Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gampaha and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Gampaha: $453 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Gampaha
Learn more

Gampaha Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

Jump to prices

Gampaha

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$453

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $453 in Gampaha versus $1,625 in Medellin.

Gampaha $453
Medellin $1,625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $768 in Gampaha versus $2,412 in Medellin.

Gampaha $768
Medellin $2,412

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,083 in Gampaha versus $3,199 in Medellin.

Gampaha $1,083
Medellin $3,199

Living in Gampaha costs roughly 72% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Gampaha is 67% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.84 LKR 609

$8.30 COP 26.3K

-77.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.22 LKR 6,034

$46.91 COP 148.7K

-61.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.20 LKR 1,721

$9.24 COP 29.3K

-43.72%

Cappuccino

$1.24 LKR 410

$3.05 COP 9,676

-59.34%

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

$0.53 LKR 176

$1.80 COP 5,707

-70.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 LKR 82.1

$1.38 COP 4,382

-81.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.12 LKR 701

$3.24 COP 10.3K

-34.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 LKR 1,010

$5.56 COP 17.6K

-45.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 LKR 539

$1.50 COP 4,760

8.67%

White Bread (500g)

$0.41 LKR 135

$2.37 COP 7,508

-82.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.73 LKR 241

$1.70 COP 5,377

-57.06%

Eggs

$1.65 LKR 548

$2.96 COP 9,379

-44.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.91 LKR 4,607

$10.22 COP 32.4K

36.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.03 LKR 1,334

$9.74 COP 30.9K

-58.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.43 LKR 2,460

$13.90 COP 44.1K

-46.55%

Apples (1kg)

$5.95 LKR 1,972

$4.13 COP 13.1K

44.07%

Banana (1kg)

$0.82 LKR 270

$1.53 COP 4,839

-46.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.51 LKR 1,493

$2.22 COP 7,052

103.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 LKR 436

$2.27 COP 7,194

-41.85%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 LKR 314

$1.99 COP 6,311

-52.26%

Onion (1kg)

$0.84 LKR 277

$1.67 COP 5,285

-49.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.29 LKR 94.8

$1.18 COP 3,742

-75.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.34 LKR 114

$1.24 COP 3,919

-72.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.88 LKR 3,273

$3.87 COP 12.3K

155.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.04 LKR 4,319

$13.78 COP 43.7K

-5.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 LKR 447

$1.66 COP 5,256

-18.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 LKR 808

$2.40 COP 7,615

1.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.29 LKR 95.2

$1.24 COP 3,944

-76.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 LKR 95.0

$1.28 COP 4,044

-77.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.36 LKR 120

$2.15 COP 6,803

-83.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.89 LKR 295

$8.37 COP 26.5K

-89.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 LKR 388

$1.35 COP 4,288

-13.33%

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

$30.6K LKR 10.1M

$34.8K COP 110.2M

-12.11%

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

$39.9K LKR 13.2M

$34.7K COP 110.0M

15.06%

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

$27.15 LKR 8,994

$167 COP 528.4K

-83.71%

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

$2.99 LKR 991

$13.62 COP 43.2K

-78.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.85 LKR 3,592

$29.12 COP 92.3K

-62.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$7.73 LKR 2,561

$45.09 COP 143.0K

-82.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

Cinema Ticket

$4.55 LKR 1,508

$6.97 COP 22.1K

-34.72%

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

$14.93 LKR 4,944

$790 COP 2.5M

-98.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$121 LKR 40.1K

$9,041 COP 28.7M

-98.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.28 LKR 6,054

$87.8 COP 278.4K

-79.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$9.02 LKR 2,987

$58.2 COP 184.4K

-84.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.9 LKR 19.8K

$139 COP 440.7K

-56.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$23.95 LKR 7,933

$98.9 COP 313.5K

-75.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$90.2 LKR 29.9K

$1,028 COP 3.3M

-91.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$56.4 LKR 18.7K

$620 COP 2.0M

-90.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$302 LKR 100.2K

$1,881 COP 6.0M

-83.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$163 LKR 54.0K

$1,008 COP 3.2M

-83.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.6M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$231 LKR 76.4K

$663 COP 2.1M

-65.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

-8.59%

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

Last update for Gampaha: October 18, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Gampaha

$221 48.7%

Medellin

$298 18.3% 34.9% $77

Eating Out

Gampaha

$65 14.3%

Medellin

$171 10.5% 163% $106

Accommodation & Living

Gampaha

$56 12.5%

Medellin

$619 38.1% 998% $563

Clothing & Footwear

Gampaha

$50 11%

Medellin

$173 10.6% 245% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gampaha

$41 9%

Medellin

$209 12.9% 411% $168

Sport & Entertainment

Gampaha

$17 3.7%

Medellin

$59 3.6% 251% $42

Getting Around

Gampaha

$3.2 * 0.7%

Medellin

$95 5.9% 2838% $92

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $90.2 in Gampaha and $1,028 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 188% 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: $18.00 in Gampaha vs $47.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $221 vs $298 per month, with Gampaha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Gampaha

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

18:01 6:01 PM

07:31 7:31 AM

10 h 30 min behind Gampaha

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,000

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Gampaha Medellin 16,930 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Gampaha
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

Gampaha vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gampaha and Medellin differ by about 258% in total monthly costs ($453 vs $1,625 including rent). Gampaha is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 188% lower in Medellin. 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: $90.2 in Gampaha versus $1,028 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $14.93 in Gampaha versus $790 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Gampaha – a meal for two runs $18.00 versus $47.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $453 in Gampaha versus $1,625 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Gampaha but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Gampaha 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 Gampaha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 258% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.