Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Hikkaduwa

For one person, living is cheaper in Hikkaduwa: $509 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $41,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

194

Cost of Living Index in London
Learn more

London Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Hikkaduwa
Learn more

Hikkaduwa Living Index

Jump to prices

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Hikkaduwa

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$509

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Hikkaduwa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,986 in London versus $509 in Hikkaduwa.

London $3,986
Hikkaduwa $509

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,791 in London versus $826 in Hikkaduwa.

London $5,791
Hikkaduwa $826

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,595 in London versus $1,144 in Hikkaduwa.

London $7,595
Hikkaduwa $1,144

Living in London is roughly 683% more expensive than in Hikkaduwa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 195% above, Hikkaduwa is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.54

$4.45 LKR 1,475

482.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £80.3

$24.59 LKR 8,144

333.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.07

$7.57 LKR 2,507

41.48%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.13

$2.50 LKR 827

118.80%

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

$2.97 £2.24

$0.72 LKR 238

312.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.66

$0.27 LKR 90.1

714.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.88

$2.16 LKR 716

322.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.98

$3.01 LKR 998

163.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.57 LKR 520

18.47%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.56

$0.53 LKR 175

290.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.82

$0.80 LKR 266

202.50%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.83

$1.60 LKR 530

218.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.70

$14.00 LKR 4,636

-8.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.86

$4.88 LKR 1,618

113.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.71

$7.26 LKR 2,405

132.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.34

$6.84 LKR 2,265

-54.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.06

$0.85 LKR 281

64.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.32

$4.46 LKR 1,478

-30.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.46

$1.23 LKR 406

165.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.02 LKR 339

54.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$0.82 LKR 270

112.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.06

$0.92 LKR 306

52.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.44 LKR 145

309.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.54

$10.32 LKR 3,418

125.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.82

$13.70 LKR 4,536

-4.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.39

$1.89 LKR 625

67.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.33

$3.01 LKR 998

46.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.07

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £186

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.20

$0.38 LKR 126

1368.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.53

$0.37 LKR 123

808.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.76

$0.88 LKR 293

6348.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.61

$1.33 LKR 441

60.15%

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

$38.2K £28.8K

$37.8K LKR 12.5M

1.15%

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

$40.9K £30.8K

$40.9K LKR 13.5M

-0.02%

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

$372 £280

$54.8 LKR 18.2K

578.88%

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

$17.82 £13.42

$4.14 LKR 1,371

330.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.42

$21.01 LKR 6,959

92.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £45.19

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £16.04

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.37

$4.45 LKR 1,474

298.65%

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

$2,864 £2,158

$37.63 LKR 12.5K

7511.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.6K

$1,227 LKR 406.4K

2779.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.9

$18.35 LKR 6,077

521.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.89

$16.80 LKR 5,564

223.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.6

$77.6 LKR 25.7K

60.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £123

$42.92 LKR 14.2K

279.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,162

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,683

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,968

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,847

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,046

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,795

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

12.69

-62.65%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Hikkaduwa: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Hikkaduwa

- * 0% 100%

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Hikkaduwa

$80 15.7% 81.4% $350

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Hikkaduwa

$109 21.4% 71.8% $278

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Hikkaduwa

$239 46.9% 31.7% $111

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Hikkaduwa

$2.2 * 0.4% 99.2% $283

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Hikkaduwa

$70 13.8% 65.8% $135

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Hikkaduwa

$8.9 * 1.8% 90.7% $87

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $107 in London vs $25.00 in Hikkaduwa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $239 per month, with Hikkaduwa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇱🇰 Hikkaduwa

🕒 Local time

12:06 12:06 PM

16:36 4:36 PM

4 h 30 min ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

101,342

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 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 16, 2026: 1 USD = 0.754 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.845 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 371 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Hikkaduwa 8,800 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Hikkaduwa

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 Hikkaduwa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hikkaduwa is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 683% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $5,979 in London and $763 in Hikkaduwa to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Supermarket bills run roughly 46% higher in London. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $3,986 per month in London versus $509 in Hikkaduwa – a 683% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $509 in Hikkaduwa versus $3,986 in London, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Hikkaduwa but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Hikkaduwa the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Hikkaduwa is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in London, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Hikkaduwa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 683% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.