Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ndola and Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

For one person, living costs are similar in Ndola and in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte: $719 and $707 a month, rent and utilities included.

35

Cost of Living Index in Ndola
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Ndola Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
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Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Living Index

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Ndola

🇿🇲 Zambia

$719

/mo nomad

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$707

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ndola 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 Ndola and in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $719 per month in Ndola vs $707 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, rent included.

Ndola $719
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte $707

A couple spends around $1,721 per month in Ndola vs $1,096 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, rent included.

Ndola $1,721
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte $1,096

A family of three spends $2,723 per month in Ndola vs $1,485 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, rent included.

Ndola $2,723
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte $1,485

Ndola costs about 2% more than Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both Ndola and Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte are more affordable than the global median – Ndola 47% lower, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte 48% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.58 ZMW 111

$3.84 LKR 1,271

45.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.02 ZMW 597

$25.15 LKR 8,331

19.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.00 ZMW 99.4

$7.65 LKR 2,533

-34.64%

Cappuccino

$2.76 ZMW 54.8

$2.57 LKR 852

7.39%

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

$0.52 ZMW 10.25

$0.73 LKR 241

-28.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.24 ZMW 4.73

$0.25 LKR 81.8

-4.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 ZMW 24.31

$2.22 LKR 735

-45.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 ZMW 44.02

$2.98 LKR 989

-25.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 ZMW 32.92

$1.27 LKR 421

29.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 ZMW 23.56

$0.58 LKR 191

103.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 ZMW 42.31

$0.74 LKR 246

187.84%

Eggs

$1.56 ZMW 31.07

$1.72 LKR 568

-9.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.15 ZMW 202

$13.81 LKR 4,576

-26.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.18 ZMW 123

$4.41 LKR 1,462

40.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.71 ZMW 133

$5.29 LKR 1,754

26.84%

Apples (1kg)

$1.47 ZMW 29.27

$6.21 LKR 2,058

-76.33%

Banana (1kg)

$2.41 ZMW 48.00

$0.84 LKR 279

186.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.74 ZMW 74.3

$4.36 LKR 1,445

-14.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ZMW 30.72

$1.20 LKR 397

28.33%

Potato (1kg)

$2.53 ZMW 50.4

$0.87 LKR 288

190.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 ZMW 35.84

$0.82 LKR 270

119.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ZMW 21.93

$0.88 LKR 291

25.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ZMW 11.60

$0.46 LKR 151

26.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.09 ZMW 61.5

$9.15 LKR 3,031

-66.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.83 ZMW 196

$12.73 LKR 4,216

-22.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 ZMW 28.97

$1.95 LKR 645

-25.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.35 ZMW 46.73

$3.02 LKR 1,001

-22.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 ZMW 14.29

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.57 ZMW 51.2

$0.31 LKR 103

729.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 ZMW 30.41

$0.38 LKR 125

302.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.03 ZMW 100

$0.88 LKR 292

471.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 ZMW 26.78

$1.15 LKR 381

17.39%

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

$7,392 ZMW 147.0K

$43.5K LKR 14.4M

-83.00%

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

$26.9K ZMW 534.7K

$41.0K LKR 13.6M

-34.41%

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

$80.2 ZMW 1,596

$45.62 LKR 15.1K

75.89%

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

$10.45 ZMW 208

$4.36 LKR 1,445

139.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.2 ZMW 1,098

$12.16 LKR 4,028

354.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$14.89 LKR 4,933

Cinema Ticket

$6.04 ZMW 120

$3.08 LKR 1,020

96.10%

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

$135 ZMW 2,692

$37.61 LKR 12.5K

259.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.3K ZMW 324.7K

$896 LKR 296.9K

1720.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.64 ZMW 470

$18.40 LKR 6,093

28.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.39 ZMW 306

$16.89 LKR 5,593

-8.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$45.69 ZMW 909

$79.3 LKR 26.3K

-42.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.4 ZMW 1,421

$41.35 LKR 13.7K

72.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$177 ZMW 3,526

$307 LKR 101.7K

-42.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$148 ZMW 2,948

$224 LKR 74.1K

-33.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$370 ZMW 7,365

$445 LKR 147.4K

-16.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,482 ZMW 29.5K

$382 LKR 126.4K

288.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$692 LKR 229.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$531 LKR 175.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$596 ZMW 11.9K

$298 LKR 98.8K

99.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

128.53%

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

Last update for Ndola: October 18, 2026

Last update for Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ndola

$223 31.1%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$222 31.4% 0.7% $1.7

Accommodation & Living

Ndola

$148 20.6%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$224 31.7% 51% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ndola

$146 20.3%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$62 8.8% 57.4% $84

Eating Out

Ndola

$106 14.8%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$105 14.9% 0.7% $0.8

Clothing & Footwear

Ndola

$70 9.8%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$70 9.9% 0.1% $0.1

Getting Around

Ndola

$13 * 1.8%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$2.2 * 0.3% 83.2% $11

Sport & Entertainment

Ndola

$12 * 1.7%

Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

$21 3% 74.3% $9

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $177 in Ndola 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 100% higher in Ndola, 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 $30.00 in Ndola versus $25.00 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $222 – making Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇲 Ndola

🇱🇰 Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte

🕒 Local time

06:47 6:47 AM

10:17 10:17 AM

3 h 30 min ahead of Ndola

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

455,194

115,826 Capital

💱 Currency

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZMW = 5.03 USD

100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to ZMW – Zambian Kwacha Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇲 Zambian Kwacha (ZK)

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 19.89 ZMW (100 ZMW = 5.03 USD). 1 EUR = 22.36 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to ZMW in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ndola Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte 6,080 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Ndola
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

Ndola vs Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Ndola is pricier by about 2%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in utilities.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,079 per month in Ndola and $1,060 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $30.00 in Ndola and $25.00 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 1% more in Ndola, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

$1,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $719 in Ndola and $707 in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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, Ndola makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.