Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

For one person, living is cheaper in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte: $713 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $39,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

194

Cost of Living Index in London
Learn more

London Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
Learn more

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Living Index

Jump to prices

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$713

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

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 Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $3,986 per month in London vs $713 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, rent included.

London $3,986
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte $713

A couple spends around $5,791 per month in London vs $1,101 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, rent included.

London $5,791
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte $1,101

A family of three spends $7,595 per month in London vs $1,490 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, rent included.

London $7,595
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte $1,490

London costs about 459% more than Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

London sits 195% above the global median, while Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is 47% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$4.32 LKR 1,430

500.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$24.52 LKR 8,122

334.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$7.48 LKR 2,478

43.18%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$2.46 LKR 815

122.36%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$0.68 LKR 225

336.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.27 LKR 90.2

714.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$2.17 LKR 719

320.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$2.95 LKR 976

169.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.33 LKR 440

39.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$0.53 LKR 175

290.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$0.73 LKR 243

231.51%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$1.63 LKR 541

212.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$13.88 LKR 4,599

-7.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$4.47 LKR 1,480

133.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$5.32 LKR 1,762

217.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$6.20 LKR 2,054

-49.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$0.80 LKR 266

75.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$4.42 LKR 1,465

-30.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$1.25 LKR 413

161.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$0.94 LKR 312

68.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$0.80 LKR 265

117.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$0.88 LKR 291

59.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.47 LKR 155

282.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$8.81 LKR 2,919

164.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$12.64 LKR 4,185

3.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.90 LKR 628

66.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$3.04 LKR 1,006

45.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$0.31 LKR 103

1700.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$0.34 LKR 114

888.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.57

$0.93 LKR 307

6002.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.10 LKR 364

93.64%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$36.8K LKR 12.2M

3.67%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$40.6K LKR 13.5M

0.67%

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

$372 £279

$44.92 LKR 14.9K

728.50%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$4.15 LKR 1,373

329.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$12.29 LKR 4,069

228.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$15.01 LKR 4,972

299.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$3.01 LKR 998

489.37%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$37.46 LKR 12.4K

7546.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$909 LKR 301.0K

3787.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$18.47 LKR 6,118

517.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$16.90 LKR 5,597

221.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$80.6 LKR 26.7K

54.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$41.96 LKR 13.9K

288.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$307 LKR 101.7K

834.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$228 LKR 75.6K

878.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,950

$449 LKR 148.6K

1073.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,834

$383 LKR 126.8K

886.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

$675 LKR 223.5K

2617.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,019

$538 LKR 178.2K

1391.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,778

$307 LKR 101.8K

1538.63%

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 Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$228 32% 89.8% $2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$61 8.6% 85.7% $369

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$107 15% 72.4% $280

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$222 31.2% 36.5% $127

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$2 * 0.3% 99.3% $283

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$71 10% 65.3% $134

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$21 3% 78% $74

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 $307 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. 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 1539% 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 Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $222 – making Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇱🇰 Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

🕒 Local time

10:42 10:42 AM

15:12 3:12 PM

4 h 30 min ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

115,826 Capital

💱 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 Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte 8,720 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

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 Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,986 in London, $713 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte – roughly 459% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,979 per month in London and $1,069 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, 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 $713 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. That's a gap of about 459%.

Kindergarten costs $2,864 per month in London and $37.46 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. 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 Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, where all-in costs run around $713, than in London at $3,986. In Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte 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 $713 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte 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 Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. 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.