Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cox's Bazar and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Cox’s Bazar: $348 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $15,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

17

Cost of Living Index in Cox's Bazar
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Cox's Bazar Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Cox's Bazar

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$348

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $348 in Cox’s Bazar versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Cox's Bazar $348
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $558 in Cox’s Bazar versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Cox's Bazar $558
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $769 in Cox’s Bazar versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Cox's Bazar $769
Medellin $3,186

Living in Cox’s Bazar costs roughly 79% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cox’s Bazar is 74% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.56 ৳195

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-80.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.21 ৳1,518

$47.05 COP 151.7K

-74.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.95 ৳367

$9.50 COP 30.6K

-68.95%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ৳322

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 ৳310

Cappuccino

$1.92 ৳239

$3.01 COP 9,722

-36.21%

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

$0.36 ৳44.74

$1.80 COP 5,801

-80.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.10 ৳12.95

$1.41 COP 4,554

-92.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.2K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.5K

Milk (1 liter)

$0.80 ৳99.6

$1.51 COP 4,869

-47.02%

White Bread (500g)

$0.50 ৳62.4

$2.38 COP 7,667

-78.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.66 ৳82.2

$1.77 COP 5,712

-62.71%

Eggs

$1.04 ৳130

$2.89 COP 9,320

-64.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.20 ৳896

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-29.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.07 ৳257

$9.87 COP 31.8K

-79.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.29 ৳907

$13.99 COP 45.1K

-47.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ৳292

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-40.81%

Banana (1kg)

$0.88 ৳109

$1.55 COP 5,005

-43.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.60 ৳200

$2.18 COP 7,039

-26.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.52 ৳64.4

$2.18 COP 7,041

-76.15%

Potato (1kg)

$0.46 ৳57.5

$1.96 COP 6,328

-76.53%

Onion (1kg)

$0.58 ৳71.6

$1.59 COP 5,125

-63.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.47 ৳58.7

$1.15 COP 3,694

-59.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.30 ৳36.87

$1.24 COP 4,009

-75.81%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$7.68 ৳956

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.55 ৳317

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 ৳567

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.91 ৳237

$3.96 COP 12.8K

-51.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.1K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,352

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,281

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,766

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 ৳36.46

$1.27 COP 4,089

-77.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 ৳43.36

$2.05 COP 6,603

-82.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.16 ৳518

$8.55 COP 27.6K

-51.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.14 ৳142

$1.35 COP 4,343

-15.56%

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

$31.7K ৳3.9M

$34.1K COP 109.8M

-7.06%

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

$34.0K ৳4.2M

$34.7K COP 111.8M

-2.03%

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

$12.20 ৳1,518

$170 COP 547.0K

-92.81%

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

$2.63 ৳328

$13.55 COP 43.7K

-80.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.12 ৳1,383

$28.07 COP 90.5K

-60.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.05 ৳1,997

$43.70 COP 140.9K

-63.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.07 ৳506

$17.19 COP 55.4K

-76.32%

Cinema Ticket

$2.36 ৳294

$6.91 COP 22.3K

-65.85%

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

$24.65 ৳3,067

$797 COP 2.6M

-96.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,454 ৳180.9K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-84.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$22.55 ৳2,805

$84.7 COP 273.2K

-73.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.21 ৳2,265

$58.0 COP 186.9K

-68.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$32.91 ৳4,094

$135 COP 435.2K

-75.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$34.87 ৳4,338

$97.9 COP 315.6K

-64.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$164 ৳20.4K

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-86.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$96.1 ৳11.9K

$642 COP 2.1M

-85.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$300 ৳37.3K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-85.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$164 ৳20.4K

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-83.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$348 ৳43.2K

$4,170 COP 13.4M

-91.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$261 ৳32.5K

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-86.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$286 ৳35.5K

$657 COP 2.1M

-56.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.5

10.94

5.12%

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

Last update for Cox's Bazar: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Cox's Bazar

$108 31%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 176% $189

Accommodation & Living

Cox's Bazar

$96 27.6%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 568% $545

Clothing & Footwear

Cox's Bazar

$49 14.1%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 246% $120

Eating Out

Cox's Bazar

$46 13.3%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 267% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cox's Bazar

$26 7.5%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 714% $185

Sport & Entertainment

Cox's Bazar

$21 6%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 177% $37

Getting Around

Cox's Bazar

$2 * 0.6%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 4486% $92

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $164 in Cox’s Bazar and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 2.3 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $12 in Cox’s Bazar vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $108 vs $297 per month, with Cox’s Bazar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇩 Cox's Bazar

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

00:46 12:46 AM

13:46 1:46 PM

11 h behind Cox's Bazar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

223,522

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BDT = 8.04 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.2 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to BDT – Bangladeshi Taka Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Taka (৳)

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.04 USD). 1 EUR = 139 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.2 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 BDT in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cox's Bazar Medellin 16,650 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Cox's Bazar
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

Cox's Bazar vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $348 in Cox’s Bazar and $1,639 in Medellin, so Cox’s Bazar is about 79% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 57% lower in Cox’s Bazar. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $164 in Cox’s Bazar versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 176% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $348 per month in Cox’s Bazar versus $1,639 in Medellin – Cox’s Bazar is about 79% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $348 in Cox’s Bazar versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Cox’s Bazar but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Cox’s Bazar 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 – Cox’s Bazar wins on affordability, Medellin on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.