Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cairo and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $611 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$611

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $611 per month in Cairo vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Cairo $611
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $970 per month in Cairo vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Cairo $970
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $1,329 per month in Cairo vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Cairo $1,329
Medellin $3,186

Cairo is about 63% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cairo sits 55% below the global median, while Medellin is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.51 E£252

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-44.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.00 E£1,511

$47.05 COP 151.7K

-42.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.34 E£299

$9.50 COP 30.6K

-43.79%

Cappuccino

$1.72 E£96.0

$3.01 COP 9,722

-42.86%

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

$0.34 E£19.06

$1.80 COP 5,801

-81.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.14 E£8.08

$1.41 COP 4,554

-90.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.39 E£77.8

$3.18 COP 10.2K

-56.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 E£120

$5.75 COP 18.5K

-62.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 E£48.56

$1.51 COP 4,869

-42.38%

White Bread (500g)

$0.76 E£42.45

$2.38 COP 7,667

-68.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.63 E£35.10

$1.77 COP 5,712

-64.41%

Eggs

$1.09 E£60.9

$2.89 COP 9,320

-62.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.74 E£209

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-63.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.61 E£258

$9.87 COP 31.8K

-53.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.42 E£471

$13.99 COP 45.1K

-39.81%

Apples (1kg)

$1.69 E£94.4

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-57.43%

Banana (1kg)

$0.68 E£38.19

$1.55 COP 5,005

-56.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.56 E£31.12

$2.18 COP 7,039

-74.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.47 E£26.17

$2.18 COP 7,041

-78.44%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 E£21.53

$1.96 COP 6,328

-80.61%

Onion (1kg)

$0.39 E£21.81

$1.59 COP 5,125

-75.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 E£18.73

$1.15 COP 3,694

-71.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.22 E£12.32

$1.24 COP 4,009

-82.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.85 E£104

$3.96 COP 12.8K

-53.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.24 E£405

$13.68 COP 44.1K

-47.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 E£79.3

$1.66 COP 5,352

-14.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 E£111

$2.26 COP 7,281

-12.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 E£17.31

$1.17 COP 3,766

-73.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.17 E£401

$77.4 COP 249.5K

-90.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.35 E£19.46

$1.27 COP 4,089

-72.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.19 E£10.87

$2.05 COP 6,603

-90.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.46 E£81.5

$8.55 COP 27.6K

-82.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.40 E£22.36

$1.35 COP 4,343

-70.37%

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

$32.3K E£1.8M

$34.1K COP 109.8M

-5.14%

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

$24.9K E£1.4M

$34.7K COP 111.8M

-28.32%

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

$26.70 E£1,494

$170 COP 547.0K

-84.26%

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

$7.51 E£420

$13.55 COP 43.7K

-44.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.02 E£785

$28.07 COP 90.5K

-50.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.01 E£1,511

$43.70 COP 140.9K

-38.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.15 E£400

$17.19 COP 55.4K

-58.41%

Cinema Ticket

$4.41 E£247

$6.91 COP 22.3K

-36.18%

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

$117 E£6,524

$797 COP 2.6M

-85.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,269 E£182.9K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-64.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.71 E£2,110

$84.7 COP 273.2K

-55.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.61 E£2,664

$58.0 COP 186.9K

-17.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 E£6,108

$135 COP 435.2K

-19.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.6 E£3,113

$97.9 COP 315.6K

-43.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$203 E£11.4K

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-83.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$188 E£10.5K

$642 COP 2.1M

-70.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$524 E£29.3K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-74.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$318 E£17.8K

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-68.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$793 E£44.4K

$4,170 COP 13.4M

-80.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$484 E£27.1K

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-74.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$185 E£10.3K

$657 COP 2.1M

-71.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

10.94

48.17%

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

Last update for Cairo: October 24, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cairo

$188 30.7%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 242% $454

Groceries & Markets

Cairo

$131 21.5%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 126% $166

Clothing & Footwear

Cairo

$113 18.4%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 50.1% $56

Eating Out

Cairo

$86 14.1%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 97.5% $84

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cairo

$48 7.9%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 338% $163

Sport & Entertainment

Cairo

$36 5.9%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 60.6% $22

Getting Around

Cairo

$9.7 1.6%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 862% $84

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $203 in Cairo versus $1,208 in Medellin. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Medellin are about 3.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $27 in Cairo versus $47 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $131 vs $297 – making Cairo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Cairo

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

21:49 9:49 PM

14:49 2:49 PM

7 h behind Cairo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,120,350 Capital

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 55.95 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.47 EGP (100 EGP = 1.6 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cairo Medellin 11,260 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Cairo
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

Cairo vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 168%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $917 per month in Cairo and $2,459 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cairo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $203 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

Groceries cost about 126% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $27 in Cairo and $47 in Medellin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cairo, where all-in costs run around $611, than in Medellin at $1,639. In Cairo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Cairo – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Cairo. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.