Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buea and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Buea: $739 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Buea
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Buea Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Buea

🇨🇲 Cameroon

$739

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $739 in Buea versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Buea $739
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,340 in Buea versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Buea $1,340
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,941 in Buea versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Buea $1,941
Medellin $3,186

Living in Buea costs roughly 55% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buea is 46% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.69 FCFA 991

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-79.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$117 FCFA 68.8K

$47.05 COP 151.9K

149.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.06 FCFA 3,561

$9.50 COP 30.7K

-36.21%

Cappuccino

$2.04 FCFA 1,199

$3.01 COP 9,735

-32.23%

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

$1.25 FCFA 736

$1.80 COP 5,809

-30.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 FCFA 270

$1.41 COP 4,561

-67.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.99 FCFA 582

$3.18 COP 10.3K

-68.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 FCFA 878

$5.75 COP 18.6K

-73.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.78 FCFA 1,635

$1.51 COP 4,876

84.11%

White Bread (500g)

$0.40 FCFA 233

$2.38 COP 7,678

-83.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 FCFA 901

$1.77 COP 5,720

-13.56%

Eggs

$1.87 FCFA 1,098

$2.89 COP 9,333

-35.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.74 FCFA 12.8K

$10.19 COP 32.9K

113.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.58 FCFA 4,450

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-23.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.36 FCFA 2,562

$13.99 COP 45.2K

-68.83%

Apples (1kg)

$3.43 FCFA 2,015

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-13.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 FCFA 808

$1.55 COP 5,012

-10.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.88 FCFA 516

$2.18 COP 7,048

-59.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.31 FCFA 772

$2.18 COP 7,051

-39.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 FCFA 1,013

$1.96 COP 6,337

-12.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.39 FCFA 816

$1.59 COP 5,132

-12.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 FCFA 427

$1.15 COP 3,699

-36.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 FCFA 361

$1.24 COP 4,014

-50.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.64 FCFA 1,549

$3.96 COP 12.8K

-33.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.70 FCFA 5,108

$13.68 COP 44.2K

-36.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 FCFA 679

$1.66 COP 5,359

-30.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 FCFA 1,018

$2.26 COP 7,291

-23.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.27 FCFA 159

$1.27 COP 4,094

-78.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 FCFA 310

$2.05 COP 6,612

-74.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.99 FCFA 2,932

$8.55 COP 27.6K

-41.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.20 FCFA 702

$1.35 COP 4,349

-11.11%

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

$18.7K FCFA 11.0M

$34.1K COP 110.0M

-45.13%

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

$15.6K FCFA 9.1M

$34.7K COP 111.9M

-55.12%

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

$59.1 FCFA 34.7K

$170 COP 547.8K

-65.15%

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

$16.88 FCFA 9,918

$13.55 COP 43.8K

24.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$167 FCFA 98.2K

$28.07 COP 90.6K

495.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.69 FCFA 15.1K

$43.70 COP 141.1K

-41.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.25 FCFA 2,494

$17.19 COP 55.5K

-75.28%

Cinema Ticket

$8.54 FCFA 5,015

$6.91 COP 22.3K

23.59%

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

$506 FCFA 297.3K

$797 COP 2.6M

-36.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,349 FCFA 2.0M

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-63.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$34.09 FCFA 20.0K

$84.7 COP 273.5K

-59.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$65.7 FCFA 38.6K

$58.0 COP 187.2K

13.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 FCFA 80.3K

$135 COP 435.8K

1.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.9 FCFA 39.9K

$97.9 COP 316.0K

-30.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$130 FCFA 76.5K

$657 COP 2.1M

-80.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

19.04

10.94

74.04%

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

Last update for Buea: October 24, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buea

$243 32.9%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 13.1% $32

Groceries & Markets

Buea

$242 32.8%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 22.8% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Buea

$137 18.5%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 23.4% $32

Eating Out

Buea

$71 9.6%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 139% $99

Sport & Entertainment

Buea

$43 5.8%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 34.5% $15

Getting Around

Buea

$2.9 * 0.4%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 3115% $91

Accommodation & Living

Buea

- * 0%

Medellin

$642 39.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

Medellin pays about 5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $117 in Buea vs $47 in Medellin. Groceries flip the comparison at $242 vs $297, with Buea cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇲 Buea

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

06:26 6:26 AM

00:26 12:26 AM

6 h behind Buea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,325,000

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Central African CFA Franc XAF Fr

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XAF = 1.7 USD

1,000 XAF = 1.52 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to XAF – Central African CFA Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 Central African CFA Franc (Fr)

Central African CFA Franc exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 587 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.7 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.52 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 XAF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Buea Medellin 9,390 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Buea
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

Buea vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $739 in Buea and $1,639 in Medellin, so Buea is about 55% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 80% lower in Buea. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Childcare runs $506 in Buea versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Medellin – a meal for two runs $47 versus $117 in Buea. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $739 in Buea versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Buea but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Buea 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.

It comes down to priorities – Buea wins on affordability, Medellin on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.