Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ar-rass and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Ar-rass: $1,154 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Ar-rass
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Ar-rass Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Ar-rass

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,154

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,154 in Ar-rass versus $1,614 in Medellin.

Ar-rass $1,154
Medellin $1,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,690 in Ar-rass versus $2,402 in Medellin.

Ar-rass $1,690
Medellin $2,402

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,226 in Ar-rass versus $3,190 in Medellin.

Ar-rass $2,226
Medellin $3,190

Living in Ar-rass costs roughly 29% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ar-rass is 15% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.16 SAR 23.12

$7.93 COP 25.2K

-22.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.47 SAR 141

$46.13 COP 146.3K

-18.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.90 SAR 29.65

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-16.84%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.89 SAR 7.07

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 SAR 8.58

Cappuccino

$3.25 SAR 12.18

$3.11 COP 9,866

4.50%

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

$0.91 SAR 3.41

$1.83 COP 5,800

-50.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 SAR 0.98

$1.38 COP 4,360

-81.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,672

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.4K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 SAR 6.81

$1.45 COP 4,600

24.83%

White Bread (500g)

$0.39 SAR 1.45

$2.36 COP 7,496

-83.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 SAR 7.19

$1.68 COP 5,328

14.29%

Eggs

$3.60 SAR 13.52

$2.86 COP 9,077

25.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.00 SAR 26.28

$10.19 COP 32.3K

-31.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.05 SAR 30.20

$9.53 COP 30.2K

-15.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 SAR 47.99

$14.04 COP 44.5K

-8.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 SAR 8.41

$4.07 COP 12.9K

-44.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 SAR 6.60

$1.50 COP 4,742

17.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 SAR 5.91

$2.17 COP 6,891

-27.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.57 SAR 5.89

$2.31 COP 7,310

-32.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 SAR 4.37

$1.93 COP 6,113

-39.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 SAR 5.11

$1.64 COP 5,196

-17.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 SAR 4.79

$1.13 COP 3,571

13.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 SAR 2.14

$1.25 COP 3,954

-54.40%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.26 SAR 12.24

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 SAR 7.46

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 SAR 8.49

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.53 SAR 28.27

$3.99 COP 12.6K

88.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.3K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,384

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,525

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 SAR 3.69

$1.21 COP 3,827

-19.01%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.39 SAR 129

$76.5 COP 242.5K

-55.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.59 SAR 9.72

$1.32 COP 4,179

96.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.87 SAR 7.02

$2.14 COP 6,774

-12.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.84 SAR 44.42

$8.47 COP 26.8K

39.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.65 SAR 2.44

$1.30 COP 4,114

-50.00%

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

$43.1K SAR 161.7K

$28.0K COP 88.7M

54.00%

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

$20.9K SAR 78.3K

$35.4K COP 112.3M

-41.11%

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

$110 SAR 414

$172 COP 545.6K

-35.92%

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

$23.87 SAR 89.6

$13.37 COP 42.4K

78.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.0 SAR 221

$28.73 COP 91.1K

105.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.88 SAR 168

$45.24 COP 143.5K

-0.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

Cinema Ticket

$13.43 SAR 50.4

$6.28 COP 19.9K

113.85%

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

$425 SAR 1,595

$770 COP 2.4M

-44.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,688 SAR 32.6K

$9,011 COP 28.6M

-3.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.84 SAR 161

$86.4 COP 274.0K

-50.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.4 SAR 234

$57.1 COP 181.1K

9.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 SAR 360

$137 COP 432.9K

-29.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.6 SAR 329

$97.9 COP 310.4K

-10.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$579 SAR 2,174

$1,055 COP 3.3M

-45.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$394 SAR 1,480

$616 COP 2.0M

-35.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$388 SAR 1,456

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-79.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$563 SAR 2,111

$1,023 COP 3.2M

-45.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,625 SAR 9,851

$4,059 COP 12.9M

-35.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,188 SAR 4,460

$1,678 COP 5.3M

-29.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,765 SAR 6,622

$652 COP 2.1M

170.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.54

10.94

-49.36%

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

Last update for Ar-rass: 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

Ar-rass

$394 34.2%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 56.1% $221

Groceries & Markets

Ar-rass

$198 17.1%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 49% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ar-rass

$193 16.7%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 10.9% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Ar-rass

$130 11.3%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 30.8% $40

Eating Out

Ar-rass

$117 10.1%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 44.4% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Ar-rass

$72 6.2%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 19.4% $14

Getting Around

Ar-rass

$50 4.4%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 85.7% $43

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $579 in Ar-rass and $1,055 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ar-rass pays 171% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37.00 in Ar-rass vs $46.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $295 per month, with Ar-rass cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Ar-rass

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

17:27 5:27 PM

09:27 9:27 AM

8 h behind Ar-rass

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

121,359

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 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 SAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ar-rass Medellin 12,540 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Ar-rass
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

Ar-rass vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ar-rass and Medellin differ by about 40% in total monthly costs ($1,154 vs $1,614 including rent). Ar-rass is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 171% higher in Ar-rass, 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: $579 in Ar-rass versus $1,055 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $425 in Ar-rass versus $770 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 49% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,154 in Ar-rass versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ar-rass but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Ar-rass 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.

Expats usually find Ar-rass gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.