Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Colombo and Boracay

For one person, living is cheaper in Colombo: $804 a month against $915 in Boracay, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Colombo
Learn more

Colombo Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Boracay
Learn more

Boracay Living Index

Jump to prices

Colombo

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$804

/mo nomad

Boracay

🇵🇭 Philippines

$915

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Colombo and in Boracay

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $804 in Colombo versus $915 in Boracay.

Colombo $804
Boracay $915

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,240 in Colombo versus $1,349 in Boracay.

Colombo $1,240
Boracay $1,349

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,675 in Colombo versus $1,783 in Boracay.

Colombo $1,675
Boracay $1,783

Living in Colombo costs roughly 12% less than in Boracay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Colombo 41% lower, Boracay 33% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.74 LKR 1,243

$5.31 ₱339

-29.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.72 LKR 8,217

$18.68 ₱1,193

32.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.60 LKR 2,528

$5.97 ₱381

27.30%

Cappuccino

$2.45 LKR 814

$2.32 ₱148

5.60%

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

$0.68 LKR 226

$0.69 ₱44.12

-1.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 89.8

$0.22 ₱14.01

22.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.22 LKR 739

$1.19 ₱76.1

86.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 LKR 1,020

$2.01 ₱129

52.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 LKR 520

$2.93 ₱187

-46.42%

White Bread (500g)

$0.54 LKR 178

$1.27 ₱81.4

-57.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.80 LKR 266

$0.90 ₱57.4

-11.11%

Eggs

$1.71 LKR 568

$1.89 ₱121

-9.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.92 LKR 4,626

$5.04 ₱322

176.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.78 LKR 1,590

$3.89 ₱248

22.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.46 LKR 2,480

$6.49 ₱414

14.95%

Apples (1kg)

$6.40 LKR 2,126

$2.29 ₱146

179.48%

Banana (1kg)

$0.85 LKR 283

$1.50 ₱96.0

-43.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.26 LKR 1,416

$2.03 ₱130

109.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.33 LKR 443

$1.29 ₱82.2

3.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.00 LKR 334

$2.19 ₱140

-54.34%

Onion (1kg)

$0.81 LKR 270

$2.14 ₱137

-62.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 LKR 308

$0.92 ₱58.6

1.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 LKR 151

$0.59 ₱37.42

-23.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.33 LKR 3,435

$2.29 ₱147

351.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.87 LKR 4,279

$7.61 ₱486

69.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 LKR 642

$0.90 ₱57.2

114.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 LKR 999

$1.97 ₱126

52.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.18 LKR 59.3

$0.22 ₱14.04

-18.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.96 LKR 1,982

$10.67 ₱682

-44.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 LKR 134

$0.66 ₱42.39

-39.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 LKR 116

$0.24 ₱15.22

45.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.94 LKR 312

$1.76 ₱113

-46.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 LKR 438

$1.10 ₱70.3

20.00%

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

$43.4K LKR 14.4M

$22.9K ₱1.5M

89.60%

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

$39.7K LKR 13.2M

$20.3K ₱1.3M

95.67%

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

$58.9 LKR 19.6K

$109 ₱6,934

-45.78%

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

$4.20 LKR 1,397

$15.54 ₱993

-72.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.61 LKR 6,853

$33.36 ₱2,131

-38.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.88 LKR 6,611

$33.49 ₱2,140

-40.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.81 LKR 1,932

$4.90 ₱313

18.57%

Cinema Ticket

$4.42 LKR 1,469

$5.21 ₱333

-15.16%

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

$38.13 LKR 12.7K

$141 ₱8,983

-72.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,214 LKR 403.5K

$7,871 ₱502.9K

-84.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.77 LKR 5,907

$27.63 ₱1,766

-35.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.62 LKR 5,525

$18.45 ₱1,179

-9.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.8 LKR 25.9K

$67.3 ₱4,298

15.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.22 LKR 14.0K

$51.7 ₱3,304

-18.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$586 LKR 194.7K

$248 ₱15.8K

136.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$275 LKR 91.4K

$337 ₱21.5K

-18.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,677 LKR 557.5K

$489 ₱31.2K

242.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$490 LKR 163.0K

$589 ₱37.6K

-16.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,636 LKR 1.2M

$2,586 ₱165.2K

40.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,158 LKR 385.0K

$1,129 ₱72.1K

2.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$259 LKR 86.0K

$230 ₱14.7K

12.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

6.92

83.38%

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

Last update for Colombo: October 25, 2026

Last update for Boracay: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Colombo

$275 34.2%

Boracay

$337 36.8% 22.5% $62

Groceries & Markets

Colombo

$235 29.2%

Boracay

$187 20.5% 20.3% $48

Eating Out

Colombo

$103 12.8%

Boracay

$102 11.1% 1.3% $1.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Colombo

$84 10.4%

Boracay

$157 17.2% 88.2% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Colombo

$69 8.6%

Boracay

$74 8.1% 6.9% $4.8

Sport & Entertainment

Colombo

$29 3.6%

Boracay

$44 4.8% 52.9% $15

Getting Around

Colombo

$8.8 1.1%

Boracay

$13 1.5% 51.8% $4.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $586 in Colombo and $248 in Boracay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Colombo pays 12% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $25 in Colombo vs $19 in Boracay for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $187 per month, with Boracay cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Colombo

🇵🇭 Boracay

🕒 Local time

01:28 1:28 AM

03:58 3:58 AM

2 h 30 min ahead of Colombo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

753,000

12,296

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

100 PHP = 1.57 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 63.89 PHP (100 PHP = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 71.13 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Colombo Boracay 4,640 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Colombo
Boracay

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

Colombo vs Boracay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $804 in Colombo and $915 in Boracay, so Colombo is about 12% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 12% higher in Colombo, 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: $586 in Colombo versus $248 in Boracay. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Boracay pay roughly 20% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Boracay – a meal for two runs $19 versus $25 in Colombo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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.