Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hong Kong and Colombo

For one person, living is cheaper in Colombo: $811 a month against $3,050 in Hong Kong, rent and utilities included – about $26,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

147

Cost of Living Index in Hong Kong
Learn more

Hong Kong Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Colombo
Learn more

Colombo Living Index

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Hong Kong

🇭🇰 Hong Kong (China)

$3,050

/mo nomad

Colombo

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$811

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hong Kong and in Colombo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Hong Kong and in Colombo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,050 in Hong Kong versus $811 in Colombo.

Hong Kong $3,050
Colombo $811

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,786 in Hong Kong versus $1,298 in Colombo.

Hong Kong $4,786
Colombo $1,298

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,522 in Hong Kong versus $1,785 in Colombo.

Hong Kong $6,522
Colombo $1,785

Living in Hong Kong is roughly 276% more expensive than in Colombo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Hong Kong is 126% above, Colombo is 40% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.37 HK$65.6

$3.92 LKR 1,304

113.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.4 HK$497

$24.58 LKR 8,174

157.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.53 HK$51.2

$7.39 LKR 2,458

-11.64%

Cappuccino

$5.15 HK$40.33

$2.44 LKR 813

111.07%

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

$1.38 HK$10.80

$0.67 LKR 222

105.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.13 HK$8.86

$0.25 LKR 83.0

352.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.73 HK$60.6

$2.14 LKR 710

261.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 HK$43.62

$3.03 LKR 1,006

83.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.94 HK$23.01

$1.58 LKR 525

86.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.41 HK$18.91

$0.53 LKR 176

354.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.22 HK$17.42

$0.81 LKR 270

174.07%

Eggs

$3.41 HK$26.73

$1.62 LKR 539

110.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$23.18 HK$182

$15.14 LKR 5,033

53.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.67 HK$68.0

$5.12 LKR 1,701

69.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.90 HK$140

$7.66 LKR 2,546

133.68%

Apples (1kg)

$4.21 HK$33.02

$6.62 LKR 2,200

-36.40%

Banana (1kg)

$2.58 HK$20.19

$0.88 LKR 292

193.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.68 HK$36.68

$4.15 LKR 1,381

12.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.00 HK$31.33

$1.28 LKR 425

212.50%

Potato (1kg)

$3.19 HK$24.98

$1.04 LKR 347

206.73%

Onion (1kg)

$3.27 HK$25.60

$0.82 LKR 271

298.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 HK$12.29

$1.21 LKR 404

29.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 HK$13.44

$0.45 LKR 150

280.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.33 HK$105

$10.04 LKR 3,337

32.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.56 HK$122

$13.69 LKR 4,553

13.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.02 HK$15.87

$1.93 LKR 643

4.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 HK$17.83

$2.97 LKR 987

-23.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.23 HK$9.67

$0.18 LKR 58.8

583.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.6 HK$686

$8.15 LKR 2,708

974.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.76 HK$29.46

$0.37 LKR 123

916.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 HK$10.19

$0.34 LKR 111

282.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.93 HK$125

$0.89 LKR 296

1689.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$4.27 HK$33.48

$1.32 LKR 439

223.48%

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

$45.0K HK$352.7K

$43.6K LKR 14.5M

3.30%

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

$37.6K HK$294.8K

$45.1K LKR 15.0M

-16.62%

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

$237 HK$1,859

$57.7 LKR 19.2K

311.20%

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

$15.46 HK$121

$4.28 LKR 1,424

261.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.46 HK$176

$20.66 LKR 6,870

8.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$97.4 HK$764

$20.37 LKR 6,773

378.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.02 HK$70.7

$6.14 LKR 2,042

46.91%

Cinema Ticket

$12.98 HK$102

$4.63 LKR 1,541

180.35%

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

$1,302 HK$10.2K

$40.83 LKR 13.6K

3088.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.3K HK$237.2K

$17.2K LKR 5.7M

75.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 HK$533

$18.12 LKR 6,025

275.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.80 HK$335

$17.34 LKR 5,766

146.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.3 HK$637

$77.6 LKR 25.8K

4.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 HK$949

$41.29 LKR 13.7K

193.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,385 HK$18.7K

$565 LKR 187.8K

322.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,794 HK$14.1K

$271 LKR 90.1K

561.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,695 HK$44.6K

$1,691 LKR 562.2K

236.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,786 HK$29.7K

$574 LKR 191.0K

559.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$28.8K HK$226.0K

$3,735 LKR 1.2M

671.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$18.9K HK$147.9K

$1,158 LKR 385.1K

1529.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,194 HK$25.0K

$248 LKR 82.6K

1185.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.89

12.5

-68.88%

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

Last update for Hong Kong: November 2, 2026

Last update for Colombo: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hong Kong

$1.8K 58.8%

Colombo

$271 33.4% 84.9% $1.5K

Groceries & Markets

Hong Kong

$407 13.3%

Colombo

$244 30.1% 39.9% $162

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hong Kong

$275 9%

Colombo

$83 10.2% 70% $192

Eating Out

Hong Kong

$208 6.8%

Colombo

$103 12.7% 50.4% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Hong Kong

$141 4.6%

Colombo

$69 8.6% 50.7% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Hong Kong

$123 4%

Colombo

$30 3.7% 76% $94

Getting Around

Hong Kong

$103 3.4%

Colombo

$11 1.3% 89.4% $92

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,385 in Hong Kong and $565 in Colombo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Hong Kong pays about 13 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $63 in Hong Kong vs $25 in Colombo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $407 vs $244 per month, with Colombo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇭🇰 Hong Kong

🇱🇰 Colombo

🕒 Local time

09:12 9:12 AM

06:42 6:42 AM

2 h 30 min behind Hong Kong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,367,900 Capital

753,000

💱 Currency

Hong Kong Dollar HKD $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 HKD = 0.128 USD

1 HKD = 0.114 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to HKD – Hong Kong Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇰 Hong Kong Dollar ($)

Hong Kong Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 7.84 HKD (1 HKD = 0.128 USD). 1 EUR = 8.8 HKD (1 HKD = 0.114 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 373 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR).

USD to HKD in detail →

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Between locations

Hong Kong Colombo 4,050 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Hong Kong
Colombo

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

Hong Kong vs Colombo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Colombo wins on cost – living expenses run 73% lower than in Hong Kong. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Colombo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Hong Kong is about 13 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,385 in Hong Kong versus $565 in Colombo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 66% higher in Hong Kong. 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 $63 in Hong Kong. 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 work as nomad bases, but Colombo delivers better value at $811 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Colombo hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Colombo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 73% less than in Hong Kong. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.