Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aalst and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,614 a month against $2,067 in Aalst, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Aalst
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Aalst Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Aalst

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,067

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Aalst and in Medellin

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,067 in Aalst versus $1,614 in Medellin.

Aalst $2,067
Medellin $1,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,086 in Aalst versus $2,402 in Medellin.

Aalst $3,086
Medellin $2,402

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,105 in Aalst versus $3,190 in Medellin.

Aalst $4,105
Medellin $3,190

Living in Aalst is roughly 28% more expensive than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Aalst 53% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.53 €20.10

$7.93 COP 25.3K

184.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 €94.3

$46.13 COP 146.9K

129.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.43 €11.99

$9.50 COP 30.3K

41.37%

Cappuccino

$4.43 €3.95

$3.11 COP 9,908

42.44%

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

$3.63 €3.24

$1.83 COP 5,824

98.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.17 €2.83

$1.38 COP 4,378

129.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.55 €4.96

$3.05 COP 9,712

81.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.53 €4.93

$5.50 COP 17.5K

0.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.45 COP 4,619

-9.66%

White Bread (500g)

$2.81 €2.51

$2.36 COP 7,527

19.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 €1.90

$1.68 COP 5,351

26.79%

Eggs

$3.83 €3.42

$2.86 COP 9,115

33.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.39 €15.52

$10.19 COP 32.4K

70.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.87 €10.59

$9.53 COP 30.3K

24.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.29 €19.90

$14.04 COP 44.7K

58.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 €2.67

$4.07 COP 13.0K

-26.54%

Banana (1kg)

$2.43 €2.17

$1.50 COP 4,762

62.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 €2.38

$2.17 COP 6,920

23.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.23 €2.88

$2.31 COP 7,340

39.83%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 €2.21

$1.93 COP 6,139

27.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 €1.74

$1.64 COP 5,218

18.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.13 COP 3,586

36.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 €0.94

$1.25 COP 3,971

-16.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.93 €11.54

$3.99 COP 12.7K

224.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.74 €7.80

$13.35 COP 42.5K

-34.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 €1.54

$1.70 COP 5,406

1.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 €1.85

$2.37 COP 7,557

-12.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.09 €2.76

$1.21 COP 3,843

155.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 243.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 €2.55

$1.32 COP 4,197

116.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.35 €2.09

$2.14 COP 6,802

9.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$40.40 €36.05

$8.47 COP 27.0K

376.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.30 COP 4,132

63.08%

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

$34.7K €30.9K

$28.0K COP 89.1M

23.85%

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

$32.8K €29.3K

$35.4K COP 112.8M

-7.34%

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

$203 €181

$172 COP 547.9K

17.85%

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

$21.94 €19.58

$13.37 COP 42.6K

64.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.8 €45.37

$28.73 COP 91.5K

76.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.21 €32.32

$45.24 COP 144.1K

-19.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.03 €18.77

$17.04 COP 54.3K

23.42%

Cinema Ticket

$15.18 €13.55

$6.28 COP 20.0K

141.72%

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

$1,605 €1,433

$770 COP 2.5M

108.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$33.7K €30.1K

$9,011 COP 28.7M

274.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 €101

$86.4 COP 275.1K

30.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.17 €41.21

$57.1 COP 181.9K

-19.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 €90.9

$137 COP 434.7K

-25.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 €146

$97.9 COP 311.7K

66.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$911 €813

$1,055 COP 3.4M

-13.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$808 €721

$616 COP 2.0M

31.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,384 €1,236

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-26.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,104 €985

$1,023 COP 3.3M

7.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,162 €3,714

$4,059 COP 12.9M

2.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,890 €2,580

$1,678 COP 5.3M

72.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,782 €2,483

$652 COP 2.1M

326.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.46

10.94

-68.37%

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

Last update for Aalst: October 12, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Aalst

$807 39.1%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 23.7% $192

Groceries & Markets

Aalst

$360 17.4%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 18.2% $65

Eating Out

Aalst

$340 16.4%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 50.4% $171

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aalst

$276 13.3%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 22.3% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Aalst

$191 9.2%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 10.9% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Aalst

$67 3.2%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 13.2% $8.8

Getting Around

Aalst

$27 * 1.3%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 246% $66

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 $911 in Aalst and $1,055 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aalst pays 326% 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: $106 in Aalst vs $46.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $360 vs $295 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇪 Aalst

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

02:48 2:48 AM

19:48 7:48 PM

7 h behind Aalst

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,271

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 3,184 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,563 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Aalst Medellin 8,740 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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Aalst
Medellin

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

Aalst vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Aalst and Medellin differ by about 28% in total monthly costs ($2,067 vs $1,614 including rent). Medellin is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 326% higher in Aalst, 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: $911 in Aalst versus $1,055 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% higher in Aalst. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,067 per month in Aalst versus $1,614 in Medellin – a 28% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,614 in Medellin versus $2,067 in Aalst, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Aalst. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Aalst and Medellin 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 Medellin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Aalst. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.