Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kampala and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Kampala: $616 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Kampala
Learn more

Kampala Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

Jump to prices

Kampala

🇺🇬 Uganda

$616

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $616 in Kampala versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Kampala $616
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $940 in Kampala versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Kampala $940
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,263 in Kampala versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Kampala $1,263
Medellin $3,186

Living in Kampala costs roughly 62% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kampala is 55% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.19 UGX 9,620

$8.09 COP 25.4K

-72.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.69 UGX 99.5K

$47.05 COP 148.0K

-51.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.82 UGX 29.9K

$9.50 COP 29.9K

-28.21%

Cappuccino

$2.28 UGX 9,994

$3.01 COP 9,485

-24.25%

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

$0.32 UGX 1,389

$1.80 COP 5,660

-82.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 UGX 1,003

$1.41 COP 4,443

-83.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.14 UGX 4,986

$3.18 COP 9,990

-64.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 UGX 7,418

$5.75 COP 18.1K

-70.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.68 UGX 2,983

$1.51 COP 4,751

-54.97%

White Bread (500g)

$0.80 UGX 3,522

$2.38 COP 7,480

-66.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.23 UGX 5,382

$1.77 COP 5,573

-30.51%

Eggs

$1.47 UGX 6,433

$2.89 COP 9,093

-49.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.93 UGX 17.3K

$10.19 COP 32.1K

-61.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.97 UGX 17.4K

$9.87 COP 31.1K

-59.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.53 UGX 19.9K

$13.99 COP 44.0K

-67.62%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 UGX 8,208

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-52.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 UGX 5,595

$1.55 COP 4,883

-17.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.15 UGX 5,041

$2.18 COP 6,867

-47.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.12 UGX 4,929

$2.18 COP 6,870

-48.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.14 UGX 4,999

$1.96 COP 6,174

-41.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 UGX 4,991

$1.59 COP 5,000

-28.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.66 UGX 2,902

$1.15 COP 3,604

-42.61%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 UGX 1,967

$1.24 COP 3,911

-63.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.17 UGX 9,525

$3.96 COP 12.5K

-45.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.80 UGX 29.8K

$13.68 COP 43.0K

-50.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 UGX 4,457

$1.66 COP 5,222

-38.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 UGX 7,481

$2.26 COP 7,104

-24.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 UGX 3,007

$1.17 COP 3,674

-41.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.32 UGX 159.3K

$77.4 COP 243.4K

-53.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.43 UGX 1,905

$1.27 COP 3,989

-66.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.29 UGX 1,272

$2.05 COP 6,442

-85.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.81 UGX 12.3K

$8.55 COP 26.9K

-67.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 UGX 5,487

$1.35 COP 4,237

-7.41%

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

$6,811 UGX 29.9M

$34.1K COP 107.2M

-80.01%

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

$6,696 UGX 29.4M

$34.7K COP 109.1M

-80.69%

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

$64.4 UGX 282.4K

$170 COP 533.7K

-62.05%

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

$10.73 UGX 47.1K

$13.55 COP 42.6K

-20.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.03 UGX 140.5K

$28.07 COP 88.3K

14.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 UGX 223.4K

$43.70 COP 137.5K

16.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.36 UGX 23.5K

$17.19 COP 54.1K

-68.82%

Cinema Ticket

$6.87 UGX 30.1K

$6.91 COP 21.7K

-0.58%

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

$260 UGX 1.1M

$797 COP 2.5M

-67.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,974 UGX 35.0M

$9,112 COP 28.7M

-12.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$12.71 UGX 55.7K

$84.7 COP 266.5K

-85.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$11.92 UGX 52.3K

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-79.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$28.62 UGX 125.5K

$135 COP 424.6K

-78.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$38.91 UGX 170.7K

$97.9 COP 307.9K

-60.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$458 UGX 2.0M

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-62.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$151 UGX 662.8K

$642 COP 2.0M

-76.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,151 UGX 5.1M

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-43.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$269 UGX 1.2M

$1,012 COP 3.2M

-73.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,194 UGX 5.2M

$4,170 COP 13.1M

-71.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$922 UGX 4.0M

$1,910 COP 6.0M

-51.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$160 UGX 701.7K

$657 COP 2.1M

-75.65%

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 Kampala: October 25, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kampala

$151 24.5%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 325% $490

Groceries & Markets

Kampala

$134 21.7%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 122% $163

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kampala

$107 17.4%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 97.2% $104

Eating Out

Kampala

$77 12.4%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 121% $93

Sport & Entertainment

Kampala

$65 10.5%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 11.1% $7.2

Clothing & Footwear

Kampala

$41 6.7%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 308% $128

Getting Around

Kampala

$41 6.7%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 128% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $458 in Kampala and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 4.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $23 in Kampala vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $134 vs $297 per month, with Kampala cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇬 Kampala

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

21:41 9:41 PM

13:41 1:41 PM

8 h behind Kampala

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,516,210 Capital

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 = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4,386 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD). 1 EUR = 4,883 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.05 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 UGX in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kampala Medellin 12,010 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Kampala
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

Kampala vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kampala is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 166% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 76% lower in Kampala. 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: $458 in Kampala versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 122% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Kampala – a meal for two runs $23 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $616 in Kampala versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kampala but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Kampala 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 Kampala gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.