Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Balikpapan and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Balikpapan: $669 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Balikpapan
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Balikpapan Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Balikpapan

🇮🇩 Indonesia

$669

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $669 in Balikpapan versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Balikpapan $669
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,057 in Balikpapan versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Balikpapan $1,057
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,444 in Balikpapan versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Balikpapan $1,444
Medellin $3,186

Living in Balikpapan costs roughly 59% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Balikpapan is 51% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.40 Rp 25.4K

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-82.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$10.88 Rp 197.7K

$47.05 COP 151.8K

-76.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.02 Rp 54.8K

$9.50 COP 30.7K

-68.21%

Cappuccino

$1.34 Rp 24.4K

$3.01 COP 9,729

-55.48%

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

$0.35 Rp 6,320

$1.80 COP 5,806

-80.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 Rp 7,034

$1.41 COP 4,558

-72.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.25 Rp 40.8K

$3.18 COP 10.2K

-29.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.51 Rp 63.7K

$5.75 COP 18.6K

-38.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 Rp 20.5K

$1.51 COP 4,873

-25.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 Rp 19.1K

$2.38 COP 7,673

-55.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.17 Rp 21.3K

$1.77 COP 5,716

-33.90%

Eggs

$2.43 Rp 44.1K

$2.89 COP 9,327

-15.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.14 Rp 129.7K

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-29.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.98 Rp 54.1K

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-69.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.63 Rp 156.8K

$13.99 COP 45.1K

-38.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.18 Rp 39.6K

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-45.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.31 Rp 23.7K

$1.55 COP 5,009

-15.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 Rp 28.0K

$2.18 COP 7,044

-29.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.19 Rp 21.6K

$2.18 COP 7,047

-45.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 Rp 21.8K

$1.96 COP 6,333

-38.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 Rp 35.5K

$1.59 COP 5,129

22.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 Rp 15.3K

$1.15 COP 3,696

-26.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 Rp 13.0K

$1.24 COP 4,012

-41.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.78 Rp 32.2K

$3.96 COP 12.8K

-55.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$21.12 Rp 383.5K

$13.68 COP 44.2K

54.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 Rp 32.6K

$1.66 COP 5,356

7.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 Rp 54.0K

$2.26 COP 7,286

31.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.23 Rp 4,151

$1.17 COP 3,769

-80.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.50 Rp 208.8K

$77.4 COP 249.7K

-85.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.11 Rp 20.2K

$1.27 COP 4,092

-12.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 Rp 5,189

$2.05 COP 6,608

-85.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.81 Rp 51.0K

$8.55 COP 27.6K

-67.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.75 Rp 13.7K

$1.35 COP 4,346

-44.44%

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

$23.2K Rp 420.9M

$34.1K COP 109.9M

-31.98%

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

$31.4K Rp 570.2M

$34.7K COP 111.9M

-9.44%

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

$64.1 Rp 1.2M

$170 COP 547.5K

-62.20%

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

$4.19 Rp 76.1K

$13.55 COP 43.7K

-69.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.48 Rp 535.4K

$28.07 COP 90.6K

5.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.84 Rp 432.9K

$43.70 COP 141.0K

-45.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.27 Rp 150.3K

$17.19 COP 55.5K

-51.89%

Cinema Ticket

$2.82 Rp 51.3K

$6.91 COP 22.3K

-59.19%

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

$91.6 Rp 1.7M

$797 COP 2.6M

-88.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,145 Rp 166.1M

$9,112 COP 29.4M

0.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.81 Rp 686.7K

$84.7 COP 273.4K

-55.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.66 Rp 338.9K

$58.0 COP 187.0K

-67.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$140 Rp 2.5M

$135 COP 435.5K

3.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.6 Rp 1.3M

$97.9 COP 315.8K

-27.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$197 Rp 3.6M

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-83.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$143 Rp 2.6M

$642 COP 2.1M

-77.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$559 Rp 10.2M

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-72.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$362 Rp 6.6M

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-64.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,323 Rp 24.0M

$4,170 COP 13.5M

-68.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$777 Rp 14.1M

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-59.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$238 Rp 4.3M

$657 COP 2.1M

-63.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.46

10.94

-13.53%

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

Last update for Balikpapan: October 27, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Balikpapan

$206 30.8%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 44.2% $91

Accommodation & Living

Balikpapan

$143 21.4%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 348% $498

Clothing & Footwear

Balikpapan

$120 18%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 40.5% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Balikpapan

$98 14.6%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 116% $113

Eating Out

Balikpapan

$58 8.6%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 195% $112

Sport & Entertainment

Balikpapan

$29 4.4%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 95.1% $28

Getting Around

Balikpapan

$15 2.2%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 526% $79

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $197 in Balikpapan and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 2.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $11 in Balikpapan vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $206 vs $297 per month, with Balikpapan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇩 Balikpapan

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

18:04 6:04 PM

05:04 5:04 AM

13 h behind Balikpapan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

701,066

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Indonesian Rupiah IDR Rp

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD

100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to IDR – Indonesian Rupiah Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇩 Indonesian Rupiah (Rp)

Indonesian Rupiah exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 18,161 IDR (100,000 IDR = 5.51 USD). 1 EUR = 20,333 IDR (100,000 IDR = 4.92 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 3,227 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,613 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

USD to IDR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Balikpapan Medellin 18,520 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Balikpapan
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

Balikpapan vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $669 in Balikpapan and $1,639 in Medellin, so Balikpapan is about 59% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 64% lower in Balikpapan. 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: $197 in Balikpapan versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Balikpapan runs roughly 85% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $92 in Balikpapan versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $669 in Balikpapan versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Balikpapan but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Balikpapan 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 Balikpapan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 59% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.