Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alexandria and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Alexandria: $859 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Alexandria
Learn more

Alexandria Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

Jump to prices

Alexandria

🇷🇴 Romania

$859

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $859 in Alexandria versus $1,614 in Medellin.

Alexandria $859
Medellin $1,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,320 in Alexandria versus $2,402 in Medellin.

Alexandria $1,320
Medellin $2,402

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,781 in Alexandria versus $3,190 in Medellin.

Alexandria $1,781
Medellin $3,190

Living in Alexandria costs roughly 47% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Alexandria is 36% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.30 RON 39.26

$7.93 COP 25.2K

4.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.10 RON 142

$46.13 COP 146.3K

-34.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.24 RON 34.24

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-23.79%

Cappuccino

$1.62 RON 7.68

$3.11 COP 9,866

-47.91%

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

$1.76 RON 8.34

$1.83 COP 5,800

-3.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 RON 7.03

$1.38 COP 4,360

7.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.11 RON 9.99

$3.05 COP 9,672

-30.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 RON 11.66

$5.50 COP 17.4K

-55.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 RON 6.56

$1.45 COP 4,600

-4.14%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 RON 3.78

$2.36 COP 7,496

-66.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.10 RON 5.21

$1.68 COP 5,328

-34.52%

Eggs

$2.16 RON 10.23

$2.86 COP 9,077

-24.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.98 RON 23.57

$10.19 COP 32.3K

-51.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.30 RON 20.35

$9.53 COP 30.2K

-54.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.67 RON 36.31

$14.04 COP 44.5K

-45.37%

Apples (1kg)

$0.88 RON 4.16

$4.07 COP 12.9K

-78.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 RON 5.57

$1.50 COP 4,742

-21.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.98 RON 4.61

$2.17 COP 6,891

-54.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.98 RON 4.62

$2.31 COP 7,310

-57.58%

Potato (1kg)

$0.70 RON 3.33

$1.93 COP 6,113

-63.73%

Onion (1kg)

$0.61 RON 2.87

$1.64 COP 5,196

-62.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 RON 3.40

$1.13 COP 3,571

-36.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 RON 4.06

$1.25 COP 3,954

-31.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.43 RON 25.69

$3.99 COP 12.6K

36.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.15 RON 24.38

$13.35 COP 42.3K

-61.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 RON 4.34

$1.70 COP 5,384

-45.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.08 RON 5.10

$2.37 COP 7,525

-54.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.60 RON 2.86

$1.21 COP 3,827

-50.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.28 RON 200

$76.5 COP 242.5K

-44.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.44 RON 2.07

$1.32 COP 4,179

-66.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.40 RON 1.91

$2.14 COP 6,774

-81.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.49 RON 25.97

$8.47 COP 26.8K

-35.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 RON 8.14

$1.30 COP 4,114

32.31%

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

$16.1K RON 76.2K

$28.0K COP 88.7M

-42.47%

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

$23.1K RON 109.4K

$35.4K COP 112.3M

-34.71%

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

$115 RON 545

$172 COP 545.6K

-33.06%

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

$5.18 RON 24.53

$13.37 COP 42.4K

-61.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.60 RON 35.96

$28.73 COP 91.1K

-73.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.6 RON 277

$45.24 COP 143.5K

29.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.59 RON 116

$17.04 COP 54.0K

44.31%

Cinema Ticket

$6.36 RON 30.10

$6.28 COP 19.9K

1.27%

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

$308 RON 1,459

$770 COP 2.4M

-59.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,663 RON 31.5K

$9,011 COP 28.6M

-26.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.7 RON 245

$86.4 COP 274.0K

-40.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.37 RON 106

$57.1 COP 181.1K

-60.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$63.2 RON 299

$137 COP 432.9K

-53.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$64.0 RON 303

$97.9 COP 310.4K

-34.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$319 RON 1,511

$1,055 COP 3.3M

-69.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$238 RON 1,127

$616 COP 2.0M

-61.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$577 RON 2,731

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-69.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$419 RON 1,981

$1,023 COP 3.2M

-59.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,235 RON 5,842

$4,059 COP 12.9M

-69.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$778 RON 3,679

$1,678 COP 5.3M

-53.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$844 RON 3,995

$652 COP 2.1M

29.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.73

10.94

-38.48%

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

Last update for Alexandria: October 10, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Alexandria

$238 27.7%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 159% $378

Groceries & Markets

Alexandria

$148 17.2%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 98.9% $147

Eating Out

Alexandria

$136 15.8%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 23.8% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alexandria

$128 14.9%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 67.4% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Alexandria

$91 10.5%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 87.8% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Alexandria

$71 8.3%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 18.9% $13

Getting Around

Alexandria

$47 5.5%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 97.9% $46

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $319 in Alexandria and $1,055 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Alexandria pays 29% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $30.00 in Alexandria vs $46.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $148 vs $295 per month, with Alexandria cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Alexandria

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

10:22 10:22 AM

02:22 2:22 AM

8 h behind Alexandria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,434

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Alexandria Medellin 10,390 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Alexandria
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

Alexandria vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Alexandria wins on cost – living expenses run 88% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Alexandria the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 29% higher in Alexandria, 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: $319 in Alexandria versus $1,055 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $859 per month in Alexandria versus $1,614 in Medellin – a 88% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Alexandria runs roughly 81% less than in Medellin. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $859 in Alexandria versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Alexandria but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Alexandria the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Alexandria delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $859 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Alexandria hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Alexandria gentler on the wallet – expenses run 88% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.