Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Toronto and Colombo

For one person, living is cheaper in Colombo: $796 a month against $2,530 in Toronto, rent and utilities included – about $20,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Toronto
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Toronto Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Colombo
Learn more

Colombo Living Index

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Toronto

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,530

/mo nomad

Colombo

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$796

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Toronto and in Colombo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Toronto and in Colombo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,530 in Toronto versus $796 in Colombo.

Toronto $2,530
Colombo $796

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,646 in Toronto versus $1,198 in Colombo.

Toronto $3,646
Colombo $1,198

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,761 in Toronto versus $1,600 in Colombo.

Toronto $4,761
Colombo $1,600

Living in Toronto is roughly 218% more expensive than in Colombo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Toronto is 89% above, Colombo is 41% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.67 CA$25.19

$4.52 LKR 1,496

290.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$77.4 CA$110

$24.54 LKR 8,118

215.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 CA$14.93

$7.51 LKR 2,483

39.41%

Cappuccino

$4.08 CA$5.81

$2.49 LKR 825

63.86%

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

$2.12 CA$3.02

$0.72 LKR 238

194.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 CA$2.51

$0.27 LKR 90.2

551.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.17 CA$8.80

$2.24 LKR 740

175.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.89 CA$9.82

$3.08 LKR 1,019

123.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.43 CA$3.46

$1.55 LKR 514

56.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.75 CA$3.92

$0.53 LKR 175

418.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 CA$3.18

$0.81 LKR 267

175.31%

Eggs

$3.45 CA$4.91

$1.63 LKR 539

111.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.93 CA$12.73

$13.98 LKR 4,624

-36.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.44 CA$16.31

$5.01 LKR 1,657

128.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.61 CA$20.83

$7.29 LKR 2,412

100.41%

Apples (1kg)

$3.75 CA$5.34

$6.69 LKR 2,212

-43.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.15 CA$1.64

$0.84 LKR 278

36.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.55 CA$5.06

$4.36 LKR 1,444

-18.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.28 CA$6.10

$1.22 LKR 405

250.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 CA$2.63

$0.99 LKR 329

86.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 CA$2.38

$0.82 LKR 270

103.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.22 CA$3.16

$0.93 LKR 307

138.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 CA$1.72

$0.47 LKR 154

157.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.88 CA$19.78

$10.37 LKR 3,432

33.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.25 CA$20.31

$13.56 LKR 4,487

5.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.20 CA$3.13

$1.87 LKR 620

17.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 CA$3.45

$2.98 LKR 984

-18.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.42 CA$3.44

$0.18 LKR 60.7

1244.44%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$111 CA$158

$7.13 LKR 2,358

1453.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.90 CA$4.13

$0.38 LKR 125

663.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.26 CA$1.80

$0.34 LKR 114

270.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.03 CA$31.40

$0.95 LKR 313

2218.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 CA$1.74

$1.40 LKR 462

-12.86%

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

$27.6K CA$39.4K

$37.2K LKR 12.3M

-25.79%

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

$19.8K CA$28.3K

$40.5K LKR 13.4M

-51.05%

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

$122 CA$174

$54.8 LKR 18.1K

122.33%

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

$32.03 CA$45.66

$4.17 LKR 1,381

668.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.92 CA$68.3

$20.98 LKR 6,941

128.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.90 CA$55.5

$13.81 LKR 4,568

181.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.24 CA$33.12

$5.62 LKR 1,860

313.52%

Cinema Ticket

$12.61 CA$17.97

$4.35 LKR 1,439

189.89%

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

$834 CA$1,189

$37.68 LKR 12.5K

2113.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K CA$33.3K

$1,201 LKR 397.2K

1843.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 CA$75.0

$18.01 LKR 5,958

192.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.26 CA$57.4

$16.83 LKR 5,569

139.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.2 CA$137

$78.2 LKR 25.9K

23.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 CA$175

$41.66 LKR 13.8K

195.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 CA$2,278

$586 LKR 193.8K

172.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,435 CA$2,045

$274 LKR 90.7K

423.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,657 CA$3,787

$1,514 LKR 500.7K

75.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,096 CA$2,988

$438 LKR 144.9K

378.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,033 CA$11.5K

$3,694 LKR 1.2M

117.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,557 CA$9,347

$1,169 LKR 386.8K

460.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,743 CA$5,335

$257 LKR 85.1K

1355.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.47

12.69

-64.78%

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

Last update for Toronto: October 4, 2026

Last update for Colombo: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Toronto

$1.4K 55.4%

Colombo

$274 34.1% 80.9% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Toronto

$340 13.1%

Colombo

$238 29.6% 30.1% $102

Eating Out

Toronto

$282 10.9%

Colombo

$110 13.7% 61% $172

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Toronto

$202 7.8%

Colombo

$80 10% 60.4% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Toronto

$140 5.4%

Colombo

$70 8.7% 50.4% $71

Getting Around

Toronto

$130 5%

Colombo

$10 1.2% 92.3% $120

Sport & Entertainment

Toronto

$64 2.5%

Colombo

$23 2.8% 64.9% $42

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,598 in Toronto and $586 in Colombo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Toronto pays 1356% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $77.0 in Toronto vs $25.00 in Colombo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $340 vs $238 per month, with Colombo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Toronto

🇱🇰 Colombo

🕒 Local time

05:04 5:04 AM

14:34 2:34 PM

9 h 30 min ahead of Toronto

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,731,571

753,000

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.702 USD

1 CAD = 0.626 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 CAD (1 CAD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.626 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 371 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Toronto Colombo 14,010 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Toronto
Colombo

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

Toronto vs Colombo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Colombo wins on cost – living expenses run 218% lower than in Toronto. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Colombo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 1356% higher in Toronto, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,598 in Toronto versus $586 in Colombo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 43% higher in Toronto. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Colombo – a meal for two runs $25.00 versus $77.0 in Toronto. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $796 in Colombo versus $2,530 in Toronto, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Colombo but tight or insufficient in Toronto. The gap between the two cities makes Colombo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Colombo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $796 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Colombo hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Colombo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 218% less than in Toronto. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.