Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bitola and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Bitola: $859 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Bitola
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Bitola Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Bitola

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$859

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $859 in Bitola versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Bitola $859
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,289 in Bitola versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Bitola $1,289
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,718 in Bitola versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Bitola $1,718
Medellin $3,186

Living in Bitola costs roughly 48% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bitola is 37% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.23 MKD 287

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-35.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.77 MKD 1,472

$47.05 COP 151.9K

-43.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.04 MKD 277

$9.50 COP 30.7K

-46.95%

Cappuccino

$1.96 MKD 108

$3.01 COP 9,735

-34.88%

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

$1.71 MKD 93.9

$1.80 COP 5,809

-5.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.46 MKD 80.3

$1.41 COP 4,561

3.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 MKD 119

$3.18 COP 10.3K

-32.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 MKD 144

$5.75 COP 18.6K

-54.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 MKD 75.7

$1.51 COP 4,876

-8.61%

White Bread (500g)

$0.66 MKD 36.57

$2.38 COP 7,678

-72.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 MKD 94.7

$1.77 COP 5,720

-2.82%

Eggs

$1.98 MKD 109

$2.89 COP 9,333

-31.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.93 MKD 546

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-2.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.81 MKD 375

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-31.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.08 MKD 719

$13.99 COP 45.2K

-6.50%

Apples (1kg)

$1.01 MKD 55.4

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-74.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.39 MKD 76.6

$1.55 COP 5,012

-10.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.24 MKD 68.1

$2.18 COP 7,048

-43.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.59 MKD 87.4

$2.18 COP 7,051

-27.06%

Potato (1kg)

$0.91 MKD 49.82

$1.96 COP 6,337

-53.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.34 MKD 73.6

$1.59 COP 5,132

-15.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.53 MKD 28.91

$1.15 COP 3,699

-53.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 MKD 27.30

$1.24 COP 4,014

-59.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.30 MKD 181

$3.96 COP 12.8K

-16.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 MKD 333

$13.68 COP 44.2K

-55.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 MKD 49.92

$1.66 COP 5,359

-45.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 MKD 101

$2.26 COP 7,291

-19.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.54 MKD 29.49

$1.17 COP 3,771

-53.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.24 MKD 893

$77.4 COP 249.8K

-79.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.08 MKD 59.3

$1.27 COP 4,094

-14.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 MKD 31.35

$2.05 COP 6,612

-72.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.32 MKD 348

$8.55 COP 27.6K

-26.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 MKD 82.4

$1.35 COP 4,349

11.11%

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

$30.9K MKD 1.7M

$34.1K COP 110.0M

-9.37%

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

$32.4K MKD 1.8M

$34.7K COP 111.9M

-6.65%

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

$148 MKD 8,113

$170 COP 547.8K

-13.06%

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

$14.08 MKD 774

$13.55 COP 43.8K

3.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.62 MKD 694

$28.07 COP 90.6K

-55.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.16 MKD 1,219

$43.70 COP 141.1K

-49.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.43 MKD 354

$17.19 COP 55.5K

-62.59%

Cinema Ticket

$4.57 MKD 252

$6.91 COP 22.3K

-33.86%

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

$211 MKD 11.6K

$797 COP 2.6M

-73.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,167 MKD 64.2K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-87.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.3 MKD 4,198

$84.7 COP 273.5K

-9.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.27 MKD 2,545

$58.0 COP 187.2K

-20.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.3 MKD 4,029

$135 COP 435.8K

-45.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 MKD 6,088

$97.9 COP 316.0K

13.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$260 MKD 14.3K

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-78.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$185 MKD 10.2K

$642 COP 2.1M

-71.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$396 MKD 21.8K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-80.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$293 MKD 16.1K

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-71.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,709 MKD 94.0K

$4,170 COP 13.5M

-59.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,142 MKD 62.8K

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-40.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$750 MKD 41.3K

$657 COP 2.1M

14.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.45

10.94

-41.04%

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

Last update for Bitola: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Bitola

$198 23.1%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 49.7% $99

Accommodation & Living

Bitola

$185 21.6%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 246% $456

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bitola

$174 20.3%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 21.3% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Bitola

$138 16.1%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 22.5% $31

Eating Out

Bitola

$109 12.7%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 55.3% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Bitola

$31 3.7%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 83.8% $26

Getting Around

Bitola

$22 2.6%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 319% $71

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $260 in Bitola and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bitola pays 14% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $27 in Bitola vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $297 per month, with Bitola cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇰 Bitola

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

05:04 5:04 AM

23:04 11:04 PM

6 h behind Bitola

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

74,550

2,486,723

💱 Currency

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MKD = 1.82 USD

100 MKD = 1.63 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MKD – North Macedonian Denar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇰 North Macedonian Denar (ден)

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 55 MKD (100 MKD = 1.82 USD). 1 EUR = 61.41 MKD (100 MKD = 1.63 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).

USD to MKD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bitola Medellin 10,130 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Bitola
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

Bitola vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $859 in Bitola and $1,639 in Medellin, so Bitola is about 48% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 14% higher in Bitola, 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: $260 in Bitola versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 50% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Bitola – a meal for two runs $27 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $859 in Bitola versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Bitola but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Bitola 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 Bitola gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.