Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Colombo and Xiamen

For one person, living costs are similar in Colombo and in Xiamen: $804 and $832 a month, rent and utilities included.

39

Cost of Living Index in Colombo
Learn more

Colombo Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Xiamen
Learn more

Xiamen Living Index

Jump to prices

Colombo

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$804

/mo nomad

Xiamen

🇨🇳 China

$832

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Colombo and in Xiamen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $804 in Colombo versus $832 in Xiamen.

Colombo $804
Xiamen $832

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,240 in Colombo versus $1,337 in Xiamen.

Colombo $1,240
Xiamen $1,337

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,675 in Colombo versus $1,842 in Xiamen.

Colombo $1,675
Xiamen $1,842

Living in Colombo costs roughly 3% less than in Xiamen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Colombo 41% lower, Xiamen 39% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.74 LKR 1,243

$2.93 ¥19.53

27.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.72 LKR 8,217

$23.60 ¥157

4.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.60 LKR 2,528

$5.20 ¥34.59

46.15%

Cappuccino

$2.45 LKR 814

$2.57 ¥17.09

-4.67%

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

$0.68 LKR 226

$0.47 ¥3.11

44.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 89.8

$0.35 ¥2.35

-22.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.22 LKR 739

$1.51 ¥10.08

47.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 LKR 1,020

$2.95 ¥19.61

4.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 LKR 520

$1.47 ¥9.78

6.80%

White Bread (500g)

$0.54 LKR 178

$2.28 ¥15.17

-76.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.80 LKR 266

$0.95 ¥6.31

-15.79%

Eggs

$1.71 LKR 568

$1.64 ¥10.89

4.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.92 LKR 4,626

$12.02 ¥80.0

15.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.78 LKR 1,590

$2.45 ¥16.27

95.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.46 LKR 2,480

$11.76 ¥78.3

-36.56%

Apples (1kg)

$6.40 LKR 2,126

$2.58 ¥17.19

148.06%

Banana (1kg)

$0.85 LKR 283

$1.48 ¥9.82

-42.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.26 LKR 1,416

$1.67 ¥11.12

155.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.33 LKR 443

$1.99 ¥13.26

-33.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.00 LKR 334

$0.97 ¥6.49

3.09%

Onion (1kg)

$0.81 LKR 270

$1.81 ¥12.07

-55.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 LKR 308

$0.93 ¥6.17

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 LKR 151

$0.54 ¥3.62

-16.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.33 LKR 3,435

$2.92 ¥19.40

253.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.87 LKR 4,279

$11.38 ¥75.7

13.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 LKR 642

$0.79 ¥5.29

144.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 LKR 999

$1.74 ¥11.58

72.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.18 LKR 59.3

$0.16 ¥1.08

12.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.96 LKR 1,982

$11.93 ¥79.4

-50.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 LKR 134

$1.46 ¥9.69

-72.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 LKR 116

$0.29 ¥1.91

20.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.94 LKR 312

$7.39 ¥49.16

-87.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 LKR 438

$1.33 ¥8.85

-0.75%

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

$43.4K LKR 14.4M

$19.7K ¥131.4K

119.88%

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

$39.7K LKR 13.2M

$17.6K ¥116.9K

125.89%

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

$58.9 LKR 19.6K

$43.23 ¥288

36.13%

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

$4.20 LKR 1,397

$8.70 ¥57.9

-51.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.61 LKR 6,853

$10.38 ¥69.1

98.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$19.88 LKR 6,611

$47.30 ¥315

-57.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.81 LKR 1,932

$10.31 ¥68.6

-43.65%

Cinema Ticket

$4.42 LKR 1,469

$10.24 ¥68.2

-56.84%

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

$38.13 LKR 12.7K

$496 ¥3,303

-92.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,214 LKR 403.5K

$24.8K ¥165.0K

-95.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.77 LKR 5,907

$39.20 ¥261

-54.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.62 LKR 5,525

$29.55 ¥197

-43.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.8 LKR 25.9K

$107 ¥711

-27.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.22 LKR 14.0K

$84.5 ¥562

-50.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$586 LKR 194.7K

$352 ¥2,346

66.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$275 LKR 91.4K

$266 ¥1,769

3.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,677 LKR 557.5K

$841 ¥5,598

99.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$490 LKR 163.0K

$544 ¥3,617

-9.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,636 LKR 1.2M

$8,588 ¥57.1K

-57.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,158 LKR 385.0K

$4,847 ¥32.3K

-76.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$259 LKR 86.0K

$1,179 ¥7,849

-78.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

3.46

266.76%

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

Last update for Colombo: October 25, 2026

Last update for Xiamen: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Colombo

$275 34.2%

Xiamen

$266 32% 3.3% $9.2

Groceries & Markets

Colombo

$235 29.2%

Xiamen

$217 26.1% 7.8% $18

Eating Out

Colombo

$103 12.8%

Xiamen

$87 10.4% 16% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Colombo

$84 10.4%

Xiamen

$62 7.5% 25.5% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Colombo

$69 8.6%

Xiamen

$117 14.1% 68.5% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Colombo

$29 3.6%

Xiamen

$68 8.2% 136% $39

Getting Around

Colombo

$8.8 1.1%

Xiamen

$15 1.9% 75.2% $6.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $586 in Colombo and $352 in Xiamen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Xiamen pays about 4.6 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $25 in Colombo vs $24 in Xiamen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $217 per month, with Xiamen cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Colombo

🇨🇳 Xiamen

🕒 Local time

18:32 6:32 PM

21:02 9:02 PM

2 h 30 min ahead of Colombo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

753,000

3,531,000

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.65 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.41 CNY (1 CNY = 0.135 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Colombo Xiamen 4,510 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Colombo
Xiamen

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 Xiamen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Colombo wins on cost – living expenses run 3% lower than in Xiamen. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Colombo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 78% 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 $352 in Xiamen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Xiamen pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Xiamen – a meal for two runs $24 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.

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