Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kurunegala and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Kurunegala: $479 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Kurunegala
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Kurunegala Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Kurunegala

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$479

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $479 in Kurunegala versus $1,625 in Medellin.

Kurunegala $479
Medellin $1,625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $780 in Kurunegala versus $2,412 in Medellin.

Kurunegala $780
Medellin $2,412

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,081 in Kurunegala versus $3,199 in Medellin.

Kurunegala $1,081
Medellin $3,199

Living in Kurunegala costs roughly 71% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kurunegala is 65% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.78 LKR 589

$8.30 COP 26.3K

-78.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.99 LKR 8,277

$46.91 COP 148.7K

-46.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.41 LKR 1,461

$9.24 COP 29.3K

-52.27%

Cappuccino

$2.58 LKR 853

$3.05 COP 9,676

-15.41%

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

$0.43 LKR 143

$1.80 COP 5,707

-76.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 90.0

$1.38 COP 4,382

-80.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.24 LKR 741

$3.24 COP 10.3K

-30.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 LKR 1,006

$5.56 COP 17.6K

-45.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 LKR 488

$1.50 COP 4,760

-2.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.47 LKR 154

$2.37 COP 7,508

-80.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.77 LKR 254

$1.70 COP 5,377

-54.71%

Eggs

$1.72 LKR 570

$2.96 COP 9,379

-41.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.01 LKR 4,641

$10.22 COP 32.4K

37.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.93 LKR 1,634

$9.74 COP 30.9K

-49.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.40 LKR 2,452

$13.90 COP 44.1K

-46.76%

Apples (1kg)

$6.51 LKR 2,157

$4.13 COP 13.1K

57.63%

Banana (1kg)

$0.87 LKR 287

$1.53 COP 4,839

-43.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.51 LKR 1,493

$2.22 COP 7,052

103.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 LKR 437

$2.27 COP 7,194

-41.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 LKR 342

$1.99 COP 6,311

-48.24%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 LKR 255

$1.67 COP 5,285

-53.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.94 LKR 311

$1.18 COP 3,742

-20.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.42 LKR 139

$1.24 COP 3,919

-66.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.40 LKR 3,446

$3.87 COP 12.3K

168.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.73 LKR 4,217

$13.78 COP 43.7K

-7.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 LKR 644

$1.66 COP 5,256

16.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 LKR 972

$2.40 COP 7,615

22.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 COP 3,944

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 LKR 134

$1.28 COP 4,044

-68.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.31 LKR 104

$2.15 COP 6,803

-85.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 LKR 307

$8.37 COP 26.5K

-88.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.04 LKR 346

$1.35 COP 4,288

-22.96%

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

$44.0K LKR 14.6M

$34.8K COP 110.2M

26.45%

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

$40.3K LKR 13.4M

$34.7K COP 110.0M

16.22%

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

$59.2 LKR 19.6K

$167 COP 528.4K

-64.46%

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

$4.32 LKR 1,432

$13.62 COP 43.2K

-68.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.93 LKR 6,932

$29.12 COP 92.3K

-28.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.09 COP 143.0K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

Cinema Ticket

$4.42 LKR 1,465

$6.97 COP 22.1K

-36.59%

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

$37.41 LKR 12.4K

$790 COP 2.5M

-95.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,204 LKR 398.7K

$9,041 COP 28.7M

-86.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.13 LKR 6,005

$87.8 COP 278.4K

-79.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.35 LKR 5,416

$58.2 COP 184.4K

-71.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.5 LKR 26.7K

$139 COP 440.7K

-42.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.91 LKR 13.6K

$98.9 COP 313.5K

-58.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 COP 2.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 COP 6.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 COP 3.2M

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)

$150 LKR 49.5K

$663 COP 2.1M

-77.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

10.94

16.00%

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

Last update for Kurunegala: October 17, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kurunegala

$235 49.1%

Medellin

$298 18.3% 26.7% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kurunegala

$84 17.6%

Medellin

$209 12.9% 148% $125

Eating Out

Kurunegala

$78 16.4%

Medellin

$171 10.5% 118% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Kurunegala

$70 14.6%

Medellin

$173 10.6% 146% $103

Sport & Entertainment

Kurunegala

$8.9 * 1.9%

Medellin

$59 3.6% 567% $50

Getting Around

Kurunegala

$2 * 0.4%

Medellin

$95 5.9% 4708% $93

Accommodation & Living

Kurunegala

- * 0%

Medellin

$619 38.1%

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

Cost Breakdown

Medellin pays 344% 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: $25.00 in Kurunegala vs $47.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $235 vs $298 per month, with Kurunegala cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Kurunegala

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

02:33 2:33 AM

16:03 4:03 PM

10 h 30 min behind Kurunegala

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

30,300

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 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 LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kurunegala Medellin 16,940 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Kurunegala
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

Kurunegala vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kurunegala is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 239% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 344% lower in Medellin. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Childcare runs $37.41 in Kurunegala versus $790 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Kurunegala – a meal for two runs $25.00 versus $47.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $479 in Kurunegala versus $1,625 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Kurunegala but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Kurunegala the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Kurunegala 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.

Safety-wise, Kurunegala 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 Kurunegala gentler on the wallet – expenses run 239% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.