Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kuching and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Kuching: $972 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Kuching
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Kuching Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Kuching

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$972

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $972 in Kuching versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Kuching $972
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,521 in Kuching versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Kuching $1,521
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,070 in Kuching versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Kuching $2,070
Medellin $3,186

Living in Kuching costs roughly 41% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kuching is 29% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.37 MYR 13.75

$8.09 COP 25.4K

-58.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.51 MYR 99.9

$47.05 COP 148.0K

-47.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.90 MYR 19.98

$9.50 COP 29.9K

-48.42%

Cappuccino

$3.19 MYR 13.01

$3.01 COP 9,485

5.98%

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

$0.78 MYR 3.19

$1.80 COP 5,660

-56.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 MYR 1.55

$1.41 COP 4,443

-73.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.61 MYR 18.79

$3.18 COP 9,990

44.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.96 MYR 24.30

$5.75 COP 18.1K

3.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.39 MYR 9.74

$1.51 COP 4,751

58.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 MYR 4.87

$2.38 COP 7,480

-50.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.19 MYR 4.85

$1.77 COP 5,573

-32.77%

Eggs

$2.38 MYR 9.68

$2.89 COP 9,093

-17.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.99 MYR 44.77

$10.19 COP 32.1K

7.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.34 MYR 17.67

$9.87 COP 31.1K

-56.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.00 MYR 40.73

$13.99 COP 44.0K

-28.52%

Apples (1kg)

$3.17 MYR 12.92

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-20.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 MYR 5.38

$1.55 COP 4,883

-14.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.52 MYR 10.28

$2.18 COP 6,867

15.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.78 MYR 7.26

$2.18 COP 6,870

-18.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.38 MYR 5.63

$1.96 COP 6,174

-29.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 MYR 4.84

$1.59 COP 5,000

-25.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.61 MYR 6.57

$1.15 COP 3,604

40.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 MYR 2.22

$1.24 COP 3,911

-55.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.76 MYR 19.37

$3.96 COP 12.5K

20.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$22.25 MYR 90.7

$13.68 COP 43.0K

62.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.13 MYR 16.81

$1.66 COP 5,221

148.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.06 MYR 20.60

$2.26 COP 7,103

123.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.36 MYR 1.47

$1.17 COP 3,674

-69.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.48 MYR 30.47

$77.4 COP 243.4K

-90.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.97 MYR 3.95

$1.27 COP 3,989

-23.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.23 MYR 5.01

$2.05 COP 6,442

-40.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.82 MYR 35.92

$8.55 COP 26.9K

3.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.94 MYR 3.83

$1.35 COP 4,237

-30.37%

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

$45.9K MYR 187.2K

$34.1K COP 107.2M

34.84%

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

$36.1K MYR 146.9K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

4.01%

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

$35.63 MYR 145

$170 COP 533.7K

-79.00%

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

$10.19 MYR 41.52

$13.55 COP 42.6K

-24.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.50 MYR 104

$28.07 COP 88.3K

-9.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.85 MYR 138

$43.70 COP 137.5K

-22.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.26 MYR 49.94

$17.19 COP 54.1K

-28.68%

Cinema Ticket

$4.87 MYR 19.85

$6.91 COP 21.7K

-29.52%

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

$135 MYR 551

$797 COP 2.5M

-83.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,150 MYR 29.1K

$9,112 COP 28.7M

-21.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$64.1 MYR 261

$84.7 COP 266.5K

-24.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.52 MYR 153

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-35.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.0 MYR 367

$135 COP 424.6K

-33.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$64.6 MYR 263

$97.9 COP 307.9K

-34.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$469 MYR 1,912

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-61.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$334 MYR 1,361

$642 COP 2.0M

-47.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$834 MYR 3,399

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-58.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$654 MYR 2,667

$1,012 COP 3.2M

-35.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,053 MYR 8,364

$4,170 COP 13.1M

-50.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,534 MYR 6,248

$1,910 COP 6.0M

-19.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$535 MYR 2,181

$657 COP 2.1M

-18.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.37

10.94

-60.05%

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

Last update for Kuching: October 27, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kuching

$334 34.4%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 92.1% $307

Groceries & Markets

Kuching

$272 28%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 9.1% $25

Eating Out

Kuching

$120 12.3%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 41.7% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Kuching

$115 11.9%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 46.6% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kuching

$71 7.3%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 196% $140

Sport & Entertainment

Kuching

$44 4.5%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 32% $14

Getting Around

Kuching

$16 1.7%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 483% $78

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $469 in Kuching and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 23% 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: $25 in Kuching vs $47 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $297 per month, with Kuching cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇾 Kuching

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

04:48 4:48 AM

15:48 3:48 PM

13 h behind Kuching

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

349,147

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 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 MYR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kuching Medellin 18,920 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Kuching
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

Kuching vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kuching is about 41% cheaper overall, especially in transport, clothing, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 19% lower in Kuching. 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: $469 in Kuching versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Kuching – a meal for two runs $25 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $972 per month in Kuching versus $1,639 in Medellin – Kuching is about 41% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

For families, Kuching is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Medellin, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Kuching gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.