Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Da Lat and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Da Lat: $611 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $12,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Da Lat
Learn more

Da Lat Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

Jump to prices

Da Lat

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$611

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $611 in Da Lat versus $1,614 in Medellin.

Da Lat $611
Medellin $1,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $914 in Da Lat versus $2,402 in Medellin.

Da Lat $914
Medellin $2,402

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,218 in Da Lat versus $3,190 in Medellin.

Da Lat $1,218
Medellin $3,190

Living in Da Lat costs roughly 62% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Da Lat is 55% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.20 ₫57.0K

$7.93 COP 25.2K

-72.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.43 ₫399.6K

$46.13 COP 146.3K

-66.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.21 ₫134.8K

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-45.16%

Cappuccino

$1.61 ₫41.6K

$3.11 COP 9,866

-48.23%

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

$0.59 ₫15.2K

$1.83 COP 5,800

-67.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ₫7,960

$1.38 COP 4,360

-77.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.86 ₫22.2K

$3.05 COP 9,672

-71.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.52 ₫39.4K

$5.50 COP 17.4K

-72.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ₫39.1K

$1.45 COP 4,600

4.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 ₫33.8K

$2.36 COP 7,496

-44.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.17 ₫30.2K

$1.68 COP 5,328

-30.36%

Eggs

$1.62 ₫42.1K

$2.86 COP 9,077

-43.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.80 ₫202.0K

$10.19 COP 32.3K

-23.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.01 ₫103.9K

$9.53 COP 30.2K

-57.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.55 ₫117.8K

$14.04 COP 44.5K

-67.59%

Apples (1kg)

$4.11 ₫106.4K

$4.07 COP 12.9K

0.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.83 ₫47.4K

$1.50 COP 4,742

22.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.21 ₫83.1K

$2.17 COP 6,891

47.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ₫40.0K

$2.31 COP 7,310

-33.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 ₫45.5K

$1.93 COP 6,113

-8.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 ₫42.1K

$1.64 COP 5,196

-1.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 ₫19.5K

$1.13 COP 3,571

-33.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 ₫13.5K

$1.25 COP 3,954

-58.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.68 ₫43.5K

$3.99 COP 12.6K

-57.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.71 ₫199.5K

$13.35 COP 42.3K

-42.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 ₫11.4K

$1.70 COP 5,384

-74.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 ₫53.5K

$2.37 COP 7,525

-12.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 ₫9,514

$1.21 COP 3,827

-69.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 ₫15.5K

$1.32 COP 4,179

-54.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.12 ₫29.0K

$2.14 COP 6,774

-47.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.85 ₫21.9K

$1.30 COP 4,114

-34.62%

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

$28.0K COP 88.7M

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

$35.4K COP 112.3M

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

$39.69 ₫1.0M

$172 COP 545.6K

-76.94%

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

$4.27 ₫110.6K

$13.37 COP 42.4K

-68.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$14.92 ₫386.3K

$28.73 COP 91.1K

-48.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$12.46 ₫322.6K

$45.24 COP 143.5K

-72.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

Cinema Ticket

$1.99 ₫51.4K

$6.28 COP 19.9K

-68.31%

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

$770 COP 2.4M

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.6M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 274.0K

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.1K

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 432.9K

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 310.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$281 ₫7.3M

$1,055 COP 3.3M

-73.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$276 ₫7.1M

$616 COP 2.0M

-55.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$621 ₫16.1M

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-67.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$465 ₫12.0M

$1,023 COP 3.2M

-54.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$436 ₫11.3M

$652 COP 2.1M

-33.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

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

Last update for Da Lat: October 12, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Da Lat

$276 45.2%

Medellin

$616 38.2% 123% $340

Groceries & Markets

Da Lat

$188 30.8%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 56.7% $107

Eating Out

Da Lat

$63 10.4%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 166% $105

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Da Lat

$59 9.6%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 264% $155

Sport & Entertainment

Da Lat

$16 2.7%

Medellin

$58 3.6% 252% $41

Getting Around

Da Lat

$7.7 * 1.3%

Medellin

$93 5.8% 1115% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Da Lat

- * 0%

Medellin

$170 10.5%

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 $281 in Da Lat and $1,055 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 50% 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: $15.00 in Da Lat vs $46.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $188 vs $295 per month, with Da Lat cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Da Lat

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

06:30 6:30 AM

18:30 6:30 PM

12 h behind Da Lat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

258,014

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to VND – Vietnamese Dong Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇳 Vietnamese Dong (₫)

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,105 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 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 VND in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Da Lat Medellin 17,940 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Da Lat
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

Da Lat vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Da Lat and Medellin differ by about 164% in total monthly costs ($611 vs $1,614 including rent). Da Lat is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 50% lower in Medellin. 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: $281 in Da Lat versus $1,055 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Da Lat – a meal for two runs $15.00 versus $46.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $611 per month in Da Lat versus $1,614 in Medellin – a 164% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $611 in Da Lat versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Da Lat but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Da Lat 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.

Safety-wise, Da Lat and Medellin are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Da Lat gentler on the wallet – expenses run 164% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.