Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Matara

For one person, living is cheaper in Matara: $579 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $40,900 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
28

Cost of Living Index in Matara
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Matara Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Matara

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$579

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,986 per month in London vs $579 in Matara, rent included.

London $3,986
Matara $579

A couple spends around $5,791 per month in London vs $845 in Matara, rent included.

London $5,791
Matara $845

A family of three spends $7,595 per month in London vs $1,112 in Matara, rent included.

London $7,595
Matara $1,112

London costs about 589% more than Matara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

London sits 195% above the global median, while Matara is 57% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$3.81 LKR 1,262

580.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$24.67 LKR 8,171

331.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$7.70 LKR 2,551

39.09%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$2.46 LKR 815

122.36%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$0.67 LKR 222

343.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.27 LKR 89.5

714.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$2.22 LKR 735

311.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$3.04 LKR 1,006

161.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.56 LKR 516

19.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$0.53 LKR 176

290.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$0.76 LKR 251

218.42%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$1.52 LKR 504

234.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$13.89 LKR 4,601

-7.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$4.98 LKR 1,651

109.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$7.39 LKR 2,449

128.28%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$6.70 LKR 2,220

-53.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$0.47 LKR 155

197.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$4.48 LKR 1,485

-31.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$0.85 LKR 281

284.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$0.97 LKR 322

62.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$0.62 LKR 206

180.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$0.93 LKR 308

50.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.46 LKR 151

291.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$9.74 LKR 3,227

139.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$13.05 LKR 4,321

-0.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.85 LKR 612

71.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$2.91 LKR 963

51.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

$0.29 LKR 94.6

1303.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$0.40 LKR 134

1295.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$0.37 LKR 123

808.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$0.87 LKR 288

6422.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.32 LKR 437

61.36%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$36.8K LKR 12.2M

3.90%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$40.5K LKR 13.4M

0.87%

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

$372 £279

$46.01 LKR 15.2K

708.87%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$4.29 LKR 1,420

315.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$21.18 LKR 7,016

90.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$4.42 LKR 1,464

301.36%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$38.19 LKR 12.6K

7400.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$1,210 LKR 400.7K

2820.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$18.27 LKR 6,051

524.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$16.83 LKR 5,575

222.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$80.0 LKR 26.5K

55.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$41.05 LKR 13.6K

297.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$184 LKR 61.0K

1458.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$89.1 LKR 29.5K

2405.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

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

$106 LKR 35.2K

4639.49%

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 Matara: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Matara

$89 15.4% 96% $2.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Matara

$71 12.4% 83.4% $359

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Matara

$104 18% 73.1% $283

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Matara

$232 40% 33.7% $118

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Matara

$3.4 * 0.6% 98.8% $282

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Matara

$70 12.1% 65.7% $135

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Matara

$8.8 * 1.5% 90.7% $87

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,869 in London versus $184 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 run about 4639% higher in London, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $107 in London versus $25.00 in Matara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $232 – making Matara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇱🇰 Matara

🕒 Local time

22:05 10:05 PM

02:35 2:35 AM

4 h 30 min ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

100,000

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Matara 8,850 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

London
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

London vs Matara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,986 in London, $579 in Matara – roughly 589% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,979 per month in London and $868 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. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,986 in London and $579 in Matara. That's a gap of about 589%.

Kindergarten costs $2,864 per month in London and $38.19 in Matara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Matara, where all-in costs run around $579, than in London at $3,986. In Matara it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. London has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $579 in Matara to $3,986 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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