Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arak and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Arak: $480 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $13,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Arak
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Arak Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Arak

🇮🇷 Iran

$480

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $480 in Arak versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Arak $480
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $755 in Arak versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Arak $755
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,030 in Arak versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Arak $1,030
Medellin $3,186

Living in Arak costs roughly 71% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Arak is 65% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.55 $3.55

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-56.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.88 $12.88

$47.05 COP 151.9K

-72.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.09 $4.09

$9.50 COP 30.7K

-56.95%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.73 $0.73

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 $0.57

Cappuccino

$1.33 $1.33

$3.01 COP 9,735

-55.81%

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

$0.51 $0.51

$1.80 COP 5,809

-71.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 $1.66

$1.41 COP 4,561

17.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

Milk (1 liter)

$0.54 $0.54

$1.51 COP 4,876

-64.24%

White Bread (500g)

$0.58 $0.58

$2.38 COP 7,678

-75.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.96 $1.96

$1.77 COP 5,720

10.73%

Eggs

$1.28 $1.28

$2.89 COP 9,333

-55.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.14 $2.14

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-79.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.53 $2.53

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-74.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.31 $10.31

$13.99 COP 45.2K

-26.30%

Apples (1kg)

$0.77 $0.77

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-80.60%

Banana (1kg)

$0.94 $0.94

$1.55 COP 5,012

-39.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.63 $0.63

$2.18 COP 7,048

-71.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.48 $0.48

$2.18 COP 7,051

-77.98%

Potato (1kg)

$0.42 $0.42

$1.96 COP 6,337

-78.57%

Onion (1kg)

$0.44 $0.44

$1.59 COP 5,132

-72.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.48 $0.48

$1.15 COP 3,699

-58.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.28 $0.28

$1.24 COP 4,014

-77.42%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.76 $0.76

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 $0.55

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 $2.17

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.52 $2.52

$3.96 COP 12.8K

-36.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.10 $0.10

$1.17 COP 3,771

-91.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$9.70 $9.70

$77.4 COP 249.8K

-87.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.25 $0.25

$1.27 COP 4,094

-80.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.12 $0.12

$2.05 COP 6,612

-94.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.02 $1.02

$8.55 COP 27.6K

-88.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.10 $0.10

$1.35 COP 4,349

-92.59%

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

$50.3K $50.3K

$34.1K COP 110.0M

47.79%

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

$35.0K $35.0K

$34.7K COP 111.9M

0.81%

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

$10.03 $10.03

$170 COP 547.8K

-94.09%

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

$1.43 $1.43

$13.55 COP 43.8K

-89.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$4.01 $4.01

$28.07 COP 90.6K

-85.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$9.93 $9.93

$43.70 COP 141.1K

-77.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.64 $24.64

$17.19 COP 55.5K

43.34%

Cinema Ticket

$1.11 $1.11

$6.91 COP 22.3K

-83.94%

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

$83.3 $83.3

$797 COP 2.6M

-89.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,372 $2,372

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-73.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.59 $13.59

$84.7 COP 273.5K

-83.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$8.51 $8.51

$58.0 COP 187.2K

-85.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.9 $81.9

$135 COP 435.8K

-39.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$52.1 $52.1

$97.9 COP 316.0K

-46.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$294 $294

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-75.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$210 $210

$642 COP 2.1M

-67.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$781 $781

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-61.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$357 $357

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-64.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,369 $1,369

$4,170 COP 13.5M

-67.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$647 $647

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-66.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$375 $375

$657 COP 2.1M

-42.86%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

18.5

10.94

69.10%

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

Last update for Arak: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Arak

$210 43.7%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 206% $432

Groceries & Markets

Arak

$96 20%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 209% $201

Clothing & Footwear

Arak

$70 14.6%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 141% $99

Eating Out

Arak

$65 13.6%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 160% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arak

$15 3.2%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 1265% $196

Sport & Entertainment

Arak

$12 2.5%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 374% $45

Getting Around

Arak

$11 2.3%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 754% $83

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $294 in Arak and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 75% 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: $13 in Arak vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $96 vs $297 per month, with Arak cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇷 Arak

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

08:10 8:10 AM

23:40 11:40 PM

8 h 30 min behind Arak

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

526,200

2,486,723

💱 Currency

USD USD

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.896 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, EUR to USD – USD Converter

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

USD exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.896 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,605 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

COP to USD in detail →

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Between locations

Arak Medellin 12,730 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Arak
Medellin

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Arak vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Arak is about 71% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 43% lower in Arak. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $294 in Arak versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $480 per month in Arak versus $1,639 in Medellin – Arak is about 71% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Arak runs roughly 87% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $480 in Arak versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Arak but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Arak 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 Arak gentler on the wallet – expenses run 71% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.