Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Colombo and Nova Friburgo

For one person, living is cheaper in Nova Friburgo: $611 a month against $805 in Colombo, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Colombo outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

39

Cost of Living Index in Colombo
Learn more

Colombo Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Nova Friburgo
Learn more

Nova Friburgo Living Index

Jump to prices

Colombo

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$805

/mo nomad

Nova Friburgo

🇧🇷 Brazil

$611

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Colombo and in Nova Friburgo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $805 in Colombo versus $611 in Nova Friburgo.

Colombo $805
Nova Friburgo $611

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,211 in Colombo versus $1,026 in Nova Friburgo.

Colombo $1,211
Nova Friburgo $1,026

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,617 in Colombo versus $1,440 in Nova Friburgo.

Colombo $1,617
Nova Friburgo $1,440

Living in Colombo is roughly 32% more expensive than in Nova Friburgo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Colombo 40% lower, Nova Friburgo 55% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.89 LKR 1,287

$5.87 R$29.75

-33.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.55 LKR 8,130

$30.15 R$153

-18.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.60 LKR 2,519

$6.38 R$32.35

19.12%

Cappuccino

$2.55 LKR 845

$1.76 R$8.93

44.89%

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

$0.68 LKR 226

$0.88 R$4.46

-22.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 89.8

$0.58 R$2.92

-53.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.25 LKR 745

$1.19 R$6.01

89.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 LKR 1,019

$2.45 R$12.43

25.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 LKR 539

$0.97 R$4.90

68.04%

White Bread (500g)

$0.58 LKR 191

$1.51 R$7.66

-61.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 LKR 255

$1.38 R$7.01

-44.20%

Eggs

$1.72 LKR 571

$1.94 R$9.85

-11.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.97 LKR 4,627

$9.21 R$46.69

51.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.79 LKR 1,587

$3.42 R$17.33

40.06%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.41 LKR 2,455

$9.52 R$48.28

-22.16%

Apples (1kg)

$6.54 LKR 2,168

$1.62 R$8.23

303.70%

Banana (1kg)

$0.80 LKR 267

$1.20 R$6.10

-33.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.28 LKR 1,417

$0.93 R$4.70

360.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.29 LKR 427

$1.28 R$6.50

0.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.00 LKR 331

$0.65 R$3.29

53.85%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 LKR 256

$0.81 R$4.09

-4.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 LKR 296

$0.56 R$2.85

58.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.42 LKR 140

$0.76 R$3.87

-44.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.30 LKR 3,413

$1.58 R$8.02

551.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.90 LKR 4,274

$6.07 R$30.75

112.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 LKR 633

$1.01 R$5.13

89.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 LKR 969

$1.42 R$7.19

106.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.19 LKR 63.9

$0.96 R$4.88

-80.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.27 LKR 2,407

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.41 LKR 135

$1.22 R$6.18

-66.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.37 LKR 123

$0.56 R$2.82

-33.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.92 LKR 305

$6.87 R$34.80

-86.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 LKR 445

$1.25 R$6.34

7.20%

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

$36.4K LKR 12.0M

$20.0K R$101.3K

82.02%

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

$39.8K LKR 13.2M

$31.0K R$157.2K

28.29%

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

$59.0 LKR 19.5K

$41.63 R$211

41.65%

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

$4.37 LKR 1,446

$9.54 R$48.34

-54.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.37 LKR 6,748

$18.74 R$95.0

8.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.72 LKR 4,545

$22.35 R$113

-38.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.64 LKR 1,868

Cinema Ticket

$4.46 LKR 1,476

$6.77 R$34.30

-34.12%

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

$38.30 LKR 12.7K

$147 R$746

-73.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,211 LKR 401.2K

$2,693 R$13.6K

-55.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.16 LKR 6,016

$71.1 R$361

-74.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.76 LKR 5,550

$84.5 R$428

-80.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.6 LKR 26.0K

$68.1 R$345

15.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.33 LKR 14.0K

$47.77 R$242

-11.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$578 LKR 191.3K

$161 R$818

257.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$277 LKR 91.8K

$99.3 R$503

179.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,495 LKR 495.3K

$396 R$2,007

277.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$433 LKR 143.4K

$243 R$1,234

77.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,668 LKR 1.2M

$1,604 R$8,133

128.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,167 LKR 386.7K

$810 R$4,104

44.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$259 LKR 85.9K

$521 R$2,640

-50.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

10.67

18.93%

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

Last update for Colombo: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nova Friburgo: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Colombo

$277 34.4%

Nova Friburgo

$99 16.3% 64.2% $178

Groceries & Markets

Colombo

$236 29.3%

Nova Friburgo

$172 28.1% 27.1% $64

Eating Out

Colombo

$106 13.1%

Nova Friburgo

$104 17% 1.7% $1.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Colombo

$84 10.4%

Nova Friburgo

$70 11.5% 16.5% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Colombo

$70 8.7%

Nova Friburgo

$122 20% 74.2% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Colombo

$23 2.8%

Nova Friburgo

$36 5.9% 58.5% $13

Getting Around

Colombo

$10 1.3%

Nova Friburgo

$7.9 * 1.3% 23.8% $2.5

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 $161 in Nova Friburgo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nova Friburgo pays 101% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $25.00 in Colombo vs $30.00 in Nova Friburgo. Groceries flip the comparison at $236 vs $172, with Nova Friburgo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Colombo

🇧🇷 Nova Friburgo

🕒 Local time

14:48 2:48 PM

06:18 6:18 AM

8 h 30 min behind Colombo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

753,000

189,939

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Colombo Nova Friburgo 13,620 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Colombo
Nova Friburgo

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 Nova Friburgo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nova Friburgo wins on cost – living expenses run 32% lower than in Colombo. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Nova Friburgo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 101% lower in Nova Friburgo. 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 $161 in Nova Friburgo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $38.30 in Colombo versus $147 in Nova Friburgo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Nova Friburgo – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $25.00 in Colombo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $611 in Nova Friburgo versus $805 in Colombo, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Nova Friburgo but tight or insufficient in Colombo. The gap between the two cities makes Nova Friburgo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Nova Friburgo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $611 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Nova Friburgo hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Nova Friburgo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Colombo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.