Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Colombo

For one person, living is cheaper in Colombo: $796 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $39,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Colombo
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Colombo Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Colombo

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$796

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London 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 London and in Colombo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,086 in London versus $796 in Colombo.

London $4,086
Colombo $796

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,816 in London versus $1,198 in Colombo.

London $5,816
Colombo $1,198

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,546 in London versus $1,600 in Colombo.

London $7,546
Colombo $1,600

Living in London is roughly 413% more expensive than in Colombo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 205% above, Colombo is 41% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$4.52 LKR 1,496

488.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$24.54 LKR 8,118

338.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$7.51 LKR 2,483

38.35%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$2.49 LKR 825

132.53%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$0.72 LKR 238

318.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$0.27 LKR 90.2

696.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$2.24 LKR 740

317.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$3.08 LKR 1,019

154.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.55 LKR 514

15.48%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$0.53 LKR 175

288.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$0.81 LKR 267

185.19%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$1.63 LKR 539

209.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$13.98 LKR 4,624

-10.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$5.01 LKR 1,657

112.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$7.29 LKR 2,412

134.98%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$6.69 LKR 2,212

-54.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$0.84 LKR 278

67.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$4.36 LKR 1,444

-30.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$1.22 LKR 405

177.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$0.99 LKR 329

68.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$0.82 LKR 270

110.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$0.93 LKR 307

51.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.47 LKR 154

280.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$10.37 LKR 3,432

123.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$13.56 LKR 4,487

-4.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$1.87 LKR 620

70.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$2.98 LKR 984

47.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$0.18 LKR 60.7

2050.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$7.13 LKR 2,358

3407.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$0.38 LKR 125

1402.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$0.34 LKR 114

879.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$0.95 LKR 313

5995.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.40 LKR 462

45.71%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$37.2K LKR 12.3M

0.84%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$40.5K LKR 13.4M

0.99%

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

$376 £284

$54.8 LKR 18.1K

586.05%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$4.17 LKR 1,381

328.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$20.98 LKR 6,941

90.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$13.81 LKR 4,568

342.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$5.62 LKR 1,860

274.91%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$4.35 LKR 1,439

312.64%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$37.68 LKR 12.5K

7504.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$1,201 LKR 397.2K

2843.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$18.01 LKR 5,958

544.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$16.83 LKR 5,569

221.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$78.2 LKR 25.9K

61.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$41.66 LKR 13.8K

282.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$586 LKR 193.8K

387.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$274 LKR 90.7K

739.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$1,514 LKR 500.7K

243.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$438 LKR 144.9K

749.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$3,694 LKR 1.2M

414.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$1,169 LKR 386.8K

573.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$257 LKR 85.1K

1773.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

12.69

-63.36%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Colombo: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Colombo

$274 34.1% 88.1% $2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Colombo

$80 10% 81.6% $354

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Colombo

$110 13.7% 72.3% $287

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Colombo

$238 29.6% 31.9% $112

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Colombo

$10 1.2% 96.5% $278

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Colombo

$70 8.7% 66.1% $136

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Colombo

$23 2.8% 76.8% $75

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,853 in London and $586 in Colombo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 1774% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $108 in London vs $25.00 in Colombo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $238 per month, with Colombo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇱🇰 Colombo

🕒 Local time

08:06 8:06 AM

12:36 12:36 PM

4 h 30 min ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

753,000

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 371 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Colombo 8,710 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

London
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

London vs Colombo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Colombo wins on cost – living expenses run 413% lower than in London. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Colombo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 1774% higher in London, 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: $2,853 in London versus $586 in Colombo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 47% higher in London. 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 $25.00 versus $108 in London. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $796 in Colombo versus $4,086 in London, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Colombo but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Colombo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Colombo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $796 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 413% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.