Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ratnapura and Gampaha

For one person, living is cheaper in Gampaha: $453 a month against $477 in Ratnapura, rent and utilities included – about $290 less a year. The total is higher in Ratnapura despite lower rent and utilities.

23

Cost of Living Index in Ratnapura
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Ratnapura Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Gampaha
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Gampaha Living Index

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Ratnapura

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$477

/mo nomad

Gampaha

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $477 in Ratnapura versus $453 in Gampaha.

Ratnapura $477
Gampaha $453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $766 in Ratnapura versus $768 in Gampaha.

Ratnapura $766
Gampaha $768

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,056 in Ratnapura versus $1,083 in Gampaha.

Ratnapura $1,056
Gampaha $1,083

Living in Ratnapura is roughly 5% more expensive than in Gampaha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Ratnapura 65% lower, Gampaha 67% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.98 LKR 654

$1.84 LKR 609

7.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$9.04 LKR 2,994

$18.22 LKR 6,034

-50.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 LKR 1,974

$5.20 LKR 1,721

14.62%

Cappuccino

$2.12 LKR 704

$1.24 LKR 410

70.97%

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

$0.75 LKR 247

$0.53 LKR 176

41.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 LKR 156

$0.25 LKR 82.1

88.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.94 LKR 644

$2.12 LKR 701

-8.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.67 LKR 883

$3.05 LKR 1,010

-12.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.85 LKR 614

$1.63 LKR 539

13.50%

White Bread (500g)

$0.78 LKR 259

$0.41 LKR 135

90.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.61 LKR 204

$0.73 LKR 241

-16.44%

Eggs

$1.06 LKR 353

$1.65 LKR 548

-35.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.90 LKR 4,934

$13.91 LKR 4,607

7.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.25 LKR 2,071

$4.03 LKR 1,334

55.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.90 LKR 5,266

$7.43 LKR 2,460

114.00%

Apples (1kg)

$4.27 LKR 1,416

$5.95 LKR 1,972

-28.24%

Banana (1kg)

$0.74 LKR 245

$0.82 LKR 270

-9.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.35 LKR 1,441

$4.51 LKR 1,493

-3.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.95 LKR 314

$1.32 LKR 436

-28.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.00 LKR 332

$0.95 LKR 314

5.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 LKR 457

$0.84 LKR 277

64.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.46 LKR 151

$0.29 LKR 94.8

58.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 LKR 142

$0.34 LKR 114

26.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.09 LKR 4,337

$9.88 LKR 3,273

32.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.86 LKR 4,261

$13.04 LKR 4,319

-1.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.02 LKR 668

$1.35 LKR 447

49.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 LKR 925

$2.44 LKR 808

14.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 LKR 114

$0.29 LKR 95.2

17.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.35 LKR 115

$0.29 LKR 95.0

20.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 LKR 143

$0.36 LKR 120

19.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.89 LKR 295

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.91 LKR 302

$1.17 LKR 388

-22.22%

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

$19.8K LKR 6.6M

$30.6K LKR 10.1M

-35.24%

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

$19.5K LKR 6.5M

$39.9K LKR 13.2M

-51.09%

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

$27.15 LKR 8,994

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

$2.07 LKR 686

$2.99 LKR 991

-30.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.38 LKR 2,445

$10.85 LKR 3,592

-31.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$8.94 LKR 2,963

$7.73 LKR 2,561

15.65%

Cinema Ticket

$2.40 LKR 793

$4.55 LKR 1,508

-47.25%

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

$14.93 LKR 4,944

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$121 LKR 40.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$10.42 LKR 3,452

$18.28 LKR 6,054

-43.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$7.54 LKR 2,497

$9.02 LKR 2,987

-16.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.1 LKR 27.5K

$59.9 LKR 19.8K

38.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$25.42 LKR 8,419

$23.95 LKR 7,933

6.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$75.7 LKR 25.1K

$90.2 LKR 29.9K

-16.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$55.3 LKR 18.3K

$56.4 LKR 18.7K

-2.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$302 LKR 100.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$86.1 LKR 28.5K

$163 LKR 54.0K

-47.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$172 LKR 57.0K

$231 LKR 76.4K

-25.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

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

Last update for Ratnapura: October 17, 2026

Last update for Gampaha: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ratnapura

$259 54.2%

Gampaha

$221 48.7% 14.7% $38

Eating Out

Ratnapura

$79 16.6%

Gampaha

$65 14.3% 17.9% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Ratnapura

$57 11.9%

Gampaha

$50 11% 12.1% $6.9

Accommodation & Living

Ratnapura

$55 11.6%

Gampaha

$56 12.5% 2.1% $1.1

Sport & Entertainment

Ratnapura

$14 2.9%

Gampaha

$17 3.7% 22.6% $3.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ratnapura

$9.5 * 2%

Gampaha

$41 9% 334% $32

Getting Around

Ratnapura

$3.9 * 0.8%

Gampaha

$3.2 * 0.7% 16.7% $0.6

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 $75.7 in Ratnapura and $90.2 in Gampaha. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gampaha pays 34% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $9.00 in Ratnapura vs $18.00 in Gampaha. Groceries flip the comparison at $259 vs $221, with Gampaha cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Ratnapura

🇱🇰 Gampaha

🕒 Local time

18:53 6:53 PM

Same time as Ratnapura

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

52,100

20,000

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ratnapura Gampaha 64 km

From you

Ratnapura
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

Ratnapura vs Gampaha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ratnapura and Gampaha differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($477 vs $453 including rent). Gampaha is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 34% lower in Gampaha. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $75.7 in Ratnapura versus $90.2 in Gampaha. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Gampaha – a meal for two runs $18.00 versus $9.00 in Ratnapura. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $477 per month in Ratnapura versus $453 in Gampaha – a 5% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Gampaha gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

Safety-wise, Ratnapura and Gampaha are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Gampaha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Ratnapura. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.