Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Colombo and Miri

For one person, living costs are similar in Colombo and in Miri: $805 and $809 a month, rent and utilities included.

39

Cost of Living Index in Colombo
Learn more

Colombo Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Miri
Learn more

Miri Living Index

Jump to prices

Colombo

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$805

/mo nomad

Miri

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$809

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Colombo and in Miri

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $805 in Colombo versus $809 in Miri.

Colombo $805
Miri $809

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,211 in Colombo versus $1,235 in Miri.

Colombo $1,211
Miri $1,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,617 in Colombo versus $1,661 in Miri.

Colombo $1,617
Miri $1,661

Monthly costs are close between Colombo and Miri; which city is cheaper depends on the spending category.

Both cities sit below the global median: Colombo 40% lower, Miri 40% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.89 LKR 1,287

$3.57 MYR 14.57

8.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.55 LKR 8,130

$12.29 MYR 50.1

99.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.60 LKR 2,519

$4.58 MYR 18.66

65.94%

Cappuccino

$2.55 LKR 845

$2.39 MYR 9.74

6.69%

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

$0.68 LKR 226

$0.83 MYR 3.40

-18.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 89.8

$0.30 MYR 1.23

-10.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.25 LKR 745

$2.93 MYR 11.94

-23.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 LKR 1,019

$3.83 MYR 15.63

-19.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 LKR 539

$1.41 MYR 5.76

15.60%

White Bread (500g)

$0.58 LKR 191

$1.87 MYR 7.62

-68.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 LKR 255

$0.94 MYR 3.82

-18.09%

Eggs

$1.72 LKR 571

$3.56 MYR 14.53

-51.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.97 LKR 4,627

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.79 LKR 1,587

$4.84 MYR 19.74

-1.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.41 LKR 2,455

$15.25 MYR 62.2

-51.41%

Apples (1kg)

$6.54 LKR 2,168

Banana (1kg)

$0.80 LKR 267

$1.98 MYR 8.09

-59.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.28 LKR 1,417

Tomato (1kg)

$1.29 LKR 427

Potato (1kg)

$1.00 LKR 331

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 LKR 256

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 LKR 296

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.42 LKR 140

$0.39 MYR 1.57

7.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.30 LKR 3,413

$4.22 MYR 17.20

144.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.90 LKR 4,274

$19.34 MYR 78.9

-33.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 LKR 633

$3.02 MYR 12.31

-36.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 LKR 969

$2.39 MYR 9.77

22.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.19 LKR 63.9

$0.50 MYR 2.04

-62.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.27 LKR 2,407

$14.38 MYR 58.7

-49.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.41 LKR 135

$1.21 MYR 4.93

-66.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.37 LKR 123

$0.58 MYR 2.36

-36.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 LKR 305

$6.22 MYR 25.38

-85.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 LKR 445

$0.68 MYR 2.78

97.06%

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

$36.4K LKR 12.0M

$49.8K MYR 203.1K

-26.92%

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

$39.8K LKR 13.2M

$32.7K MYR 133.3K

21.70%

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

$59.0 LKR 19.5K

$49.34 MYR 201

19.52%

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

$4.37 LKR 1,446

$9.96 MYR 40.64

-56.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.37 LKR 6,748

$32.87 MYR 134

-38.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.72 LKR 4,545

$28.98 MYR 118

-52.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.64 LKR 1,868

$6.10 MYR 24.88

-7.54%

Cinema Ticket

$4.46 LKR 1,476

$4.49 MYR 18.33

-0.67%

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

$38.30 LKR 12.7K

$98.5 MYR 402

-61.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,211 LKR 401.2K

$6,442 MYR 26.3K

-81.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.16 LKR 6,016

$44.57 MYR 182

-59.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.76 LKR 5,550

$23.03 MYR 93.9

-27.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.6 LKR 26.0K

$54.8 MYR 224

43.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.33 LKR 14.0K

$42.84 MYR 175

-1.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$578 LKR 191.3K

$338 MYR 1,377

71.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$277 LKR 91.8K

$290 MYR 1,183

-4.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,495 LKR 495.3K

$594 MYR 2,423

151.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$433 LKR 143.4K

$587 MYR 2,393

-26.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,668 LKR 1.2M

$1,212 MYR 4,946

202.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,167 LKR 386.7K

$683 MYR 2,785

71.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$259 LKR 85.9K

$683 MYR 2,787

-62.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

4.12

208.01%

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

Last update for Colombo: October 11, 2026

Last update for Miri: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Colombo

$277 34.4%

Miri

$290 35.9% 4.6% $13

Groceries & Markets

Colombo

$236 29.3%

Miri

$196 * 24.2% 16.9% $40

Eating Out

Colombo

$106 13.1%

Miri

$98 12.1% 7.5% $8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Colombo

$84 10.4%

Miri

$92 11.4% 10.1% $8.5

Clothing & Footwear

Colombo

$70 8.7%

Miri

$74 9.2% 6% $4.2

Sport & Entertainment

Colombo

$23 2.8%

Miri

$38 4.7% 67.7% $15

Getting Around

Colombo

$10 1.3%

Miri

$20 2.5% 98.9% $10

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 $578 in Colombo and $338 in Miri. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Miri pays 163% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $25.00 in Colombo vs $12.00 in Miri for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $236 vs $196 per month, with Miri cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Colombo

🇲🇾 Miri

🕒 Local time

07:55 7:55 AM

10:25 10:25 AM

2 h 30 min ahead of Colombo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

753,000

248,877

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Colombo Miri 3,790 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Colombo
Miri

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 Miri: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

On paper, salaries run 163% lower in Miri. 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: $578 in Colombo versus $338 in Miri. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $38.30 in Colombo versus $98.5 in Miri. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Colombo – a meal for two runs $25.00 versus $12.00 in Miri. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $805 in Colombo versus $809 in Miri, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Colombo but tight or insufficient in Miri. The gap between the two cities makes Colombo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Colombo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $805 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Colombo hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Colombo and Miri are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

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