Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between El Medano and Abidjan

For one person, living is cheaper in Abidjan: $1,203 a month against $1,446 in El Medano, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

70

Cost of Living Index in El Medano
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El Medano Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Abidjan
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Abidjan Living Index

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El Medano

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,446

/mo nomad

Abidjan

🇨🇮 Ivory Coast

$1,203

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in El Medano and in Abidjan

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in El Medano and in Abidjan actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,446 in El Medano versus $1,203 in Abidjan.

El Medano $1,446
Abidjan $1,203

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,385 in El Medano versus $2,099 in Abidjan.

El Medano $2,385
Abidjan $2,099

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,324 in El Medano versus $2,996 in Abidjan.

El Medano $3,324
Abidjan $2,996

Living in El Medano is roughly 20% more expensive than in Abidjan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: El Medano is 7% above, Abidjan is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.11 €17.89

$2.54 F CFA 1,480

691.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 €54.4

$67.6 F CFA 39.4K

-9.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.07 €9.85

$10.12 F CFA 5,902

9.39%

Cappuccino

$1.99 €1.77

$1.84 F CFA 1,072

8.15%

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

$1.90 €1.69

$0.73 F CFA 425

160.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.29 €1.15

$0.70 F CFA 411

84.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.81 €2.50

$1.05 F CFA 612

167.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 €2.94

$1.68 F CFA 978

96.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 €1.19

$1.99 F CFA 1,162

-33.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.45 €2.18

$0.54 F CFA 318

353.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.19 F CFA 693

28.57%

Eggs

$4.07 €3.62

$2.25 F CFA 1,313

80.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.56 €12.96

$25.96 F CFA 15.1K

-43.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.86 €7.88

$5.79 F CFA 3,379

53.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.58 €15.63

$5.78 F CFA 3,368

204.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.48 €2.21

$4.00 F CFA 2,330

-38.00%

Banana (1kg)

$2.36 €2.10

$1.06 F CFA 620

122.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$2.04 F CFA 1,189

11.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.53 €2.25

$2.39 F CFA 1,391

5.86%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$1.70 F CFA 993

22.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 €1.72

$1.58 F CFA 922

22.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.68 €1.50

$0.59 F CFA 341

184.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$0.79 F CFA 459

22.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.49 €4.88

$1.74 F CFA 1,015

215.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.64 €6.80

$5.14 F CFA 2,999

48.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 €1.52

$1.01 F CFA 590

69.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.33 €1.18

$1.16 F CFA 679

14.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.67 €1.49

$0.92 F CFA 539

81.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$24.80 €22.06

$42.99 F CFA 25.1K

-42.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.25 €3.78

$1.69 F CFA 984

151.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.76 F CFA 1,026

-2.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.01 €15.13

$26.04 F CFA 15.2K

-34.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 €1.12

$1.45 F CFA 846

-13.10%

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

$26.7K €23.7K

$27.8K F CFA 16.2M

-4.21%

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

$31.3K €27.8K

$26.9K F CFA 15.7M

16.24%

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

$98.8 €87.9

$165 F CFA 96.1K

-40.09%

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

$22.80 €20.28

$24.78 F CFA 14.5K

-7.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.05 €31.18

$35.05 F CFA 20.4K

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.45 €40.43

$69.3 F CFA 40.4K

-34.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.44 €12.85

$21.24 F CFA 12.4K

-32.02%

Cinema Ticket

$9.67 €8.60

$8.38 F CFA 4,884

15.39%

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

$406 €361

$364 F CFA 212.2K

11.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,136 €4,568

$4,744 F CFA 2.8M

8.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.3 €81.2

$92.9 F CFA 54.2K

-1.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.48 €36.89

$37.11 F CFA 21.6K

11.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.6 €82.3

$76.2 F CFA 44.4K

21.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 €101

$136 F CFA 79.5K

-16.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$884 €786

$689 F CFA 401.6K

28.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$473 €420

$346 F CFA 201.9K

36.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 €1,193

$2,622 F CFA 1.5M

-48.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 €912

$1,009 F CFA 588.3K

1.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,400 €3,024

$2,197 F CFA 1.3M

54.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,990 €1,770

$676 F CFA 394.0K

194.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$216 F CFA 125.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.56

15.75

-77.40%

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

Last update for El Medano: October 18, 2026

Last update for Abidjan: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

El Medano

$473 32.7%

Abidjan

$346 28.8% 26.8% $126

Groceries & Markets

El Medano

$304 21%

Abidjan

$248 20.6% 18.7% $57

Eating Out

El Medano

$251 17.4%

Abidjan

$87 7.2% 65.4% $164

Monthly Utilities & Internet

El Medano

$157 10.8%

Abidjan

$225 18.7% 43.5% $68

Clothing & Footwear

El Medano

$152 10.5%

Abidjan

$154 12.8% 1.1% $1.7

Sport & Entertainment

El Medano

$65 4.5%

Abidjan

$86 7.2% 32.8% $21

Getting Around

El Medano

$44 3.1%

Abidjan

$57 4.8% 29% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $884 in El Medano and $689 in Abidjan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61.0 in El Medano vs $68.0 in Abidjan. Groceries flip the comparison at $304 vs $248, with Abidjan cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 El Medano

🇨🇮 Abidjan

🕒 Local time

22:54 10:54 PM

21:54 9:54 PM

1 h behind El Medano

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,500

7,567,409

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

West African CFA Franc XOF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

XOF, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

West African CFA Franc exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 583 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

El Medano Abidjan 2,850 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

El Medano
Abidjan

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

El Medano vs Abidjan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Abidjan is cheaper overall, especially in groceries and eating out. The 20% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,170 in El Medano and $1,804 in Abidjan 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: $884 in El Medano versus $689 in Abidjan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Abidjan – a meal for two runs $68.0 versus $61.0 in El Medano. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,446 per month in El Medano versus $1,203 in Abidjan – a 20% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,203 in Abidjan versus $1,446 in El Medano, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Abidjan but tight or insufficient in El Medano. The gap between the two cities makes Abidjan 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, El Medano and Abidjan 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 Abidjan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in El Medano. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.