Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Durres and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Durres: $1,128 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Durres
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Durres Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Durres

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,128

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,128 in Durres versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Durres $1,128
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,732 in Durres versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Durres $1,732
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,336 in Durres versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Durres $2,336
Medellin $3,186

Living in Durres costs roughly 31% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Durres is 17% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.48 ALL 849

$8.09 COP 26.1K

29.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.19 ALL 3,013

$47.05 COP 151.8K

-20.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.37 ALL 840

$9.50 COP 30.7K

9.16%

Cappuccino

$2.07 ALL 168

$3.01 COP 9,729

-31.23%

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

$2.12 ALL 172

$1.80 COP 5,806

17.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.07 ALL 86.9

$1.41 COP 4,558

-24.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 ALL 248

$3.18 COP 10.2K

-3.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 ALL 359

$5.75 COP 18.6K

-22.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.08 ALL 168

$1.51 COP 4,873

37.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.03 ALL 83.4

$2.38 COP 7,673

-56.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.29 ALL 185

$1.77 COP 5,716

29.38%

Eggs

$3.86 ALL 312

$2.89 COP 9,327

33.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.69 ALL 1,028

$10.19 COP 32.9K

24.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.78 ALL 631

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-21.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.02 ALL 1,217

$13.99 COP 45.1K

7.36%

Apples (1kg)

$1.20 ALL 97.4

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-69.77%

Banana (1kg)

$2.43 ALL 197

$1.55 COP 5,009

56.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 ALL 126

$2.18 COP 7,044

-28.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 ALL 107

$2.18 COP 7,047

-39.45%

Potato (1kg)

$0.90 ALL 73.1

$1.96 COP 6,333

-54.08%

Onion (1kg)

$0.95 ALL 77.2

$1.59 COP 5,129

-40.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 ALL 99.1

$1.15 COP 3,696

6.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 ALL 57.4

$1.24 COP 4,012

-42.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.43 ALL 359

$3.96 COP 12.8K

11.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.99 ALL 890

$13.68 COP 44.2K

-19.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 ALL 121

$1.66 COP 5,356

-10.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 ALL 169

$2.26 COP 7,286

-7.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.48 ALL 38.50

$1.17 COP 3,769

-58.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.58 ALL 1,586

$77.4 COP 249.7K

-74.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.65 ALL 296

$1.27 COP 4,092

187.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.50 ALL 202

$2.05 COP 6,608

21.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 ALL 178

$1.35 COP 4,346

62.96%

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

$16.0K ALL 1.3M

$34.1K COP 109.9M

-52.91%

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

$25.6K ALL 2.1M

$34.7K COP 111.9M

-26.19%

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

$90.2 ALL 7,310

$170 COP 547.5K

-46.81%

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

$18.02 ALL 1,460

$13.55 COP 43.7K

32.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.33 ALL 1,323

$28.07 COP 90.6K

-41.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.02 ALL 3,323

$43.70 COP 141.0K

-6.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$61.3 ALL 4,963

$17.19 COP 55.5K

256.37%

Cinema Ticket

$7.52 ALL 610

$6.91 COP 22.3K

8.83%

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

$189 ALL 15.3K

$797 COP 2.6M

-76.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,673 ALL 378.6K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-48.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$38.78 ALL 3,142

$84.7 COP 273.4K

-54.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.46 ALL 3,358

$58.0 COP 187.0K

-28.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.1 ALL 7,216

$135 COP 435.5K

-34.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$162 ALL 13.1K

$97.9 COP 315.8K

65.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$451 ALL 36.5K

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-62.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$321 ALL 26.0K

$642 COP 2.1M

-49.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$703 ALL 57.0K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-65.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$463 ALL 37.5K

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-54.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,993 ALL 161.5K

$4,170 COP 13.5M

-52.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,302 ALL 105.5K

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-31.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$977 ALL 79.1K

$657 COP 2.1M

48.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

10.94

-52.01%

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

Last update for Durres: October 25, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Durres

$321 28.5%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 99.8% $320

Groceries & Markets

Durres

$263 23.3%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 13.1% $34

Eating Out

Durres

$177 15.7%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 4.1% $7.2

Clothing & Footwear

Durres

$149 13.2%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 13.4% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Durres

$125 11.1%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 69.6% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Durres

$56 5%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 2.6% $1.5

Getting Around

Durres

$38 3.3%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 149% $56

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $451 in Durres and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Durres pays 49% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37 in Durres vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $263 vs $297 per month, with Durres cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇱 Durres

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

06:14 6:14 AM

00:14 12:14 AM

6 h behind Durres

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

175,110

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Albanian Lek ALL L

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ALL = 1.23 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to ALL – Albanian Lek Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇱 Albanian Lek (L)

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 81.01 ALL (100 ALL = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 90.8 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 3,227 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,617 COP (10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR).

USD to ALL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Durres Medellin 9,970 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Durres
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

Durres vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Durres wins on cost – living expenses run 31% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Durres the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 49% higher in Durres, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $451 in Durres 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 $1,128 per month in Durres versus $1,639 in Medellin – Durres is about 31% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Durres runs roughly 75% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Durres is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Durres gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.