Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Baabda and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Baabda: $1,008 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Baabda
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Baabda Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Baabda

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$1,008

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,008 in Baabda versus $1,614 in Medellin.

Baabda $1,008
Medellin $1,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,611 in Baabda versus $2,402 in Medellin.

Baabda $1,611
Medellin $2,402

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,213 in Baabda versus $3,190 in Medellin.

Baabda $2,213
Medellin $3,190

Living in Baabda costs roughly 38% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Baabda is 25% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.98 LBP 1.1M

$7.93 COP 25.2K

51.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.0 LBP 6.1M

$46.13 COP 146.3K

47.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.08 LBP 901.9K

$9.50 COP 30.1K

6.11%

Cappuccino

$4.60 LBP 411.8K

$3.11 COP 9,866

47.91%

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

$2.40 LBP 214.7K

$1.83 COP 5,800

31.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 LBP 76.3K

$1.38 COP 4,360

-38.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.92 LBP 440.0K

$3.05 COP 9,672

61.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.79 LBP 428.4K

$5.50 COP 17.4K

-12.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.97 LBP 176.3K

$1.45 COP 4,600

35.86%

White Bread (500g)

$0.91 LBP 81.9K

$2.36 COP 7,496

-61.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.34 LBP 209.0K

$1.68 COP 5,328

39.29%

Eggs

$3.67 LBP 328.8K

$2.86 COP 9,077

28.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.96 LBP 980.6K

$10.19 COP 32.3K

7.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.50 LBP 940.1K

$9.53 COP 30.2K

10.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.97 LBP 1.3M

$14.04 COP 44.5K

6.62%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 LBP 271.5K

$4.07 COP 12.9K

-25.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 LBP 153.5K

$1.50 COP 4,742

14.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 LBP 150.8K

$2.17 COP 6,891

-22.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.51 LBP 135.5K

$2.31 COP 7,310

-34.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 LBP 112.6K

$1.93 COP 6,113

-34.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.60 LBP 143.3K

$1.64 COP 5,196

-2.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 LBP 107.7K

$1.13 COP 3,571

6.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.73 LBP 65.0K

$1.25 COP 3,954

-41.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.02 LBP 270.6K

$3.99 COP 12.6K

-24.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.16 LBP 999.2K

$13.35 COP 42.3K

-16.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 LBP 114.9K

$1.70 COP 5,384

-24.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 LBP 221.7K

$2.37 COP 7,525

4.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.93 LBP 441.6K

$1.32 COP 4,179

273.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.30 LBP 205.9K

$2.14 COP 6,774

7.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.28 LBP 2.0M

$8.47 COP 26.8K

163.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 LBP 93.7K

$1.30 COP 4,114

-19.23%

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

$53.3K LBP 4.8B

$28.0K COP 88.7M

90.28%

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

$32.7K LBP 2.9B

$35.4K COP 112.3M

-7.78%

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

$236 LBP 21.2M

$172 COP 545.6K

37.38%

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

$22.34 LBP 2.0M

$13.37 COP 42.4K

67.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.79 LBP 3.4M

$28.73 COP 91.1K

31.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

Cinema Ticket

$10.08 LBP 901.9K

$6.28 COP 19.9K

60.51%

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

$686 LBP 61.4M

$770 COP 2.4M

-10.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.6K LBP 952.0M

$9,011 COP 28.6M

18.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.9 LBP 6.2M

$86.4 COP 274.0K

-20.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.2 LBP 4.5M

$57.1 COP 181.1K

-12.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 LBP 12.4M

$137 COP 432.9K

1.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$118 LBP 10.6M

$97.9 COP 310.4K

21.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.3M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.2M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

0.55%

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

Last update for Baabda: October 12, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Baabda

$297 29.4%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 27.8% $82

Groceries & Markets

Baabda

$277 27.5%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 6.3% $17

Eating Out

Baabda

$228 22.7%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 26.3% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Baabda

$169 16.8%

Medellin

$170 10.5% 0.4% $0.6

Sport & Entertainment

Baabda

$20 * 2%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 187% $38

Getting Around

Baabda

$16 * 1.6%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 468% $77

Accommodation & Living

Baabda

- * 0%

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $68.0 in Baabda vs $46.00 in Medellin. Groceries flip the comparison at $277 vs $295, with Baabda cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇱🇧 Baabda

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

08:01 8:01 AM

00:01 12:01 AM

8 h behind Baabda

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,000

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000,000 LBP = 11.17 USD

1,000,000 LBP = 9.94 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to LBP – Lebanese Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇧 Lebanese Pound (ل.ل)

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 100,618 LBP (1,000,000 LBP = 9.94 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 LBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Baabda Medellin 11,530 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Baabda
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

Baabda vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Baabda and Medellin differ by about 60% in total monthly costs ($1,008 vs $1,614 including rent). Baabda is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,512 in Baabda and $2,421 in Medellin to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $686 in Baabda versus $770 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Baabda – a meal for two runs $68.0 versus $46.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,008 in Baabda versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Baabda but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Baabda 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 Baabda gentler on the wallet – expenses run 60% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.