Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dammam and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Dammam: $1,226 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Dammam
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Dammam Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Dammam

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,226

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,226 in Dammam versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Dammam $1,226
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,857 in Dammam versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Dammam $1,857
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,488 in Dammam versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Dammam $2,488
Medellin $3,186

Living in Dammam costs roughly 25% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dammam is 10% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.49 SAR 24.35

$8.09 COP 25.4K

-19.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.23 SAR 147

$47.05 COP 148.0K

-16.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.78 SAR 29.21

$9.50 COP 29.9K

-18.11%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.83 SAR 6.87

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 SAR 6.68

Cappuccino

$3.71 SAR 13.94

$3.01 COP 9,485

23.26%

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

$0.81 SAR 3.02

$1.80 COP 5,660

-55.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 SAR 1.04

$1.41 COP 4,443

-80.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 SAR 6.45

$1.51 COP 4,751

13.91%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 SAR 3.91

$2.38 COP 7,480

-56.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 SAR 8.71

$1.77 COP 5,573

31.07%

Eggs

$2.54 SAR 9.52

$2.89 COP 9,093

-12.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.79 SAR 25.48

$10.19 COP 32.1K

-33.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.34 SAR 27.55

$9.87 COP 31.1K

-25.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.93 SAR 48.52

$13.99 COP 44.0K

-7.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.36 SAR 8.85

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-40.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 SAR 6.01

$1.55 COP 4,883

3.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 SAR 6.10

$2.18 COP 6,867

-25.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.63 SAR 6.11

$2.18 COP 6,870

-25.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.25 SAR 4.67

$1.96 COP 6,174

-36.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.32 SAR 4.94

$1.59 COP 5,000

-16.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 SAR 5.07

$1.15 COP 3,604

17.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 SAR 2.22

$1.24 COP 3,911

-52.42%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.84 SAR 10.65

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 SAR 6.51

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 SAR 7.62

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.26 SAR 27.23

$3.96 COP 12.5K

83.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.04 SAR 3.90

$1.17 COP 3,674

-11.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.52 SAR 152

$77.4 COP 243.4K

-47.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.62 SAR 9.83

$1.27 COP 3,989

106.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.89 SAR 7.10

$2.05 COP 6,442

-7.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.55 SAR 50.8

$8.55 COP 26.9K

58.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.65 SAR 2.42

$1.35 COP 4,237

-51.85%

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

$27.1K SAR 101.8K

$34.1K COP 107.2M

-20.34%

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

$23.4K SAR 87.7K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

-32.56%

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

$105 SAR 395

$170 COP 533.7K

-37.93%

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

$33.70 SAR 126

$13.55 COP 42.6K

148.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$72.2 SAR 271

$28.07 COP 88.3K

157.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$94.5 SAR 354

$43.70 COP 137.5K

116.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$36.96 SAR 139

$17.19 COP 54.1K

115.01%

Cinema Ticket

$14.61 SAR 54.8

$6.91 COP 21.7K

111.43%

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

$346 SAR 1,299

$797 COP 2.5M

-56.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,665 SAR 28.8K

$9,112 COP 28.7M

-15.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 SAR 210

$84.7 COP 266.5K

-33.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.8 SAR 236

$58.0 COP 182.3K

8.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.0 SAR 315

$135 COP 424.6K

-37.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.3 SAR 305

$97.9 COP 307.9K

-16.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$440 SAR 1,652

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-63.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$384 SAR 1,441

$642 COP 2.0M

-40.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$889 SAR 3,337

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-56.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$627 SAR 2,352

$1,012 COP 3.2M

-38.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,788 SAR 6,708

$4,170 COP 13.1M

-57.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,073 SAR 4,025

$1,910 COP 6.0M

-43.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.42

10.94

-59.60%

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

Last update for Dammam: 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

Dammam

$384 31.4%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 67% $257

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dammam

$211 17.2%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 0% $0

Groceries & Markets

Dammam

$198 16.1%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 50.1% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Dammam

$128 10.4%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 32.1% $41

Eating Out

Dammam

$124 10.1%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 36.6% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Dammam

$124 10.1%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 53.5% $66

Getting Around

Dammam

$57 4.6%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 64.8% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $440 in Dammam and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $39 in Dammam vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $297 per month, with Dammam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Dammam

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

01:14 1:14 AM

17:14 5:14 PM

8 h behind Dammam

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

903,312

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.18 SAR (1 SAR = 0.239 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Dammam Medellin 13,130 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Dammam
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

Dammam vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dammam is about 25% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,839 in Dammam and $2,459 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $440 in Dammam versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,226 per month in Dammam versus $1,639 in Medellin – Dammam is about 25% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Dammam runs roughly 48% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $1,226 in Dammam versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dammam but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Dammam the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Dammam is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Medellin, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Dammam gentler on the wallet – expenses run 25% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.