Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gaborone and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Gaborone: $845 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Gaborone
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Gaborone Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Gaborone

🇧🇼 Botswana

$845

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $845 in Gaborone versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Gaborone $845
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,307 in Gaborone versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Gaborone $1,307
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,768 in Gaborone versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Gaborone $1,768
Medellin $3,186

Living in Gaborone costs roughly 48% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Gaborone is 38% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.88 P 147

$8.09 COP 25.4K

34.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.05 P 392

$47.05 COP 148.0K

-38.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.76 P 77.8

$9.50 COP 29.9K

-39.37%

Cappuccino

$2.35 P 31.67

$3.01 COP 9,485

-21.93%

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

$0.68 P 9.24

$1.80 COP 5,660

-62.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 P 5.46

$1.41 COP 4,443

-71.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.01 P 27.17

$3.18 COP 9,990

-36.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 P 33.44

$5.75 COP 18.1K

-56.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 P 19.94

$1.51 COP 4,751

-1.99%

White Bread (500g)

$0.84 P 11.30

$2.38 COP 7,480

-64.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 P 24.04

$1.77 COP 5,573

0.56%

Eggs

$2.44 P 32.90

$2.89 COP 9,093

-15.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.52 P 88.0

$10.19 COP 32.1K

-36.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.43 P 59.8

$9.87 COP 31.1K

-55.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.99 P 67.3

$13.99 COP 44.0K

-64.33%

Apples (1kg)

$1.59 P 21.40

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-59.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.45 P 19.49

$1.55 COP 4,883

-6.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 P 26.74

$2.18 COP 6,867

-9.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.67 P 22.47

$2.18 COP 6,870

-23.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.30 P 17.47

$1.96 COP 6,174

-33.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.21 P 16.29

$1.59 COP 5,000

-23.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 P 17.27

$1.15 COP 3,604

11.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 P 13.10

$1.24 COP 3,911

-21.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 P 48.56

$3.96 COP 12.5K

-9.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.25 P 57.3

$13.68 COP 43.0K

-68.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 P 18.68

$1.66 COP 5,221

-16.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 P 24.04

$2.26 COP 7,103

-21.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.62 P 8.40

$1.17 COP 3,674

-47.01%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.95 P 404

$77.4 COP 243.4K

-61.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 P 8.14

$1.27 COP 3,989

-52.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.46 P 33.24

$2.05 COP 6,442

20.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.93 P 39.52

$8.55 COP 26.9K

-65.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 P 17.84

$1.35 COP 4,237

-2.22%

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

$30.0K P 404.8K

$34.1K COP 107.2M

-11.91%

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

$20.1K P 271.2K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

-42.01%

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

$61.0 P 823

$170 COP 533.7K

-64.06%

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

$18.34 P 247

$13.55 COP 42.6K

35.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.67 P 589

$28.07 COP 88.3K

55.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.07 P 460

$43.70 COP 137.5K

-22.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.29 P 220

$17.19 COP 54.1K

-5.24%

Cinema Ticket

$6.23 P 84.1

$6.91 COP 21.7K

-9.84%

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

$129 P 1,744

$797 COP 2.5M

-83.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,545 P 34.3K

$9,112 COP 28.7M

-72.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.15 P 650

$84.7 COP 266.5K

-43.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.72 P 226

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-71.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.1 P 972

$135 COP 424.6K

-46.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.6 P 1,060

$97.9 COP 307.9K

-19.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$353 P 4,763

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-70.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$209 P 2,824

$642 COP 2.0M

-67.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$534 P 7,198

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-73.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$356 P 4,802

$1,012 COP 3.2M

-64.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,034 P 27.4K

$4,170 COP 13.1M

-51.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,260 P 17.0K

$1,910 COP 6.0M

-34.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$451 P 6,087

$657 COP 2.1M

-31.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.33

10.94

3.56%

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

Last update for Gaborone: 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

Gaborone

$209 24.8%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 207% $432

Groceries & Markets

Gaborone

$172 20.3%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 73% $125

Eating Out

Gaborone

$152 18%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 11.6% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gaborone

$123 14.6%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 71.8% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Gaborone

$97 11.5%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 74.2% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Gaborone

$47 5.5%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 23.6% $11

Getting Around

Gaborone

$45 5.4%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 106% $48

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $353 in Gaborone and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 46% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $29 in Gaborone vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $172 vs $297 per month, with Gaborone cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇼 Gaborone

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

00:08 12:08 AM

17:08 5:08 PM

7 h behind Gaborone

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

231,626 Capital

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Botswana Pula BWP P

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 BWP = 7.41 USD

100 BWP = 6.66 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to BWP – Botswana Pula Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇼 Botswana Pula (P)

Botswana Pula exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 13.49 BWP (100 BWP = 7.41 USD). 1 EUR = 15.02 BWP (100 BWP = 6.66 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 BWP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Gaborone Medellin 11,460 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Gaborone
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

Gaborone vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gaborone is about 48% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 31% lower in Gaborone. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $353 in Gaborone versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 73% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Gaborone – a meal for two runs $29 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $845 in Gaborone versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Gaborone but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Gaborone 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 Gaborone gentler on the wallet – expenses run 48% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.