Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jalalabad and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Jalalabad: $498 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Jalalabad
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Jalalabad Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Jalalabad

🇦🇫 Afghanistan

$498

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $498 per month in Jalalabad vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Jalalabad $498
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $682 per month in Jalalabad vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Jalalabad $682
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $866 per month in Jalalabad vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Jalalabad $866
Medellin $3,186

Jalalabad is about 70% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Jalalabad sits 63% below the global median, while Medellin is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.28 ؋148

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-71.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$7.83 ؋508

$47.05 COP 151.7K

-83.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.88 ؋252

$9.50 COP 30.6K

-59.16%

Cappuccino

$0.76 ؋49.16

$3.01 COP 9,722

-74.75%

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

$1.80 COP 5,801

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,554

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.2K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.5K

Milk (1 liter)

$0.89 ؋57.6

$1.51 COP 4,869

-41.06%

White Bread (500g)

$0.40 ؋25.78

$2.38 COP 7,667

-83.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.88 ؋122

$1.77 COP 5,712

6.21%

Eggs

$1.69 ؋110

$2.89 COP 9,320

-41.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.49 ؋356

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-46.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.73 ؋177

$9.87 COP 31.8K

-72.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.03 ؋392

$13.99 COP 45.1K

-56.90%

Apples (1kg)

$0.65 ؋42.24

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-83.63%

Banana (1kg)

$0.60 ؋39.06

$1.55 COP 5,005

-61.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.74 ؋48.14

$2.18 COP 7,039

-66.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.47 ؋30.53

$2.18 COP 7,041

-78.44%

Potato (1kg)

$0.36 ؋23.57

$1.96 COP 6,328

-81.63%

Onion (1kg)

$0.29 ؋19.13

$1.59 COP 5,125

-81.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.33 ؋21.12

$1.15 COP 3,694

-71.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.30 ؋19.45

$1.24 COP 4,009

-75.81%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.92 ؋255

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 ؋51.3

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.05 ؋68.1

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.29 ؋149

$3.96 COP 12.8K

-42.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.1K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,352

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,281

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.15 ؋9.65

$1.17 COP 3,766

-87.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.80 ؋701

$77.4 COP 249.5K

-86.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.74 ؋48.18

$1.27 COP 4,089

-41.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.48 ؋30.87

$2.05 COP 6,603

-76.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 ؋97.8

$8.55 COP 27.6K

-82.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.05 ؋68.3

$1.35 COP 4,343

-22.22%

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

$8,330 ؋540.6K

$34.1K COP 109.8M

-75.55%

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

$34.7K COP 111.8M

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

$22.69 ؋1,472

$170 COP 547.0K

-86.63%

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

$13.55 COP 43.7K

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$231 ؋15.0K

$28.07 COP 90.5K

722.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$7.84 ؋509

$43.70 COP 140.9K

-82.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.57 ؋296

$17.19 COP 55.4K

-73.41%

Cinema Ticket

$1.55 ؋101

$6.91 COP 22.3K

-77.57%

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

$15.18 ؋985

$797 COP 2.6M

-98.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,212 ؋78.7K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-86.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.45 ؋1,197

$84.7 COP 273.2K

-78.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.17 ؋985

$58.0 COP 186.9K

-73.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$23.51 ؋1,526

$135 COP 435.2K

-82.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$30.62 ؋1,987

$97.9 COP 315.6K

-68.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$114 ؋7,424

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-90.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$45.97 ؋2,984

$642 COP 2.1M

-92.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$232 ؋15.0K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-88.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$122 ؋7,933

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-87.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$466 ؋30.3K

$4,170 COP 13.4M

-88.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$232 ؋15.1K

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-87.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$185 ؋12.0K

$657 COP 2.1M

-71.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.88

10.94

26.87%

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

Last update for Jalalabad: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jalalabad

$254 * 51%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 16.7% $42

Groceries & Markets

Jalalabad

$94 18.9%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 216% $203

Accommodation & Living

Jalalabad

$46 9.2%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 1296% $596

Clothing & Footwear

Jalalabad

$39 7.9%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 328% $129

Eating Out

Jalalabad

$39 * 7.8%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 335% $131

Getting Around

Jalalabad

$15 2.9%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 545% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Jalalabad

$11 2.2%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 425% $47

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $114 in Jalalabad 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 Medellin are about 3.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $8 in Jalalabad versus $47 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $94 vs $297 – making Jalalabad the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇫 Jalalabad

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

03:54 3:54 AM

18:24 6:24 PM

9 h 30 min behind Jalalabad

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

168,600

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Afghanistan Afghani AFN ؋

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 AFN = 1.54 USD

100 AFN = 1.38 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to AFN – Afghanistan Afghani Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇫 Afghanistan Afghani (؋)

Afghanistan Afghani exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 64.9 AFN (100 AFN = 1.54 USD). 1 EUR = 72.47 AFN (100 AFN = 1.38 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 AFN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Jalalabad Medellin 14,260 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Jalalabad
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

Jalalabad vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $498 in Jalalabad, $1,639 in Medellin – Jalalabad comes out roughly 70% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $746 per month in Jalalabad 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 Jalalabad, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $114 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

Groceries cost about 216% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $8 in Jalalabad and $47 in Medellin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Jalalabad, where all-in costs run around $498, than in Medellin at $1,639. In Jalalabad it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Jalalabad – 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 Jalalabad. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.