2.74

$0.54 LKR 178

190.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 BGN 1.43

$0.27 LKR 89.7

203.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.68 BGN 2.92

$2.13 LKR 705

-21.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 BGN 3.45

$3.04 LKR 1,007

-34.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 BGN 3.00

$1.62 LKR 538

6.79%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 BGN 1.40

$0.43 LKR 144

86.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.44 BGN 2.51

$0.73 LKR 241

97.26%

Eggs

$2.36 BGN 4.10

$1.72 LKR 569

37.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.39 BGN 16.34

$13.52 LKR 4,480

-30.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.41 BGN 11.15

$3.96 LKR 1,312

61.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.48 BGN 14.76

$7.23 LKR 2,394

17.29%

Apples (1kg)

$1.31 BGN 2.28

$5.92 LKR 1,961

-77.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 BGN 2.82

$0.81 LKR 269

100.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 BGN 3.01

$4.41 LKR 1,461

-60.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.94 BGN 3.38

$1.27 LKR 420

52.76%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 BGN 1.63

$0.96 LKR 318

-2.08%

Onion (1kg)

$0.76 BGN 1.32

$0.78 LKR 257

-2.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.55 BGN 0.95

$0.29 LKR 95.7

89.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 BGN 1.02

$0.32 LKR 104

84.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.25 BGN 5.66

$9.94 LKR 3,294

-67.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.20 BGN 9.05

$12.77 LKR 4,231

-59.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 BGN 1.89

$1.38 LKR 457

-21.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 BGN 2.92

$2.37 LKR 784

-29.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.84 BGN 1.45

$0.31 LKR 103

170.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.06 BGN 47.09

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.34 BGN 2.34

$0.29 LKR 95.8

362.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.65 BGN 1.14

$0.36 LKR 120

80.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.06 BGN 17.51

$0.90 LKR 297

1017.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 BGN 2.57

$1.18 LKR 390

25.42%

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

$29.1K BGN 50.7K

$29.9K LKR 9.9M

-2.47%

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

$20.9K BGN 36.4K

$40.2K LKR 13.3M

-47.94%

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

$92.4 BGN 161

$27.63 LKR 9,153

234.53%

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

$14.52 BGN 25.26

$2.98 LKR 985

387.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.32 BGN 21.43

$10.84 LKR 3,591

13.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.70 BGN 55.2

$7.56 LKR 2,504

319.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.53 BGN 14.84

Cinema Ticket

$5.62 BGN 9.78

$4.44 LKR 1,472

26.58%

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

$230 BGN 401

$15.07 LKR 4,991

1428.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,268 BGN 3,947

$122 LKR 40.4K

1762.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$30.10 BGN 52.4

$17.88 LKR 5,924

68.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$19.62 BGN 34.13

$8.90 LKR 2,948

120.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$45.86 BGN 79.8

$61.4 LKR 20.3K

-25.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$47.69 BGN 83.0

$24.29 LKR 8,044

96.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$518 BGN 902

$89.4 LKR 29.6K

479.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$357 BGN 621

$55.5 LKR 18.4K

543.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$614 BGN 1,069

$301 LKR 99.8K

103.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$569 BGN 990

$167 LKR 55.4K

240.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,191 BGN 2,073

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$959 BGN 1,669

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,704 BGN 2,965

$225 LKR 74.4K

658.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.99

-70.10%

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

Last update for Bansko: October 11, 2026

Last update for Gampaha: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bansko

$357 37.3%

Gampaha

$55 12.3% 84.5% $301

Groceries & Markets

Bansko

$192 20.1%

Gampaha

$217 48.4% 13.4% $26

Eating Out

Bansko

$145 15.2%

Gampaha

$65 14.5% 55.3% $80

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bansko

$119 12.5%

Gampaha

$41 9.2% 65.2% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Bansko

$64 6.7%

Gampaha

$51 11.3% 21.5% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Bansko

$43 4.5%

Gampaha

$16 3.7% 61.7% $27

Getting Around

Bansko

$35 3.7%

Gampaha

$3.3 * 0.7% 90.5% $32

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $518 in Bansko versus $89.4 in Gampaha. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 658% higher in Bansko, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Bansko versus $18.00 in Gampaha. Groceries tell a different story – $192 in Bansko vs $217 in Gampaha – so Bansko wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇧🇬 Bansko

🇱🇰 Gampaha

🕒 Local time

16:58 4:58 PM

19:28 7:28 PM

2 h 30 min ahead of Bansko

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,000

20,000

💱 Currency

Bulgarian Lev BGN лв.

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 BGN = 0.575 USD

1 BGN = 0.511 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to BGN – Bulgarian Lev Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇬 Bulgarian Lev (лв.)

Bulgarian Lev exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BGN (1 BGN = 0.575 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BGN (1 BGN = 0.511 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to BGN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bansko Gampaha 6,740 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Bansko
Gampaha

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

Bansko vs Gampaha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $956 in Bansko, $450 in Gampaha – roughly 113% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,434 per month in Bansko and $675 in Gampaha. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Gampaha, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $956 in Bansko and $450 in Gampaha. That's a gap of about 113%.

Kindergarten costs $230 per month in Bansko and $15.07 in Gampaha. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Gampaha, where all-in costs run around $450, than in Bansko at $956. In Gampaha it covers expenses comfortably, while in Bansko it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Bansko has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $450 in Gampaha to $956 in Bansko. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Gampaha. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Bansko makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.