Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Iganga and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Iganga: $404 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $14,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

19

Cost of Living Index in Iganga
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Iganga Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Iganga

🇺🇬 Uganda

$404

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $404 in Iganga versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Iganga $404
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $637 in Iganga versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Iganga $637
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $870 in Iganga versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Iganga $870
Medellin $3,186

Living in Iganga costs roughly 75% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Iganga is 70% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.47 UGX 10.8K

$8.09 COP 25.6K

-69.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.87 UGX 104.6K

$47.05 COP 148.9K

-49.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.43 UGX 32.5K

$9.50 COP 30.1K

-21.79%

Cappuccino

$2.47 UGX 10.8K

$3.01 COP 9,540

-17.94%

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

$0.37 UGX 1,629

$1.80 COP 5,693

-79.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 UGX 1,195

$1.41 COP 4,469

-80.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 UGX 5,382

$3.18 COP 10.0K

-61.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 UGX 8,038

$5.75 COP 18.2K

-68.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.78 UGX 3,425

$1.51 COP 4,778

-48.34%

White Bread (500g)

$0.87 UGX 3,807

$2.38 COP 7,524

-63.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 UGX 5,854

$1.77 COP 5,606

-24.29%

Eggs

$1.56 UGX 6,846

$2.89 COP 9,146

-46.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.35 UGX 19.0K

$10.19 COP 32.2K

-57.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.54 UGX 19.9K

$9.87 COP 31.2K

-54.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.69 UGX 20.5K

$13.99 COP 44.3K

-66.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.03 UGX 8,894

$3.97 COP 12.6K

-48.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.22 UGX 5,329

$1.55 COP 4,911

-21.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.29 UGX 5,665

$2.18 COP 6,907

-40.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.15 UGX 5,019

$2.18 COP 6,910

-47.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.23 UGX 5,371

$1.96 COP 6,210

-37.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 UGX 5,401

$1.59 COP 5,029

-22.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 UGX 3,362

$1.15 COP 3,625

-33.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.51 UGX 2,253

$1.24 COP 3,934

-58.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.42 UGX 10.6K

$3.96 COP 12.5K

-38.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.12 UGX 31.2K

$13.68 COP 43.3K

-47.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 UGX 4,705

$1.66 COP 5,252

-35.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 UGX 8,051

$2.26 COP 7,145

-18.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,696

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 244.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.50 UGX 2,181

$1.27 COP 4,013

-60.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 UGX 1,376

$2.05 COP 6,480

-84.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.04 UGX 13.3K

$8.55 COP 27.1K

-64.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 UGX 5,887

$1.35 COP 4,262

-0.74%

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

$7,296 UGX 32.0M

$34.1K COP 107.8M

-78.58%

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

$7,304 UGX 32.0M

$34.7K COP 109.7M

-78.93%

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

$67.4 UGX 295.1K

$170 COP 536.8K

-60.28%

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

$11.43 UGX 50.1K

$13.55 COP 42.9K

-15.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.69 UGX 147.6K

$28.07 COP 88.8K

20.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 138.3K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.4K

Cinema Ticket

$7.40 UGX 32.4K

$6.91 COP 21.9K

7.09%

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

$249 UGX 1.1M

$797 COP 2.5M

-68.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,064 UGX 35.3M

$9,112 COP 28.8M

-11.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.37 UGX 58.6K

$84.7 COP 268.1K

-84.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$12.76 UGX 55.9K

$58.0 COP 183.4K

-77.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$31.18 UGX 136.6K

$135 COP 427.1K

-76.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.98 UGX 188.3K

$97.9 COP 309.7K

-56.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.2M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.75

10.94

89.67%

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

Last update for Iganga: October 25, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Iganga

$145 35.9%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 105% $152

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Iganga

$113 27.9%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 87.8% $99

Eating Out

Iganga

$84 20.8%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 102% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Iganga

$45 11.2%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 274% $124

Sport & Entertainment

Iganga

$15 * 3.7%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 289% $43

Getting Around

Iganga

$2.1 * 0.5%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 4419% $91

Accommodation & Living

Iganga

- * 0%

Medellin

$642 39.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $24 in Iganga vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $145 vs $297 per month, with Iganga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇬 Iganga

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

09:14 9:14 AM

01:14 1:14 AM

8 h behind Iganga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

65,500

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.16 USD

10,000 COP = 2.84 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to UGX – Ugandan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇬 Ugandan Shilling (Sh)

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 4,380 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD). 1 EUR = 4,876 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3,164 COP (10,000 COP = 3.16 USD). 1 EUR = 3,523 COP (10,000 COP = 2.84 EUR).

USD to UGX in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Iganga Medellin 12,110 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Iganga
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

Iganga vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Iganga is about 75% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $605 in Iganga and $2,459 in Medellin 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.

Childcare runs $249 in Iganga versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Iganga – a meal for two runs $24 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $404 in Iganga versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Iganga but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Iganga 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.