Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kirkwall and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,625 a month against $2,121 in Kirkwall, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Kirkwall
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Kirkwall Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Kirkwall

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,121

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,121 in Kirkwall versus $1,625 in Medellin.

Kirkwall $2,121
Medellin $1,625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,026 in Kirkwall versus $2,412 in Medellin.

Kirkwall $3,026
Medellin $2,412

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,931 in Kirkwall versus $3,199 in Medellin.

Kirkwall $3,931
Medellin $3,199

Living in Kirkwall is roughly 31% more expensive than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Kirkwall 57% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.63 £17.73

$8.30 COP 26.3K

184.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$94.8 £71.1

$46.91 COP 148.7K

102.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.57 £7.93

$9.24 COP 29.3K

14.39%

Cappuccino

$3.92 £2.94

$3.05 COP 9,676

28.52%

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

$3.26 £2.44

$1.80 COP 5,707

81.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 £0.98

$1.38 COP 4,382

-5.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.20 £4.65

$3.24 COP 10.3K

91.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.47 £6.36

$5.56 COP 17.6K

52.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.79 £0.59

$1.50 COP 4,760

-47.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 £1.19

$2.37 COP 7,508

-33.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 £1.54

$1.70 COP 5,377

20.59%

Eggs

$3.22 £2.42

$2.96 COP 9,379

8.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.59 £4.95

$10.22 COP 32.4K

-35.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 £6.73

$9.74 COP 30.9K

-7.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.90 £11.92

$13.90 COP 44.1K

14.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 £1.65

$4.13 COP 13.1K

-46.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.53 COP 4,839

28.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 £1.18

$2.22 COP 7,052

-29.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 £0.99

$2.27 COP 7,194

-41.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.11 £0.83

$1.99 COP 6,311

-44.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 £0.82

$1.67 COP 5,285

-34.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 £0.58

$1.18 COP 3,742

-34.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 £0.81

$1.24 COP 3,919

-12.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.10 £15.08

$3.87 COP 12.3K

419.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.18 £6.89

$13.78 COP 43.7K

-33.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.71 £2.03

$1.66 COP 5,256

63.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 £2.16

$2.40 COP 7,615

20.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$10.51 £7.89

$1.24 COP 3,944

747.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$107 £80.4

$78.2 COP 248.0K

37.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.19 £3.90

$1.28 COP 4,044

305.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.58 £1.93

$2.15 COP 6,803

20.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.06 £20.30

$8.37 COP 26.5K

223.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 £1.54

$1.35 COP 4,288

51.85%

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

$37.8K £28.4K

$34.8K COP 110.2M

8.87%

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

$41.2K £30.9K

$34.7K COP 110.0M

18.65%

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

$282 £212

$167 COP 528.4K

69.49%

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

$30.12 £22.60

$13.62 COP 43.2K

121.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.04 £24.79

$29.12 COP 92.3K

13.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.73 £31.31

$45.09 COP 143.0K

-7.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

Cinema Ticket

$11.46 £8.60

$6.97 COP 22.1K

64.42%

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

$1,237 £928

$790 COP 2.5M

56.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,041 COP 28.7M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.5 £68.7

$87.8 COP 278.4K

4.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.72 £32.80

$58.2 COP 184.4K

-24.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.0 £71.3

$139 COP 440.7K

-31.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$138 £103

$98.9 COP 313.5K

39.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$935 £701

$1,028 COP 3.3M

-9.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$792 £594

$620 COP 2.0M

27.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,182 £887

$1,881 COP 6.0M

-37.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$966 £725

$1,008 COP 3.2M

-4.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.6M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,914 £1,436

$663 COP 2.1M

188.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.07

10.94

-53.66%

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

Last update for Kirkwall: October 19, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kirkwall

$792 37.3%

Medellin

$619 38.1% 21.8% $172

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kirkwall

$346 16.3%

Medellin

$209 12.9% 39.4% $136

Eating Out

Kirkwall

$334 15.8%

Medellin

$171 10.5% 48.9% $163

Groceries & Markets

Kirkwall

$252 11.9%

Medellin

$298 18.3% 18.2% $46

Getting Around

Kirkwall

$167 7.9%

Medellin

$95 5.9% 43.1% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Kirkwall

$165 7.8%

Medellin

$173 10.6% 4.4% $7.2

Sport & Entertainment

Kirkwall

$65 3.1%

Medellin

$59 3.6% 8.7% $5.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $935 in Kirkwall and $1,028 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kirkwall pays 188% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $95.0 in Kirkwall vs $47.00 in Medellin. Groceries flip the comparison at $252 vs $298, with Kirkwall cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Kirkwall

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

18:49 6:49 PM

12:49 12:49 PM

6 h behind Kirkwall

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,500

2,486,723

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 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 October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kirkwall Medellin 8,420 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Kirkwall
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

Kirkwall vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kirkwall and Medellin differ by about 31% in total monthly costs ($2,121 vs $1,625 including rent). Medellin is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 188% higher in Kirkwall, 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: $935 in Kirkwall versus $1,028 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Medellin – a meal for two runs $47.00 versus $95.0 in Kirkwall. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,121 per month in Kirkwall versus $1,625 in Medellin – a 31% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,625 in Medellin versus $2,121 in Kirkwall, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Kirkwall. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin 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.

Safety-wise, Kirkwall and Medellin are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Medellin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Kirkwall. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.