Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chilanga and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Chilanga: $585 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $12,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

28

Cost of Living Index in Chilanga
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Chilanga Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Chilanga

🇿🇲 Zambia

$585

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $585 in Chilanga versus $1,625 in Medellin.

Chilanga $585
Medellin $1,625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $928 in Chilanga versus $2,412 in Medellin.

Chilanga $928
Medellin $2,412

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,271 in Chilanga versus $3,199 in Medellin.

Chilanga $1,271
Medellin $3,199

Living in Chilanga costs roughly 64% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chilanga is 57% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.65 ZMW 112

$8.30 COP 26.3K

-31.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.59 ZMW 589

$46.91 COP 148.7K

-36.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.12 ZMW 102

$9.24 COP 29.3K

-44.59%

Cappuccino

$2.76 ZMW 54.9

$3.05 COP 9,676

-9.51%

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

$0.74 ZMW 14.64

$1.80 COP 5,707

-58.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.48 ZMW 9.57

$1.38 COP 4,382

-65.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 ZMW 24.49

$3.24 COP 10.3K

-62.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 ZMW 46.00

$5.56 COP 17.6K

-58.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 ZMW 33.83

$1.50 COP 4,760

13.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.17 ZMW 23.22

$2.37 COP 7,508

-50.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 ZMW 41.80

$1.70 COP 5,377

23.53%

Eggs

$1.92 ZMW 38.10

$2.96 COP 9,379

-35.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.24 ZMW 204

$10.22 COP 32.4K

0.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.36 ZMW 126

$9.74 COP 30.9K

-34.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.65 ZMW 132

$13.90 COP 44.1K

-52.16%

Apples (1kg)

$3.44 ZMW 68.5

$4.13 COP 13.1K

-16.71%

Banana (1kg)

$2.37 ZMW 47.19

$1.53 COP 4,839

54.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.56 ZMW 70.8

$2.22 COP 7,052

60.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.51 ZMW 29.94

$2.27 COP 7,194

-33.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.49 ZMW 49.46

$1.99 COP 6,311

25.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 ZMW 35.65

$1.67 COP 5,285

7.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 ZMW 21.99

$1.18 COP 3,742

-5.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 ZMW 15.67

$1.24 COP 3,919

-36.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.95 ZMW 58.7

$3.87 COP 12.3K

-23.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.91 ZMW 197

$13.78 COP 43.7K

-28.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 ZMW 28.20

$1.66 COP 5,256

-14.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 ZMW 46.41

$2.40 COP 7,615

-2.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 COP 3,944

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.56 ZMW 50.9

$1.28 COP 4,044

100.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.47 ZMW 29.24

$2.15 COP 6,803

-31.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.87 ZMW 96.9

$8.37 COP 26.5K

-41.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 ZMW 29.40

$1.35 COP 4,288

9.63%

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

$7,420 ZMW 147.6K

$34.8K COP 110.2M

-78.66%

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

$27.4K ZMW 544.4K

$34.7K COP 110.0M

-21.09%

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

$80.1 ZMW 1,592

$167 COP 528.4K

-51.97%

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

$10.46 ZMW 208

$13.62 COP 43.2K

-23.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 ZMW 1,110

$29.12 COP 92.3K

91.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.09 COP 143.0K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.05 ZMW 120

$6.97 COP 22.1K

-13.20%

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

$139 ZMW 2,768

$790 COP 2.5M

-82.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ZMW 331.0K

$9,041 COP 28.7M

84.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.71 ZMW 472

$87.8 COP 278.4K

-73.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.19 ZMW 302

$58.2 COP 184.4K

-73.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$45.76 ZMW 910

$139 COP 440.7K

-67.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.2 ZMW 1,415

$98.9 COP 313.5K

-28.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 COP 2.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 COP 6.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 COP 3.2M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.6M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

165.08%

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

Last update for Chilanga: October 17, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Chilanga

$237 40.5%

Medellin

$298 18.3% 25.7% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chilanga

$146 25%

Medellin

$209 12.9% 43.1% $63

Eating Out

Chilanga

$109 18.7%

Medellin

$171 10.5% 56.2% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Chilanga

$70 12%

Medellin

$173 10.6% 146% $103

Sport & Entertainment

Chilanga

$12 * 2.1%

Medellin

$59 3.6% 388% $47

Getting Around

Chilanga

$9.9 * 1.7%

Medellin

$95 5.9% 861% $85

Accommodation & Living

Chilanga

- * 0%

Medellin

$619 38.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $30.00 in Chilanga vs $47.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $298 per month, with Chilanga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇲 Chilanga

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

12:51 12:51 PM

05:51 5:51 AM

7 h behind Chilanga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

107,051

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZMW = 5.03 USD

100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to ZMW – Zambian Kwacha Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇲 Zambian Kwacha (ZK)

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 19.89 ZMW (100 ZMW = 5.03 USD). 1 EUR = 22.36 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to ZMW in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Chilanga Medellin 11,680 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Chilanga
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

Chilanga vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chilanga and Medellin differ by about 178% in total monthly costs ($585 vs $1,625 including rent). Chilanga is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $877 in Chilanga and $2,437 in Medellin to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $139 in Chilanga versus $790 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chilanga – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $47.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $585 in Chilanga versus $1,625 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Chilanga but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Chilanga 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 Chilanga gentler on the wallet – expenses run 178% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.