Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Colombo and Shantou

For one person, living is cheaper in Shantou: $691 a month against $804 in Colombo, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 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
33

Cost of Living Index in Shantou
Learn more

Shantou Living Index

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Colombo

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$804

/mo nomad

Shantou

🇨🇳 China

$691

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Colombo and in Shantou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $804 in Colombo versus $691 in Shantou.

Colombo $804
Shantou $691

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,240 in Colombo versus $1,107 in Shantou.

Colombo $1,240
Shantou $1,107

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,675 in Colombo versus $1,524 in Shantou.

Colombo $1,675
Shantou $1,524

Living in Colombo is roughly 16% more expensive than in Shantou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Colombo 41% lower, Shantou 49% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.74 LKR 1,243

$2.28 ¥15.17

64.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.72 LKR 8,219

$23.55 ¥157

4.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.60 LKR 2,529

$5.27 ¥35.00

44.21%

Cappuccino

$2.45 LKR 814

$3.29 ¥21.86

-25.53%

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

$0.68 LKR 227

$0.47 ¥3.14

44.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 89.9

$0.31 ¥2.04

-12.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.22 LKR 739

$0.93 ¥6.21

138.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 LKR 1,020

$2.22 ¥14.78

38.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 LKR 521

$1.61 ¥10.68

-2.48%

White Bread (500g)

$0.54 LKR 178

$1.47 ¥9.77

-63.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.80 LKR 266

$0.78 ¥5.17

2.56%

Eggs

$1.71 LKR 568

$1.70 ¥11.32

0.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.92 LKR 4,628

$13.70 ¥91.0

1.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.78 LKR 1,591

$3.29 ¥21.86

45.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.46 LKR 2,481

$12.93 ¥86.0

-42.30%

Apples (1kg)

$6.40 LKR 2,127

$2.05 ¥13.63

212.20%

Banana (1kg)

$0.85 LKR 284

$1.57 ¥10.46

-45.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.26 LKR 1,416

$1.83 ¥12.16

132.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.33 LKR 443

$1.38 ¥9.15

-3.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.00 LKR 334

$0.85 ¥5.67

17.65%

Onion (1kg)

$0.81 LKR 270

$1.01 ¥6.71

-19.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 LKR 308

$0.59 ¥3.94

57.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 LKR 151

$0.43 ¥2.84

4.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.33 LKR 3,436

$3.77 ¥25.06

174.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.87 LKR 4,280

$11.80 ¥78.4

9.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 LKR 642

$0.84 ¥5.55

129.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 LKR 999

$1.74 ¥11.57

72.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.18 LKR 59.4

$0.38 ¥2.54

-52.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.96 LKR 1,983

$24.13 ¥160

-75.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 LKR 134

$1.46 ¥9.71

-72.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 LKR 116

$0.39 ¥2.58

-10.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.94 LKR 312

$7.39 ¥49.13

-87.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 LKR 438

$1.24 ¥8.27

6.45%

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

$43.4K LKR 14.4M

$19.7K ¥130.9K

120.42%

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

$39.7K LKR 13.2M

$18.2K ¥120.8K

118.25%

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

$58.9 LKR 19.6K

$58.3 ¥388

0.91%

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

$4.20 LKR 1,397

$9.17 ¥60.9

-54.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.61 LKR 6,855

$13.84 ¥92.0

48.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.88 LKR 6,613

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.81 LKR 1,933

Cinema Ticket

$4.42 LKR 1,469

$7.42 ¥49.29

-40.43%

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

$38.13 LKR 12.7K

$527 ¥3,505

-92.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,214 LKR 403.6K

$24.3K ¥161.8K

-95.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.77 LKR 5,909

$55.2 ¥367

-67.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.62 LKR 5,527

$40.48 ¥269

-58.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.8 LKR 25.9K

$72.4 ¥481

7.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.22 LKR 14.0K

$92.9 ¥617

-54.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$586 LKR 194.8K

$295 ¥1,963

98.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$275 LKR 91.5K

$148 ¥984

85.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,677 LKR 557.7K

$590 ¥3,924

184.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$490 LKR 163.0K

$301 ¥1,998

63.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,636 LKR 1.2M

$2,209 ¥14.7K

64.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,158 LKR 385.1K

$4,479 ¥29.8K

-74.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$259 LKR 86.0K

$1,070 ¥7,110

-75.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

3.35

278.81%

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

Last update for Colombo: October 25, 2026

Last update for Shantou: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Colombo

$275 34.2%

Shantou

$148 21.4% 46.2% $127

Groceries & Markets

Colombo

$235 29.2%

Shantou

$214 31% 8.8% $21

Eating Out

Colombo

$103 12.8%

Shantou

$86 12.4% 16.8% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Colombo

$84 10.4%

Shantou

$81 11.8% 2.8% $2.3

Clothing & Footwear

Colombo

$69 8.6%

Shantou

$117 17% 69.1% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Colombo

$29 3.6%

Shantou

$15 * 2.2% 48.3% $14

Getting Around

Colombo

$8.8 1.1%

Shantou

$29 4.2% 229% $20

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 $586 in Colombo and $295 in Shantou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shantou pays about 4.1 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 $24 in Shantou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $214 per month, with Shantou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Colombo

🇨🇳 Shantou

🕒 Local time

10:50 10:50 AM

13:20 1:20 PM

2 h 30 min ahead of Colombo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

753,000

5,389,328

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.135 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, 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).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 6.64 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.42 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Colombo Shantou 4,330 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Colombo
Shantou

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 Shantou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Shantou wins on cost – living expenses run 14% lower than in Colombo. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Shantou the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 76% 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 $295 in Shantou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 10% higher in Colombo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Shantou – a meal for two runs $24 versus $25 in Colombo. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Shantou 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.