Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dien Bien Phu and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Dien Bien Phu: $779 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Dien Bien Phu
Learn more

Dien Bien Phu Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

Jump to prices

Dien Bien Phu

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$779

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $779 in Dien Bien Phu versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Dien Bien Phu $779
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,255 in Dien Bien Phu versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Dien Bien Phu $1,255
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,730 in Dien Bien Phu versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Dien Bien Phu $1,730
Medellin $3,186

Living in Dien Bien Phu costs roughly 52% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dien Bien Phu is 43% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.08 ₫53.6K

$8.09 COP 25.4K

-74.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.33 ₫499.5K

$47.05 COP 148.0K

-58.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.37 ₫113.0K

$9.50 COP 29.9K

-54.00%

Cappuccino

$1.67 ₫43.1K

$3.01 COP 9,485

-44.52%

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

$0.55 ₫14.2K

$1.80 COP 5,660

-69.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 ₫7,985

$1.41 COP 4,443

-78.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.93 ₫24.0K

$3.18 COP 9,990

-70.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 ₫38.8K

$5.75 COP 18.1K

-73.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 ₫38.0K

$1.51 COP 4,751

-2.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.11 ₫28.8K

$2.38 COP 7,480

-53.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.99 ₫25.7K

$1.77 COP 5,573

-44.07%

Eggs

$1.49 ₫38.4K

$2.89 COP 9,093

-48.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.30 ₫317.8K

$10.19 COP 32.1K

20.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.64 ₫94.1K

$9.87 COP 31.1K

-63.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.84 ₫254.1K

$13.99 COP 44.0K

-29.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 ₫79.6K

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-22.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.11 ₫28.7K

$1.55 COP 4,883

-28.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.36 ₫35.2K

$2.18 COP 6,867

-37.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.24 ₫32.0K

$2.18 COP 6,870

-43.12%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 ₫23.8K

$1.96 COP 6,174

-53.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 ₫28.4K

$1.59 COP 5,000

-30.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.63 ₫16.2K

$1.15 COP 3,604

-45.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 ₫14.3K

$1.24 COP 3,911

-55.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.39 ₫35.8K

$3.96 COP 12.5K

-64.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.46 ₫296.0K

$13.68 COP 43.0K

-16.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 ₫23.5K

$1.66 COP 5,221

-45.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 ₫44.9K

$2.26 COP 7,103

-23.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.35 ₫8,933

$1.17 COP 3,674

-70.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$6.71 ₫173.3K

$77.4 COP 243.4K

-91.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 ₫20.3K

$1.27 COP 3,989

-37.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.59 ₫15.3K

$2.05 COP 6,442

-71.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 ₫65.4K

$8.55 COP 26.9K

-70.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.96 ₫24.8K

$1.35 COP 4,237

-28.89%

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

$30.5K ₫786.7M

$34.1K COP 107.2M

-10.61%

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

$28.4K ₫733.5M

$34.7K COP 109.1M

-18.11%

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

$77.5 ₫2.0M

$170 COP 533.7K

-54.35%

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

$5.84 ₫150.8K

$13.55 COP 42.6K

-56.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.63 ₫223.0K

$28.07 COP 88.3K

-69.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.13 ₫597.5K

$43.70 COP 137.5K

-47.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.77 ₫200.8K

$17.19 COP 54.1K

-54.80%

Cinema Ticket

$3.35 ₫86.5K

$6.91 COP 21.7K

-51.52%

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

$187 ₫4.8M

$797 COP 2.5M

-76.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.6K ₫351.0M

$9,112 COP 28.7M

49.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.55 ₫1.2M

$84.7 COP 266.5K

-45.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.46 ₫683.6K

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-54.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.4 ₫2.2M

$135 COP 424.6K

-38.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.0 ₫2.0M

$97.9 COP 307.9K

-19.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$403 ₫10.4M

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-66.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$280 ₫7.2M

$642 COP 2.0M

-56.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$819 ₫21.2M

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-59.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$632 ₫16.3M

$1,012 COP 3.2M

-37.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,205 ₫57.0M

$4,170 COP 13.1M

-47.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,208 ₫31.2M

$1,910 COP 6.0M

-36.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.28

10.94

-24.31%

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

Last update for Dien Bien Phu: October 27, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dien Bien Phu

$280 35.9%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 129% $362

Groceries & Markets

Dien Bien Phu

$199 25.6%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 49.1% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Dien Bien Phu

$106 13.6%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 59.5% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dien Bien Phu

$92 11.8%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 130% $119

Eating Out

Dien Bien Phu

$61 7.8%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 179% $109

Sport & Entertainment

Dien Bien Phu

$30 3.8%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 92.9% $28

Getting Around

Dien Bien Phu

$12 1.5%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 691% $82

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $403 in Dien Bien Phu and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $19 in Dien Bien Phu vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $199 vs $297 per month, with Dien Bien Phu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Dien Bien Phu

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

05:27 5:27 AM

17:27 5:27 PM

12 h behind Dien Bien Phu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

80,366

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.87 USD

100,000 VND = 3.48 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 25,832 VND (100,000 VND = 3.87 USD). 1 EUR = 28,757 VND (100,000 VND = 3.48 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 VND in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Dien Bien Phu Medellin 16,940 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Dien Bien Phu
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

Dien Bien Phu vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dien Bien Phu is about 52% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $1,169 in Dien Bien Phu 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: $403 in Dien Bien Phu versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Dien Bien Phu – a meal for two runs $19 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $779 per month in Dien Bien Phu versus $1,639 in Medellin – Dien Bien Phu is about 52% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $779 in Dien Bien Phu versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Dien Bien Phu but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Dien Bien Phu 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 Dien Bien Phu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.