Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bern and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $3,524 in Bern, rent and utilities included – about $22,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

171

Cost of Living Index in Bern
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Bern Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Bern

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,524

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,524 in Bern versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Bern $3,524
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,348 in Bern versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Bern $5,348
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,171 in Bern versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Bern $7,171
Medellin $3,186

Living in Bern is roughly 115% more expensive than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bern 159% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$28.73 CHF 23.81

$8.09 COP 25.4K

255.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$123 CHF 102

$47.05 COP 148.0K

161.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.88 CHF 13.16

$9.50 COP 29.9K

67.16%

Cappuccino

$6.89 CHF 5.71

$3.01 COP 9,485

128.90%

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

$6.13 CHF 5.08

$1.80 COP 5,660

240.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.96 CHF 5.77

$1.41 COP 4,443

393.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.11 CHF 7.55

$3.18 COP 9,990

186.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.06 CHF 6.68

$5.75 COP 18.1K

40.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.21 CHF 1.84

$1.51 COP 4,751

46.36%

White Bread (500g)

$2.92 CHF 2.42

$2.38 COP 7,480

22.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.17 CHF 2.63

$1.77 COP 5,573

79.10%

Eggs

$7.70 CHF 6.39

$2.89 COP 9,093

166.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.56 CHF 20.35

$10.19 COP 32.1K

141.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$29.33 CHF 24.31

$9.87 COP 31.1K

197.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$38.43 CHF 31.85

$13.99 COP 44.0K

174.70%

Apples (1kg)

$3.80 CHF 3.15

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-4.28%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 CHF 1.67

$1.55 COP 4,883

29.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 CHF 2.15

$2.18 COP 6,867

19.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.62 CHF 3.83

$2.18 COP 6,870

111.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 CHF 1.37

$1.96 COP 6,174

-15.82%

Onion (1kg)

$2.05 CHF 1.70

$1.59 COP 5,000

28.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.21 CHF 1.84

$1.15 COP 3,604

92.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 CHF 1.06

$1.24 COP 3,911

3.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.13 CHF 9.23

$3.96 COP 12.5K

181.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.91 CHF 9.87

$13.68 COP 43.0K

-12.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.29 CHF 1.90

$1.66 COP 5,222

37.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 CHF 2.51

$2.26 COP 7,104

33.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$6.35 CHF 5.26

$1.17 COP 3,674

442.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.9 CHF 81.1

$77.4 COP 243.4K

26.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.99 CHF 6.62

$1.27 COP 3,989

529.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.66 CHF 3.86

$2.05 COP 6,442

127.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$110 CHF 91.3

$8.55 COP 26.9K

1187.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.36 CHF 1.96

$1.35 COP 4,237

74.81%

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

$38.5K CHF 31.9K

$34.1K COP 107.2M

13.08%

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

$39.6K CHF 32.8K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

14.22%

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

$272 CHF 225

$170 COP 533.7K

60.21%

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

$28.10 CHF 23.29

$13.55 COP 42.6K

107.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.0 CHF 44.79

$28.07 COP 88.3K

92.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$85.2 CHF 70.6

$43.70 COP 137.5K

94.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.65 CHF 39.50

$17.19 COP 54.1K

177.20%

Cinema Ticket

$25.53 CHF 21.16

$6.91 COP 21.7K

269.46%

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

$3,123 CHF 2,589

$797 COP 2.5M

292.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.5K CHF 25.3K

$9,112 COP 28.7M

234.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$144 CHF 119

$84.7 COP 266.5K

69.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.4 CHF 50.9

$58.0 COP 182.3K

5.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$155 CHF 129

$135 COP 424.6K

15.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$198 CHF 164

$97.9 COP 307.9K

102.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,102 CHF 1,743

$1,208 COP 3.8M

74.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,584 CHF 1,313

$642 COP 2.0M

146.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,558 CHF 2,949

$2,028 COP 6.4M

75.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,670 CHF 2,213

$1,012 COP 3.2M

163.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.2K CHF 15.1K

$4,170 COP 13.1M

337.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$14.0K CHF 11.6K

$1,910 COP 6.0M

633.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,701 CHF 5,555

$657 COP 2.1M

919.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.46

10.94

-77.51%

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

Last update for Bern: October 25, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bern

$1.6K 45%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 59.5% $943

Groceries & Markets

Bern

$570 16.2%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 47.9% $273

Eating Out

Bern

$474 13.5%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 64.2% $305

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bern

$354 10%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 40.3% $143

Clothing & Footwear

Bern

$251 7.1%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 32.7% $82

Getting Around

Bern

$155 4.4%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 39.5% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Bern

$136 3.9%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 57.8% $79

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,102 in Bern and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bern pays about 10 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $123 in Bern vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $570 vs $297 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Bern

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

12:56 12:56 PM

06:56 6:56 AM

6 h behind Bern

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

128,848 Capital

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.829 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.923 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,501 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

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Between locations

Bern Medellin 8,970 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Bern
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

Bern vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin wins on cost – living expenses run 53% lower than in Bern. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Medellin the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Bern is about 10 times higher, 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: $2,102 in Bern versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Medellin – a meal for two runs $47 versus $123 in Bern. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $3,524 per month in Bern versus $1,639 in Medellin – a 115% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,639 in Medellin versus $3,524 in Bern, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Bern. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Medellin delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,639 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Medellin hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Medellin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 53% less than in Bern. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.