Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hong Kong and Matara

For one person, living is cheaper in Matara: $581 a month against $3,050 in Hong Kong, rent and utilities included – about $29,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

147

Cost of Living Index in Hong Kong
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Hong Kong Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in Matara
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Matara Living Index

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Hong Kong

🇭🇰 Hong Kong (China)

$3,050

/mo nomad

Matara

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$581

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $3,050 per month in Hong Kong vs $581 in Matara, rent included.

Hong Kong $3,050
Matara $581

A couple spends around $4,786 per month in Hong Kong vs $850 in Matara, rent included.

Hong Kong $4,786
Matara $850

A family of three spends $6,522 per month in Hong Kong vs $1,118 in Matara, rent included.

Hong Kong $6,522
Matara $1,118

Hong Kong costs about 425% more than Matara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Hong Kong sits 126% above the global median, while Matara is 57% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.37 HK$65.6

$3.86 LKR 1,283

116.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.4 HK$497

$24.60 LKR 8,179

157.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.53 HK$51.2

$7.57 LKR 2,517

-13.74%

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

$0.68 LKR 225

102.94%

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

$2.26 LKR 751

242.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 HK$43.62

$2.98 LKR 991

86.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.94 HK$23.01

$1.58 LKR 526

86.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.41 HK$18.91

$0.57 LKR 190

322.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.22 HK$17.42

$0.78 LKR 260

184.62%

Eggs

$3.41 HK$26.73

$1.45 LKR 484

135.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$23.18 HK$182

$15.08 LKR 5,013

53.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.67 HK$68.0

$5.02 LKR 1,668

72.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.90 HK$140

$7.69 LKR 2,558

132.77%

Apples (1kg)

$4.21 HK$33.02

$6.67 LKR 2,218

-36.88%

Banana (1kg)

$2.58 HK$20.19

$0.46 LKR 153

460.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.68 HK$36.68

$4.17 LKR 1,385

12.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.00 HK$31.33

$0.84 LKR 279

376.19%

Potato (1kg)

$3.19 HK$24.98

$0.97 LKR 322

228.87%

Onion (1kg)

$3.27 HK$25.60

$0.62 LKR 208

427.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 HK$12.29

$1.26 LKR 419

24.60%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 HK$13.44

$0.46 LKR 153

271.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.33 HK$105

$10.27 LKR 3,415

29.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.56 HK$122

$13.79 LKR 4,585

12.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.02 HK$15.87

$1.77 LKR 589

14.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 HK$17.83

$2.84 LKR 943

-19.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.23 HK$9.67

$0.29 LKR 95.2

324.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.6 HK$686

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.76 HK$29.46

$0.41 LKR 135

817.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.30 HK$10.19

$0.31 LKR 102

319.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.93 HK$125

$0.93 LKR 310

1612.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$4.27 HK$33.48

$1.38 LKR 458

209.42%

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

$45.0K HK$352.7K

$43.4K LKR 14.4M

3.67%

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

$37.6K HK$294.8K

$45.7K LKR 15.2M

-17.80%

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

$237 HK$1,859

$44.63 LKR 14.8K

431.44%

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

$15.46 HK$121

$4.15 LKR 1,381

272.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.46 HK$176

$20.43 LKR 6,794

9.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$97.4 HK$764

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.02 HK$70.7

Cinema Ticket

$12.98 HK$102

$4.46 LKR 1,482

191.03%

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

$1,302 HK$10.2K

$40.78 LKR 13.6K

3092.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.3K HK$237.2K

$17.5K LKR 5.8M

73.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 HK$533

$17.76 LKR 5,907

282.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.80 HK$335

$17.33 LKR 5,764

146.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.3 HK$637

$77.5 LKR 25.8K

4.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 HK$949

$41.81 LKR 13.9K

189.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,385 HK$18.7K

$182 LKR 60.5K

1211.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,794 HK$14.1K

$88.6 LKR 29.4K

1925.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,695 HK$44.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,786 HK$29.7K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$28.8K HK$226.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$18.9K HK$147.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,194 HK$25.0K

$105 LKR 35.0K

2930.23%

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 Matara: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hong Kong

$1.8K 58.8%

Matara

$89 15.3% 95.1% $1.7K

Groceries & Markets

Hong Kong

$407 13.3%

Matara

$238 40.9% 41.5% $169

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hong Kong

$275 9%

Matara

$69 11.9% 74.8% $206

Eating Out

Hong Kong

$208 6.8%

Matara

$104 17.9% 50.1% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Hong Kong

$141 4.6%

Matara

$69 12% 50.7% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Hong Kong

$123 4%

Matara

$8.9 * 1.5% 92.8% $114

Getting Around

Hong Kong

$103 3.4%

Matara

$3.1 * 0.5% 97% $100

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,385 in Hong Kong versus $182 in Matara. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Hong Kong are about 30 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $63 in Hong Kong versus $25 in Matara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $407 vs $238 – making Matara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇰 Hong Kong

🇱🇰 Matara

🕒 Local time

12:43 12:43 PM

10:13 10:13 AM

2 h 30 min behind Hong Kong

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,367,900 Capital

100,000

💱 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Hong Kong Matara 4,040 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Hong Kong
Matara

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 Matara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,050 in Hong Kong, $581 in Matara – Matara comes out roughly 81% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,576 per month in Hong Kong and $871 in Matara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Matara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $182 there versus $2,385 in Hong Kong.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $63 in Hong Kong and $25 in Matara. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 71% more in Hong Kong, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Matara, where all-in costs run around $581, than in Hong Kong at $3,050. In Matara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Hong Kong it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Matara – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Matara. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Hong Kong makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.