Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lautoka and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Lautoka: $333 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $15,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Lautoka
Learn more

Lautoka Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

Jump to prices

Lautoka

🇫🇯 Fiji

$333

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $333 in Lautoka versus $1,614 in Medellin.

Lautoka $333
Medellin $1,614

Estimated couple costs with rent: $722 in Lautoka versus $2,402 in Medellin.

Lautoka $722
Medellin $2,402

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,112 in Lautoka versus $3,190 in Medellin.

Lautoka $1,112
Medellin $3,190

Living in Lautoka costs roughly 79% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lautoka is 75% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.19 FJD 11.61

$7.93 COP 25.3K

-34.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.2 FJD 177

$46.13 COP 147.3K

71.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.80 FJD 17.47

$9.50 COP 30.3K

-17.89%

Cappuccino

$2.56 FJD 5.72

$3.11 COP 9,933

-17.68%

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

$2.12 FJD 4.74

$1.83 COP 5,839

15.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.51 FJD 3.38

$1.38 COP 4,389

9.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.43 FJD 5.44

$3.05 COP 9,737

-20.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 FJD 6.84

$5.50 COP 17.5K

-44.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.66 FJD 3.72

$1.45 COP 4,631

14.48%

White Bread (500g)

$0.73 FJD 1.64

$2.36 COP 7,547

-69.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.87 FJD 1.95

$1.68 COP 5,365

-48.21%

Eggs

$3.44 FJD 7.70

$2.86 COP 9,139

20.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.80 FJD 12.98

$10.19 COP 32.5K

-43.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.62 FJD 17.06

$9.53 COP 30.4K

-20.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.58 FJD 16.98

$14.04 COP 44.8K

-46.01%

Apples (1kg)

$4.42 FJD 9.90

$4.07 COP 13.0K

8.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,774

Oranges (1kg)

$1.30 FJD 2.91

$2.17 COP 6,938

-40.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,359

Potato (1kg)

$0.93 FJD 2.09

$1.93 COP 6,155

-51.81%

Onion (1kg)

$0.86 FJD 1.93

$1.64 COP 5,231

-47.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 FJD 1.96

$1.13 COP 3,595

-23.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.46 FJD 1.03

$1.25 COP 3,981

-63.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.93 FJD 24.46

$3.99 COP 12.7K

173.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.46 FJD 12.22

$13.35 COP 42.6K

-59.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.57 FJD 5.74

$1.70 COP 5,420

51.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.49 FJD 7.82

$2.37 COP 7,576

47.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,853

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 244.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,208

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,820

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 27.0K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 FJD 2.99

$1.30 COP 4,142

2.31%

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

$28.0K COP 89.3M

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

$35.4K COP 113.0M

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

$172 COP 549.3K

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

$13.14 FJD 29.43

$13.37 COP 42.7K

-1.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.7K

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 144.4K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.4K

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 20.1K

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

$770 COP 2.5M

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.8M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 275.8K

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 182.4K

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 435.8K

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 312.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$450 FJD 1,007

$1,055 COP 3.4M

-57.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$872 FJD 1,952

$1,892 COP 6.0M

-53.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.3M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 13.0M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.4M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$688 FJD 1,541

$652 COP 2.1M

5.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

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

Last update for Lautoka: October 10, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Lautoka

$191 * 57.5%

Medellin

$295 18.3% 54.3% $104

Eating Out

Lautoka

$128 38.6%

Medellin

$168 10.4% 31.2% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lautoka

$13 * 4%

Medellin

$214 13.3% 1530% $201

Getting Around

Lautoka

- * 0%

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Sport & Entertainment

Lautoka

- * 0%

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Clothing & Footwear

Lautoka

- * 0%

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Accommodation & Living

Lautoka

- * 0%

Medellin

$616 38.2%

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $450 in Lautoka and $1,055 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lautoka pays 6% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $79.0 in Lautoka vs $46.00 in Medellin. Groceries flip the comparison at $191 vs $295, with Lautoka cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇫🇯 Lautoka

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

07:22 7:22 AM

14:22 2:22 PM

17 h behind Lautoka

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

50,000

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Fijian Dollar FJD $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 FJD = 0.447 USD

1 FJD = 0.399 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.13 USD

10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to FJD – Fijian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇫🇯 Fijian Dollar ($)

Fijian Dollar exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 2.24 FJD (1 FJD = 0.447 USD). 1 EUR = 2.51 FJD (1 FJD = 0.399 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 3,192 COP (10,000 COP = 3.13 USD). 1 EUR = 3,575 COP (10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR).

USD to FJD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lautoka Medellin 12,010 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Lautoka
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

Lautoka vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lautoka and Medellin differ by about 385% in total monthly costs ($333 vs $1,614 including rent). Lautoka is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 6% higher in Lautoka, 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: $450 in Lautoka versus $1,055 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Lautoka – a meal for two runs $79.0 versus $46.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $333 per month in Lautoka versus $1,614 in Medellin – a 385% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $333 in Lautoka versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lautoka but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Lautoka 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 Lautoka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 385% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.