Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lerwick and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,625 a month against $2,368 in Lerwick, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

114

Cost of Living Index in Lerwick
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Lerwick Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Lerwick

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,368

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,368 in Lerwick versus $1,625 in Medellin.

Lerwick $2,368
Medellin $1,625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,415 in Lerwick versus $2,412 in Medellin.

Lerwick $3,415
Medellin $2,412

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,462 in Lerwick versus $3,199 in Medellin.

Lerwick $4,462
Medellin $3,199

Living in Lerwick is roughly 46% more expensive than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Lerwick 75% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.15 £15.11

$8.30 COP 26.3K

142.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.5 £73.9

$46.91 COP 148.7K

110.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.35 £7.76

$9.24 COP 29.3K

12.01%

Cappuccino

$5.40 £4.05

$3.05 COP 9,676

77.05%

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

$2.25 £1.69

$1.80 COP 5,707

25.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.38 COP 4,382

18.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.45 £4.84

$3.24 COP 10.3K

99.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.86 £4.40

$5.56 COP 17.6K

5.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.50 COP 4,760

3.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.69 £1.27

$2.37 COP 7,508

-28.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.21 £1.66

$1.70 COP 5,377

30.00%

Eggs

$4.02 £3.02

$2.96 COP 9,379

35.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.37 £7.03

$10.22 COP 32.4K

-8.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.57 £6.43

$9.74 COP 30.9K

-12.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.44 £10.84

$13.90 COP 44.1K

3.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.27

$4.13 COP 13.1K

-26.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.53 COP 4,839

-1.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 £2.07

$2.22 COP 7,052

24.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.28 £2.46

$2.27 COP 7,194

44.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.99 COP 6,311

-8.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.67 COP 5,285

2.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 £0.95

$1.18 COP 3,742

6.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 £1.16

$1.24 COP 3,919

25.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.02 £18.02

$3.87 COP 12.3K

520.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.48 £7.86

$13.78 COP 43.7K

-23.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.00 £2.25

$1.66 COP 5,256

80.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.46

$2.40 COP 7,615

36.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.07 £2.30

$1.24 COP 3,944

147.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$83.1 £62.3

$78.2 COP 248.0K

6.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.23 £3.18

$1.28 COP 4,044

230.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.35 £1.76

$2.15 COP 6,803

9.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.03 £18.03

$8.37 COP 26.5K

187.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.34 £1.75

$1.35 COP 4,288

73.33%

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

$38.9K £29.2K

$34.8K COP 110.2M

11.84%

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

$34.5K £25.9K

$34.7K COP 110.0M

-0.62%

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

$309 £232

$167 COP 528.4K

85.70%

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

$19.33 £14.50

$13.62 COP 43.2K

41.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.26 £33.95

$29.12 COP 92.3K

55.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.8 £39.61

$45.09 COP 143.0K

17.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

Cinema Ticket

$13.32 £9.99

$6.97 COP 22.1K

91.10%

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

$1,392 £1,045

$790 COP 2.5M

76.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.5K £18.4K

$9,041 COP 28.7M

170.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.7 £66.5

$87.8 COP 278.4K

0.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.6 £37.93

$58.2 COP 184.4K

-13.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.1 £66.8

$139 COP 440.7K

-35.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 £82.8

$98.9 COP 313.5K

11.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,112 £834

$1,028 COP 3.3M

8.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 £777

$620 COP 2.0M

67.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,395 £1,797

$1,881 COP 6.0M

27.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,523 £1,143

$1,008 COP 3.2M

51.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,646 £3,486

$3,988 COP 12.6M

16.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,438 £2,579

$1,702 COP 5.4M

102.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

10.94

-53.47%

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

Last update for Lerwick: October 18, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lerwick

$1K 43.7%

Medellin

$619 38.1% 40.2% $416

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lerwick

$374 15.8%

Medellin

$209 12.9% 44% $165

Eating Out

Lerwick

$317 13.4%

Medellin

$171 10.5% 46% $146

Groceries & Markets

Lerwick

$298 12.6%

Medellin

$298 18.3% 0.1% $0.4

Clothing & Footwear

Lerwick

$152 6.4%

Medellin

$173 10.6% 13.3% $20

Getting Around

Lerwick

$111 4.7%

Medellin

$95 5.9% 14.5% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Lerwick

$79 3.4%

Medellin

$59 3.6% 25.7% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,112 in Lerwick and $1,028 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $99.0 in Lerwick vs $47.00 in Medellin. Groceries flip the comparison at $298 vs $298, with Lerwick cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lerwick

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

15:51 3:51 PM

09:51 9:51 AM

6 h behind Lerwick

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,000

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

Lerwick Medellin 8,550 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lerwick
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

Lerwick vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and transport. The 46% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $3,552 in Lerwick and $2,437 in Medellin to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,112 in Lerwick versus $1,028 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,368 per month in Lerwick versus $1,625 in Medellin – a 46% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Medellin runs roughly 6% less than in Lerwick. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,625 in Medellin versus $2,368 in Lerwick, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Lerwick. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Lerwick 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 46% less than in Lerwick. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.