Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Gampaha

For one person, living is cheaper in Gampaha: $450 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $42,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

194

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Gampaha
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Gampaha Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Gampaha

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$450

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Gampaha

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,986 in London versus $450 in Gampaha.

London $3,986
Gampaha $450

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,791 in London versus $765 in Gampaha.

London $5,791
Gampaha $765

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,595 in London versus $1,079 in Gampaha.

London $7,595
Gampaha $1,079

Living in London is roughly 786% more expensive than in Gampaha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 195% above, Gampaha is 67% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$1.81 LKR 600

1332.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$18.00 LKR 5,961

491.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$5.20 LKR 1,723

105.96%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$1.25 LKR 414

337.60%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$0.54 LKR 178

450.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.27 LKR 89.7

714.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$2.13 LKR 705

328.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$3.04 LKR 1,007

161.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.62 LKR 538

14.81%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$0.43 LKR 144

381.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$0.73 LKR 241

231.51%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$1.72 LKR 569

195.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$13.52 LKR 4,480

-4.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$3.96 LKR 1,312

163.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$7.23 LKR 2,394

133.33%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$5.92 LKR 1,961

-47.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$0.81 LKR 269

72.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$4.41 LKR 1,461

-30.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$1.27 LKR 420

157.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$0.96 LKR 318

64.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$0.78 LKR 257

123.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$0.29 LKR 95.7

382.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.32 LKR 104

462.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$9.94 LKR 3,294

134.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$12.77 LKR 4,231

2.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.38 LKR 457

129.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$2.37 LKR 784

86.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$0.31 LKR 103

1212.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$0.29 LKR 95.8

1824.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$0.36 LKR 120

833.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$0.90 LKR 297

6205.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.18 LKR 390

80.51%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$29.9K LKR 9.9M

27.80%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$40.2K LKR 13.3M

1.77%

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

$372 £279

$27.63 LKR 9,153

1246.94%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$2.98 LKR 985

497.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$10.84 LKR 3,591

272.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$7.56 LKR 2,504

693.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$4.44 LKR 1,472

299.55%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$15.07 LKR 4,991

18907.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$122 LKR 40.4K

28898.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$17.88 LKR 5,924

537.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$8.90 LKR 2,948

509.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$61.4 LKR 20.3K

102.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$24.29 LKR 8,044

571.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$89.4 LKR 29.6K

3107.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$55.5 LKR 18.4K

3924.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

$301 LKR 99.8K

1648.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

$167 LKR 55.4K

2160.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,779

$225 LKR 74.4K

2141.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

-52.60%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Gampaha: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Gampaha

$55 12.3% 97.5% $2.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Gampaha

$41 9.2% 90.4% $389

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Gampaha

$65 14.5% 83.2% $322

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Gampaha

$217 48.4% 37.8% $132

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Gampaha

$3.3 * 0.7% 98.8% $282

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Gampaha

$51 11.3% 75.3% $154

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Gampaha

$16 3.7% 82.8% $79

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 $2,869 in London and $89.4 in Gampaha. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 2142% 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: $107 in London vs $18.00 in Gampaha for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $217 per month, with Gampaha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇱🇰 Gampaha

🕒 Local time

15:01 3:01 PM

19:31 7:31 PM

4 h 30 min ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

20,000

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

London Gampaha 8,710 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Gampaha

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 Gampaha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

London and Gampaha differ by about 786% in total monthly costs ($3,986 vs $450 including rent). Gampaha is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 2142% 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: $2,869 in London versus $89.4 in Gampaha. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,864 in London versus $15.07 in Gampaha. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Gampaha – a meal for two runs $18.00 versus $107 in London. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $450 in Gampaha versus $3,986 in London, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Gampaha but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Gampaha the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Expats usually find Gampaha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 786% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.