Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Accra and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Accra: $1,077 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Accra
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Accra Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Accra

🇬🇭 Ghana

$1,077

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,077 per month in Accra vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Accra $1,077
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $1,708 per month in Accra vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Accra $1,708
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $2,340 per month in Accra vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Accra $2,340
Medellin $3,186

Accra is about 34% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Accra sits 21% below the global median, while Medellin is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.38 GHS 97.1

$8.09 COP 25.4K

3.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$51.6 GHS 597

$47.05 COP 148.0K

9.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.25 GHS 119

$9.50 COP 29.9K

7.89%

Cappuccino

$4.59 GHS 53.2

$3.01 COP 9,485

52.49%

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

$1.62 GHS 18.71

$1.80 COP 5,660

-10.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 GHS 5.48

$1.41 COP 4,443

-66.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.90 GHS 22.01

$3.18 COP 9,990

-40.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 GHS 25.32

$5.75 COP 18.1K

-61.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.59 GHS 41.53

$1.51 COP 4,751

137.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.62 GHS 18.79

$2.38 COP 7,480

-31.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.08 GHS 35.70

$1.77 COP 5,573

74.01%

Eggs

$2.62 GHS 30.36

$2.89 COP 9,093

-9.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.92 GHS 138

$10.19 COP 32.1K

16.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.37 GHS 85.3

$9.87 COP 31.1K

-25.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.96 GHS 115

$13.99 COP 44.0K

-28.81%

Apples (1kg)

$3.58 GHS 41.45

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-9.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 GHS 16.06

$1.55 COP 4,883

-10.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.78 GHS 20.61

$2.18 COP 6,867

-18.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.73 GHS 43.20

$2.18 COP 6,870

71.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.79 GHS 32.33

$1.96 COP 6,174

42.35%

Onion (1kg)

$2.77 GHS 32.13

$1.59 COP 5,000

74.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 GHS 8.63

$1.15 COP 3,604

-35.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 GHS 7.14

$1.24 COP 3,911

-50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.63 GHS 30.49

$3.96 COP 12.5K

-33.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.14 GHS 82.6

$13.68 COP 43.0K

-47.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 GHS 14.44

$1.66 COP 5,221

-24.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 GHS 27.37

$2.26 COP 7,103

4.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 GHS 17.64

$1.17 COP 3,674

29.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$41.35 GHS 479

$77.4 COP 243.4K

-46.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.76 GHS 20.36

$1.27 COP 3,989

38.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.27 GHS 14.74

$2.05 COP 6,442

-38.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.24 GHS 49.04

$8.55 COP 26.9K

-50.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 GHS 15.17

$1.35 COP 4,237

-2.96%

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

$7,861 GHS 91.0K

$34.1K COP 107.2M

-76.93%

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

$20.1K GHS 232.9K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

-41.99%

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

$73.3 GHS 849

$170 COP 533.7K

-56.78%

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

$19.53 GHS 226

$13.55 COP 42.6K

44.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.72 GHS 495

$28.07 COP 88.3K

52.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.6 GHS 818

$43.70 COP 137.5K

61.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.31 GHS 212

$17.19 COP 54.1K

6.52%

Cinema Ticket

$12.80 GHS 148

$6.91 COP 21.7K

85.24%

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

$468 GHS 5,418

$797 COP 2.5M

-41.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.5K GHS 214.1K

$9,112 COP 28.7M

102.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$14.14 GHS 164

$84.7 COP 266.5K

-83.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.57 GHS 215

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-67.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$36.87 GHS 427

$135 COP 424.6K

-72.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$52.4 GHS 607

$97.9 COP 307.9K

-46.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$686 GHS 7,942

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-43.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$280 GHS 3,247

$642 COP 2.0M

-56.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,077 GHS 12.5K

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-46.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$474 GHS 5,492

$1,012 COP 3.2M

-53.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,839 GHS 32.9K

$4,170 COP 13.1M

-31.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,425 GHS 16.5K

$1,910 COP 6.0M

-25.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$176 GHS 2,034

$657 COP 2.1M

-73.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

26.75

10.94

144.52%

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

Last update for Accra: October 25, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Accra

$280 26%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 129% $361

Groceries & Markets

Accra

$279 25.9%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 6.5% $18

Eating Out

Accra

$175 16.3%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 3.2% $5.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Accra

$136 12.6%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 55.8% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Accra

$96 8.9%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 40.2% $39

Getting Around

Accra

$56 5.2%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 68.3% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Accra

$55 5.1%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 208% $114

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $686 in Accra versus $1,208 in Medellin. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Medellin are about 3.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $52 in Accra versus $47 in Medellin. Groceries tell a different story – $279 in Accra vs $297 in Medellin – so Accra wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇭 Accra

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

17:43 5:43 PM

12:43 12:43 PM

5 h behind Accra

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,388,000 Capital

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Ghanaian Cedi GHS ₵

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 GHS = 8.64 USD

100 GHS = 7.76 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to GHS – Ghanaian Cedi Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇭 Ghanaian Cedi (₵)

Ghanaian Cedi exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 11.58 GHS (100 GHS = 8.64 USD). 1 EUR = 12.89 GHS (100 GHS = 7.76 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

USD to GHS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Accra Medellin 8,330 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Accra
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

Accra vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,077 in Accra, $1,639 in Medellin – roughly 52% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,615 per month in Accra and $2,459 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Accra, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $686 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

Groceries cost about 6% more in Medellin, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $52 in Accra and $47 in Medellin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,077 in Accra and $1,639 in Medellin, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

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

If budget matters most, go with Accra. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.