Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kedah and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Kedah: $877 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Kedah
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Kedah Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Kedah

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$877

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $877 in Kedah versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Kedah $877
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,399 in Kedah versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Kedah $1,399
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,920 in Kedah versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Kedah $1,920
Medellin $3,186

Living in Kedah costs roughly 46% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kedah is 36% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.72 MYR 15.13

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-54.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$12.32 MYR 50.2

$47.05 COP 151.9K

-73.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.56 MYR 18.57

$9.50 COP 30.7K

-52.00%

Cappuccino

$2.91 MYR 11.86

$3.01 COP 9,734

-3.32%

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

$0.77 MYR 3.14

$1.80 COP 5,809

-57.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 MYR 1.59

$1.41 COP 4,560

-72.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.24 MYR 17.24

$3.18 COP 10.3K

33.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.36 MYR 17.73

$5.75 COP 18.6K

-24.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 MYR 7.65

$1.51 COP 4,875

24.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 MYR 4.31

$2.38 COP 7,677

-55.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.72 MYR 6.98

$1.77 COP 5,719

-2.82%

Eggs

$2.19 MYR 8.90

$2.89 COP 9,332

-24.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.55 MYR 55.1

$10.19 COP 32.9K

32.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.34 MYR 17.68

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-56.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.84 MYR 35.99

$13.99 COP 45.2K

-36.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.94 MYR 11.97

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-25.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.63 MYR 6.65

$1.55 COP 5,011

5.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.75 MYR 11.19

$2.18 COP 7,047

26.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.45 MYR 5.92

$2.18 COP 7,050

-33.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 MYR 4.48

$1.96 COP 6,336

-43.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 MYR 4.43

$1.59 COP 5,131

-31.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 MYR 4.61

$1.15 COP 3,698

-1.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 MYR 2.33

$1.24 COP 4,014

-54.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.62 MYR 18.81

$3.96 COP 12.8K

16.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.76 MYR 76.4

$13.68 COP 44.2K

37.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.98 MYR 12.14

$1.66 COP 5,359

79.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.33 MYR 21.70

$2.26 COP 7,290

135.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 MYR 3.10

$1.17 COP 3,770

-35.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$12.85 MYR 52.3

$77.4 COP 249.8K

-83.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 MYR 6.75

$1.27 COP 4,094

30.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 MYR 1.54

$2.05 COP 6,611

-81.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.29 MYR 29.67

$8.55 COP 27.6K

-14.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.60 MYR 2.46

$1.35 COP 4,348

-55.56%

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

$45.6K MYR 185.8K

$34.1K COP 110.0M

33.96%

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

$35.8K MYR 145.9K

$34.7K COP 111.9M

3.39%

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

$36.47 MYR 148

$170 COP 547.7K

-78.50%

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

$9.66 MYR 39.31

$13.55 COP 43.7K

-28.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.48 MYR 120

$28.07 COP 90.6K

5.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.63 MYR 141

$43.70 COP 141.1K

-20.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.85 MYR 27.89

$17.19 COP 55.5K

-60.15%

Cinema Ticket

$4.79 MYR 19.51

$6.91 COP 22.3K

-30.68%

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

$388 MYR 1,578

$797 COP 2.6M

-51.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.7K MYR 43.4K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

16.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.9 MYR 240

$84.7 COP 273.5K

-30.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.76 MYR 141

$58.0 COP 187.1K

-40.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.6 MYR 332

$135 COP 435.7K

-39.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.7 MYR 288

$97.9 COP 316.0K

-27.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$358 MYR 1,456

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-70.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$258 MYR 1,050

$642 COP 2.1M

-59.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$712 MYR 2,899

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-64.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$607 MYR 2,469

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-40.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,930 MYR 7,857

$4,170 COP 13.5M

-53.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,258 MYR 5,119

$1,910 COP 6.2M

-34.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,339 MYR 5,451

$657 COP 2.1M

103.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.04

10.94

-63.07%

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

Last update for Kedah: 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

Kedah

$258 29.4%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 149% $384

Groceries & Markets

Kedah

$257 29.3%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 15.7% $40

Eating Out

Kedah

$113 12.9%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 50.2% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Kedah

$111 12.6%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 52.7% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kedah

$76 8.6%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 179% $136

Sport & Entertainment

Kedah

$44 5%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 30.1% $13

Getting Around

Kedah

$19 2.2%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 381% $74

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $358 in Kedah and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kedah pays about 2 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $12 in Kedah vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $257 vs $297 per month, with Kedah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Kedah

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

23:59 11:59 PM

10:59 10:59 AM

13 h behind Kedah

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

417,800

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.246 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MYR – Malaysian Ringgit Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇾 Malaysian Ringgit (RM)

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.246 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,603 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to MYR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kedah Medellin 18,570 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Kedah
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

Kedah vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $877 in Kedah and $1,639 in Medellin, so Kedah is about 46% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Kedah is about 2 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $358 in Kedah versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $388 in Kedah versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $877 in Kedah versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Kedah but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Kedah 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 Kedah gentler on the wallet – expenses run 46% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.