Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bursa and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Bursa: $1,047 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Bursa, Turkey
Medellin, Colombia
Bursa
🇹🇷 Turkey
$1,047
/mo nomad
Medellin
🇨🇴 Colombia
$1,639
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,047 in Bursa versus $1,639 in Medellin.

  • Bursa $1,047
  • Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,654 in Bursa versus $2,413 in Medellin.

  • Bursa $1,654
  • Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,260 in Bursa versus $3,186 in Medellin.

  • Bursa $2,260
  • Medellin $3,186

Living in Bursa costs roughly 36% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bursa is 23% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Bursa
Medellin
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$9.79 ₺488
$8.09 COP 25.4K
21.01%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$30.03 ₺1,496
$47.05 COP 148.0K
-36.17%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.75 ₺386
$9.50 COP 29.9K
-18.42%
Cappuccino
$3.65 ₺182
$3.01 COP 9,485
21.26%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.06 ₺52.7
$1.80 COP 5,660
-41.11%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.38 ₺18.69
$1.41 COP 4,443
-73.05%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.29 ₺114
$3.18 COP 9,990
-27.99%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.93 ₺146
$5.75 COP 18.1K
-49.04%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Bursa
Medellin
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$0.96 ₺47.89
$1.51 COP 4,751
-36.42%
White Bread (500g)
$0.80 ₺39.96
$2.38 COP 7,480
-66.39%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.26 ₺112
$1.77 COP 5,573
27.68%
Eggs
$2.28 ₺114
$2.89 COP 9,093
-21.11%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$10.26 ₺511
$10.19 COP 32.1K
0.69%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$4.90 ₺244
$9.87 COP 31.1K
-50.35%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$18.96 ₺945
$13.99 COP 44.0K
35.53%
Apples (1kg)
$1.66 ₺82.9
$3.97 COP 12.5K
-58.19%
Banana (1kg)
$1.96 ₺97.7
$1.55 COP 4,883
26.45%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.04 ₺52.0
$2.18 COP 6,867
-52.29%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.30 ₺64.7
$2.18 COP 6,870
-40.37%
Potato (1kg)
$0.58 ₺28.79
$1.96 COP 6,174
-70.41%
Onion (1kg)
$0.39 ₺19.64
$1.59 COP 5,000
-75.47%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.73 ₺36.46
$1.15 COP 3,604
-36.52%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.72 ₺35.84
$1.24 COP 3,911
-41.94%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.07 ₺103
$3.96 COP 12.5K
-47.73%
Wine (Bottle)
$14.15 ₺705
$13.68 COP 43.0K
3.44%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.08 ₺103
$1.66 COP 5,222
25.30%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.25 ₺112
$2.26 COP 7,104
-0.44%
🚌 Getting Around
Bursa
Medellin
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.98 ₺48.92
$1.17 COP 3,674
-16.24%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$36.23 ₺1,805
$77.4 COP 243.4K
-53.17%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.03 ₺51.2
$1.27 COP 3,989
-18.90%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.87 ₺43.11
$2.05 COP 6,442
-57.56%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$6.89 ₺343
$8.55 COP 26.9K
-19.42%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.37 ₺68.2
$1.35 COP 4,237
1.48%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$44.3K ₺2.2M
$34.1K COP 107.2M
30.01%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$38.9K ₺1.9M
$34.7K COP 109.1M
12.29%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Bursa
Medellin
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$75.9 ₺3,784
$170 COP 533.7K
-55.24%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$10.92 ₺544
$13.55 COP 42.6K
-19.41%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$14.81 ₺738
$28.07 COP 88.3K
-47.24%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Bursa
Medellin
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$61.2 ₺3,047
$43.70 COP 137.5K
39.95%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$23.04 ₺1,148
$17.19 COP 54.1K
34.03%
Cinema Ticket
$5.88 ₺293
$6.91 COP 21.7K
-14.91%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Bursa
Medellin
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$548 ₺27.3K
$797 COP 2.5M
-31.24%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$10.9K ₺542.7K
$9,112 COP 28.7M
19.54%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Bursa
Medellin
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$44.43 ₺2,213
$84.7 COP 266.5K
-47.56%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$34.51 ₺1,719
$58.0 COP 182.3K
-40.46%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$78.4 ₺3,906
$135 COP 424.6K
-41.92%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$92.6 ₺4,613
$97.9 COP 307.9K
-5.38%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Bursa
Medellin
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$401 ₺20.0K
$1,208 COP 3.8M
-66.80%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$310 ₺15.5K
$642 COP 2.0M
-51.61%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$723 ₺36.0K
$2,028 COP 6.4M
-64.32%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$607 ₺30.2K
$1,012 COP 3.2M
-40.05%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,191 ₺59.4K
$4,170 COP 13.1M
-71.43%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,217 ₺60.6K
$1,910 COP 6.0M
-36.31%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Bursa
Medellin
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,028 ₺51.2K
$657 COP 2.1M
56.49%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
42.67
10.94
290.04%

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

Last update for Bursa: 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
Bursa
$310
Medellin
$642 107% $331
Groceries & Markets
Bursa
$236
Medellin
$297 25.9% $61
Eating Out
Bursa
$168
Medellin
$170 0.7% $1.3
Clothing & Footwear
Bursa
$112
Medellin
$169 50.2% $57
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Bursa
$102
Medellin
$211 108% $110
Sport & Entertainment
Bursa
$73
Medellin
$58 21.1% $15
Getting Around
Bursa
$46
Medellin
$94 106% $48

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $401 in Bursa and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bursa pays 56% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $30 in Bursa vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $236 vs $297 per month, with Bursa cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇹🇷 Bursa
🇨🇴 Medellin
🕒 Local time
14:04 2:04 PM
06:04 6:04 AM
8 h behind Bursa
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
3,238,618
2,486,723
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to TRY – Turkish Lira Converter

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 49.82 TRY (100 TRY = 2.01 USD). 1 EUR = 55.45 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 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).

On the map
Between locations
  • Bursa Medellin 10,790 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Bursa
  • 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
Bursa vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bursa cheaper than Medellin?
Bursa is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. The 57% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
Where can you earn more: Bursa or Medellin?
Average pay runs 56% higher in Bursa, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
What is the rent difference between Bursa and Medellin?
Rent for a central apartment: $401 in Bursa versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
How do food prices compare in Bursa and in Medellin?
Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Is eating out cheaper in Bursa or in Medellin?
Dining out is cheaper in Bursa – a meal for two runs $30 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Bursa or in Medellin?
At $1,047 in Bursa versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bursa but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Bursa the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is it better to live in Bursa or in Medellin?
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.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Bursa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Bursa vs other spots: cost of living compared

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