Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Edinburgh and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,645 in Edinburgh, rent and utilities included – about $12,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

128

Cost of Living Index in Edinburgh
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Edinburgh Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Edinburgh

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,645

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,645 per month in Edinburgh vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Edinburgh $2,645
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $4,021 per month in Edinburgh vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Edinburgh $4,021
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $5,397 per month in Edinburgh vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Edinburgh $5,397
Medellin $3,186

Edinburgh costs about 61% more than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Edinburgh and Medellin sit above the global median – Edinburgh by 94%, Medellin by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.35 £18.32

$8.09 COP 25.4K

200.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$105 £79.2

$47.05 COP 148.0K

123.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.47 £7.88

$9.50 COP 29.9K

10.21%

Cappuccino

$5.02 £3.78

$3.01 COP 9,485

66.78%

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

$2.41 £1.82

$1.80 COP 5,660

33.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 £1.65

$1.41 COP 4,443

55.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.04 £6.05

$3.18 COP 9,990

152.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.91 £5.95

$5.75 COP 18.1K

37.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 £1.32

$1.51 COP 4,751

15.89%

White Bread (500g)

$2.33 £1.75

$2.38 COP 7,480

-2.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.35 £1.77

$1.77 COP 5,573

32.77%

Eggs

$5.13 £3.86

$2.89 COP 9,093

77.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.05 £6.81

$10.19 COP 32.1K

-11.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.26 £6.97

$9.87 COP 31.1K

-6.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.17 £12.17

$13.99 COP 44.0K

15.58%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 £2.29

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-23.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.87 £1.41

$1.55 COP 4,883

20.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.35 £2.52

$2.18 COP 6,867

53.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.75 £2.83

$2.18 COP 6,870

72.02%

Potato (1kg)

$2.05 £1.54

$1.96 COP 6,174

4.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.53 £1.15

$1.59 COP 5,000

-3.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.33 £1.00

$1.15 COP 3,604

15.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 £1.42

$1.24 COP 3,911

52.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.87 £17.96

$3.96 COP 12.5K

502.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.96 £8.25

$13.68 COP 43.0K

-19.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.16 £2.37

$1.66 COP 5,221

90.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 £2.42

$2.26 COP 7,103

42.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.13 £2.36

$1.17 COP 3,674

167.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$99.8 £75.1

$77.4 COP 243.4K

29.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 £4.10

$1.27 COP 3,989

329.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.90 £1.43

$2.05 COP 6,442

-7.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.50 £21.45

$8.55 COP 26.9K

233.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.55

$1.35 COP 4,237

52.59%

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

$38.2K £28.8K

$34.1K COP 107.2M

12.23%

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

$39.7K £29.9K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

14.55%

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

$329 £248

$170 COP 533.7K

94.06%

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

$16.81 £12.65

$13.55 COP 42.6K

24.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.13 £32.46

$28.07 COP 88.3K

53.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.84 £31.49

$43.70 COP 137.5K

-4.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.33 £17.56

$17.19 COP 54.1K

35.72%

Cinema Ticket

$14.67 £11.04

$6.91 COP 21.7K

112.30%

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

$1,901 £1,430

$797 COP 2.5M

138.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.8K £19.4K

$9,112 COP 28.7M

182.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$82.2 £61.8

$84.7 COP 266.5K

-3.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.0 £37.63

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-13.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.6

$135 COP 424.6K

-21.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 £86.7

$97.9 COP 307.9K

17.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,691 £1,273

$1,208 COP 3.8M

40.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,205 £907

$642 COP 2.0M

87.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,959 £2,227

$2,028 COP 6.4M

45.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,184 £1,644

$1,012 COP 3.2M

115.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,388 £4,807

$4,170 COP 13.1M

53.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,514 £3,397

$1,910 COP 6.0M

136.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,632 £2,733

$657 COP 2.1M

452.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.77

10.94

-56.40%

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

Last update for Edinburgh: 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

Edinburgh

$1.2K 45.6%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 46.8% $564

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Edinburgh

$389 14.7%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 45.7% $178

Eating Out

Edinburgh

$361 13.6%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 53% $191

Groceries & Markets

Edinburgh

$333 12.6%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 10.7% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Edinburgh

$159 6%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 6.4% $10

Getting Around

Edinburgh

$127 4.8%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 26.5% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Edinburgh

$71 2.7%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 19.2% $14

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,691 in Edinburgh versus $1,208 in Medellin. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Edinburgh are about 5.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $105 in Edinburgh versus $47 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $333 vs $297 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Edinburgh

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

22:57 10:57 PM

17:57 5:57 PM

5 h behind Edinburgh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

488,050

2,486,723

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.753 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.838 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 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 GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Edinburgh Medellin 8,340 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Edinburgh
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

Edinburgh vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Edinburgh is pricier by about 61%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,968 per month in Edinburgh and $2,459 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Medellin, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,208 there versus $1,691 in Edinburgh.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $105 in Edinburgh and $47 in Medellin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,645 in Edinburgh and $1,639 in Medellin. That makes Medellin about 38% cheaper.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Medellin, where all-in costs run around $1,639, than in Edinburgh at $2,645. In Medellin it covers expenses comfortably, while in Edinburgh it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Medellin – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Medellin. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Edinburgh makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.