Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ilford and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,419 in Ilford, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Ilford
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Ilford Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Ilford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,419

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,419 per month in Ilford vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Ilford $2,419
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $3,776 per month in Ilford vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Ilford $3,776
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $5,132 per month in Ilford vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Ilford $5,132
Medellin $3,186

Ilford costs about 48% more than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Ilford and Medellin sit above the global median – Ilford by 78%, Medellin by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.10 £15.75

$8.09 COP 26.1K

160.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$91.6 £68.4

$47.05 COP 151.7K

94.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.77 £8.04

$9.50 COP 30.6K

13.37%

Cappuccino

$4.78 £3.57

$3.01 COP 9,722

58.80%

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

$2.83 £2.11

$1.80 COP 5,801

57.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 £1.45

$1.41 COP 4,554

37.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.88 £5.88

$3.18 COP 10.2K

147.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.47 £4.83

$5.75 COP 18.5K

12.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.51 COP 4,869

8.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.72 £1.29

$2.38 COP 7,667

-27.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 £1.88

$1.77 COP 5,712

41.81%

Eggs

$4.38 £3.27

$2.89 COP 9,320

51.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.83 £7.34

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-3.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 £7.28

$9.87 COP 31.8K

-1.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.91 £11.88

$13.99 COP 45.1K

13.72%

Apples (1kg)

$2.97 £2.22

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-25.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.37 £1.02

$1.55 COP 5,005

-11.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.02 £2.25

$2.18 COP 7,039

38.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.41 £2.54

$2.18 COP 7,041

56.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 £1.23

$1.96 COP 6,328

-15.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.72 £1.28

$1.59 COP 5,125

8.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 £0.98

$1.15 COP 3,694

13.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 £1.40

$1.24 COP 4,009

51.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.93 £17.12

$3.96 COP 12.8K

479.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.99 £8.21

$13.68 COP 44.1K

-19.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.21 £2.40

$1.66 COP 5,352

93.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 £2.96

$2.26 COP 7,281

75.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.50 £2.61

$1.17 COP 3,766

199.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.7 £73.7

$77.4 COP 249.5K

27.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 £4.07

$1.27 COP 4,089

329.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.71 £2.02

$2.05 COP 6,603

32.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.28 £19.62

$8.55 COP 27.6K

207.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.35 COP 4,343

53.33%

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

$39.0K £29.1K

$34.1K COP 109.8M

14.53%

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

$41.0K £30.6K

$34.7K COP 111.8M

18.38%

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

$336 £251

$170 COP 547.0K

98.22%

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

$18.24 £13.62

$13.55 COP 43.7K

34.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.16 £29.98

$28.07 COP 90.5K

43.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.30 £34.57

$43.70 COP 140.9K

5.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.4K

Cinema Ticket

$17.57 £13.12

$6.91 COP 22.3K

154.27%

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

$2,605 £1,945

$797 COP 2.6M

227.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.3K £27.1K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

298.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 £65.8

$84.7 COP 273.2K

4.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.90 £35.02

$58.0 COP 186.9K

-19.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.6 £67.7

$135 COP 435.2K

-32.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 £96.7

$97.9 COP 315.6K

32.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,377 £1,028

$1,208 COP 3.9M

14.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,000 £747

$642 COP 2.1M

55.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,974 £2,220

$2,028 COP 6.5M

46.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,071 £1,546

$1,012 COP 3.3M

104.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,069 £3,785

$4,170 COP 13.4M

21.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,917 £2,925

$1,910 COP 6.2M

105.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,524 £2,632

$657 COP 2.1M

436.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

10.94

-53.93%

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

Last update for Ilford: 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

Ilford

$1K 41.3%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 35.9% $359

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ilford

$395 16.3%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 46.5% $183

Eating Out

Ilford

$330 13.6%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 48.6% $160

Groceries & Markets

Ilford

$322 13.3%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 7.6% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Ilford

$160 6.6%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 5.7% $9.1

Getting Around

Ilford

$132 5.4%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 29% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Ilford

$81 3.4%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 29.4% $24

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,377 in Ilford 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 Ilford are about 5.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $92 in Ilford versus $47 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $322 vs $297 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Ilford

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

19:48 7:48 PM

14:48 2:48 PM

5 h behind Ilford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

168,168

2,486,723

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 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 November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ilford Medellin 8,470 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Ilford
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

Ilford vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ilford costs about 48% more than Medellin, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,629 per month in Ilford 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 $1,377 in Ilford.

Groceries cost about 8% more in Ilford, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $92 in Ilford and $47 in Medellin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

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, Ilford makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.