Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bristol and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,883 in Bristol, rent and utilities included – about $14,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

140

Cost of Living Index in Bristol
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Bristol Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Bristol

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,883

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,883 in Bristol versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Bristol $2,883
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,161 in Bristol versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Bristol $4,161
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,440 in Bristol versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Bristol $5,440
Medellin $3,186

Living in Bristol is roughly 76% more expensive than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bristol 112% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.78 £17.90

$8.09 COP 25.4K

193.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$114 £85.7

$47.05 COP 148.0K

142.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.82 £8.14

$9.50 COP 29.9K

13.89%

Cappuccino

$5.14 £3.87

$3.01 COP 9,485

70.76%

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

$2.69 £2.02

$1.80 COP 5,660

49.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 £1.39

$1.41 COP 4,443

30.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.83 £5.89

$3.18 COP 9,990

146.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.74 £5.08

$5.75 COP 18.1K

17.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 £1.15

$1.51 COP 4,751

0.66%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 £1.29

$2.38 COP 7,480

-28.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 £1.58

$1.77 COP 5,573

18.64%

Eggs

$4.25 £3.20

$2.89 COP 9,093

47.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.15 £6.14

$10.19 COP 32.1K

-20.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.82 £7.39

$9.87 COP 31.1K

-0.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.88 £9.69

$13.99 COP 44.0K

-7.93%

Apples (1kg)

$3.22 £2.42

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-18.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 £1.32

$1.55 COP 4,883

13.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 £2.03

$2.18 COP 6,867

23.85%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.13 £3.11

$2.18 COP 6,870

89.45%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 £1.56

$1.96 COP 6,174

5.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 £1.09

$1.59 COP 5,000

-8.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 £0.92

$1.15 COP 3,604

6.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.02 £1.52

$1.24 COP 3,911

62.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.31 £17.54

$3.96 COP 12.5K

488.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.57 £7.96

$13.68 COP 43.0K

-22.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.89 £2.17

$1.66 COP 5,221

74.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 £2.75

$2.26 COP 7,103

61.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.40 £2.56

$1.17 COP 3,674

190.60%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$125 £93.8

$77.4 COP 243.4K

61.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.50 £2.63

$1.27 COP 3,989

175.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.62 £1.22

$2.05 COP 6,442

-20.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.41 £19.87

$8.55 COP 26.9K

208.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.17 £1.63

$1.35 COP 4,237

60.74%

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

$38.0K £28.6K

$34.1K COP 107.2M

11.42%

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

$40.0K £30.1K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

15.38%

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

$326 £246

$170 COP 533.7K

92.42%

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

$17.56 £13.21

$13.55 COP 42.6K

29.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.06 £28.65

$28.07 COP 88.3K

35.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.92 £31.55

$43.70 COP 137.5K

-4.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.75 £8.84

$17.19 COP 54.1K

-31.65%

Cinema Ticket

$15.58 £11.73

$6.91 COP 21.7K

125.47%

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

$2,366 £1,780

$797 COP 2.5M

196.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.2K £19.0K

$9,112 COP 28.7M

176.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$100 £75.4

$84.7 COP 266.5K

18.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.78 £35.96

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-17.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 £81.0

$135 COP 424.6K

-20.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.6 £72.7

$97.9 COP 307.9K

-1.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,963 £1,477

$1,208 COP 3.8M

62.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,455 £1,095

$642 COP 2.0M

126.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,048 £2,294

$2,028 COP 6.4M

50.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,225 £1,674

$1,012 COP 3.2M

119.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,040 £5,298

$4,170 COP 13.1M

68.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,142 £3,870

$1,910 COP 6.0M

169.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,801 £2,860

$657 COP 2.1M

478.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.87

10.94

-55.48%

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

Last update for Bristol: 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

Bristol

$1.5K 50.5%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 55.9% $814

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bristol

$382 13.3%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 44.7% $171

Eating Out

Bristol

$355 12.3%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 52.3% $186

Groceries & Markets

Bristol

$309 10.7%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 3.9% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Bristol

$158 5.5%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 6.6% $11

Getting Around

Bristol

$150 5.2%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 37.6% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Bristol

$73 2.5%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 21.3% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,963 in Bristol and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bristol pays about 5.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $114 in Bristol vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $309 vs $297 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bristol

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

17:45 5:45 PM

12:45 12:45 PM

5 h behind Bristol

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

463,400

2,486,723

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bristol Medellin 8,290 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Bristol
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

Bristol vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bristol and Medellin differ by about 76% in total monthly costs ($2,883 vs $1,639 including rent). Medellin is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Bristol is about 5.8 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: $1,963 in Bristol versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 4% higher in Bristol. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Medellin – a meal for two runs $47 versus $114 in Bristol. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,639 in Medellin versus $2,883 in Bristol, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Bristol. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin 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 Medellin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Bristol. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.