Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Colombo and Lugoj

For one person, living is cheaper in Lugoj: $763 a month against $804 in Colombo, rent and utilities included – about $490 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Colombo outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

39

Cost of Living Index in Colombo
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Colombo Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Lugoj
Learn more

Lugoj Living Index

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Colombo

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$804

/mo nomad

Lugoj

🇷🇴 Romania

$763

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Colombo and in Lugoj

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 Lugoj actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $804 in Colombo versus $763 in Lugoj.

Colombo $804
Lugoj $763

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,240 in Colombo versus $1,197 in Lugoj.

Colombo $1,240
Lugoj $1,197

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,675 in Colombo versus $1,631 in Lugoj.

Colombo $1,675
Lugoj $1,631

Living in Colombo is roughly 5% more expensive than in Lugoj, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Colombo 41% lower, Lugoj 44% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.74 LKR 1,243

$9.17 RON 43.89

-59.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.72 LKR 8,219

$33.79 RON 162

-26.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.60 LKR 2,529

$5.11 RON 24.43

48.73%

Cappuccino

$2.45 LKR 814

$1.81 RON 8.68

35.36%

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

$0.68 LKR 227

$1.61 RON 7.69

-57.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 89.9

$1.43 RON 6.84

-81.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.22 LKR 739

$2.08 RON 9.94

6.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 LKR 1,020

$2.04 RON 9.74

50.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 LKR 521

$1.57 RON 7.50

White Bread (500g)

$0.54 LKR 178

$0.90 RON 4.29

-40.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.80 LKR 266

$0.65 RON 3.12

23.08%

Eggs

$1.71 LKR 568

$1.26 RON 6.05

35.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.92 LKR 4,628

$3.40 RON 16.26

309.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.78 LKR 1,591

$3.92 RON 18.76

21.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.46 LKR 2,481

$4.14 RON 19.79

80.19%

Apples (1kg)

$6.40 LKR 2,127

$1.06 RON 5.09

503.77%

Banana (1kg)

$0.85 LKR 284

$1.21 RON 5.80

-29.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.26 LKR 1,416

$1.64 RON 7.83

159.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.33 LKR 443

$0.66 RON 3.16

101.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.00 LKR 334

$0.61 RON 2.93

63.93%

Onion (1kg)

$0.81 LKR 270

$0.65 RON 3.10

24.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 LKR 308

$0.96 RON 4.60

-3.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 LKR 151

$0.66 RON 3.15

-31.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.33 LKR 3,436

$4.71 RON 22.55

119.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.87 LKR 4,280

$4.19 RON 20.05

207.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 LKR 642

$1.21 RON 5.77

59.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 LKR 999

$1.71 RON 8.20

75.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.18 LKR 59.4

$0.66 RON 3.16

-72.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.96 LKR 1,983

$21.21 RON 101

-71.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 LKR 134

$0.82 RON 3.94

-51.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 LKR 116

$0.96 RON 4.58

-63.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.94 LKR 312

$8.45 RON 40.42

-88.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 LKR 438

$1.86 RON 8.91

-29.03%

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

$43.4K LKR 14.4M

$29.0K RON 138.7K

49.70%

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

$39.7K LKR 13.2M

$24.4K RON 116.6K

62.83%

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

$58.9 LKR 19.6K

$51.5 RON 246

14.32%

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

$4.20 LKR 1,397

$8.42 RON 40.28

-50.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.61 LKR 6,855

$9.44 RON 45.15

118.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.88 LKR 6,613

$21.31 RON 102

-6.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.81 LKR 1,933

$25.56 RON 122

-77.27%

Cinema Ticket

$4.42 LKR 1,469

$9.54 RON 45.63

-53.67%

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

$38.13 LKR 12.7K

$576 RON 2,755

-93.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,214 LKR 403.6K

$9,610 RON 46.0K

-87.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.77 LKR 5,909

$88.8 RON 425

-80.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.62 LKR 5,527

$44.91 RON 215

-62.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.8 LKR 25.9K

$97.0 RON 464

-19.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.22 LKR 14.0K

$103 RON 492

-58.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$586 LKR 194.8K

$181 RON 867

223.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$275 LKR 91.5K

$206 RON 988

33.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,677 LKR 557.7K

$316 RON 1,512

430.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$490 LKR 163.0K

$310 RON 1,484

58.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,636 LKR 1.2M

$1,296 RON 6,203

180.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,158 LKR 385.1K

$1,028 RON 4,918

12.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$259 LKR 86.0K

$916 RON 4,382

-71.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

6.65

90.83%

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

Last update for Colombo: October 25, 2026

Last update for Lugoj: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Colombo

$275 34.2%

Lugoj

$206 27.1% 24.9% $69

Groceries & Markets

Colombo

$235 29.2%

Lugoj

$130 17% 44.8% $105

Eating Out

Colombo

$103 12.8%

Lugoj

$137 18% 32.9% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Colombo

$84 10.4%

Lugoj

$69 9.1% 17.1% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Colombo

$69 8.6%

Lugoj

$150 19.7% 116% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Colombo

$29 3.6%

Lugoj

$40 5.3% 40.6% $12

Getting Around

Colombo

$8.8 1.1%

Lugoj

$29 3.9% 234% $21

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $586 in Colombo and $181 in Lugoj. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lugoj pays about 3.5 times 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 $34 in Lugoj. Groceries flip the comparison at $235 vs $130, with Lugoj cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Colombo

🇷🇴 Lugoj

🕒 Local time

13:30 1:30 PM

10:00 10:00 AM

3 h 30 min behind Colombo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

753,000

49,742

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

1 RON = 0.209 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 371 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.78 RON (1 RON = 0.209 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Colombo Lugoj 7,000 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Colombo
Lugoj

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 Lugoj: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lugoj wins on cost – living expenses run 5% lower than in Colombo. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Lugoj the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 72% lower in Colombo. 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: $586 in Colombo versus $181 in Lugoj. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 81% higher in Colombo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Colombo – a meal for two runs $25 versus $34 in Lugoj. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Lugoj gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.