Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Manama and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Manama: $1,561 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $940 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Manama
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Manama Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Manama

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,561

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,561 in Manama versus $1,639 in Medellin.

Manama $1,561
Medellin $1,639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,442 in Manama versus $2,413 in Medellin.

Manama $2,442
Medellin $2,413

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,323 in Manama versus $3,186 in Medellin.

Manama $3,323
Medellin $3,186

Living in Manama costs roughly 5% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Manama 15% above, Medellin 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.17 BHD 1.93

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-36.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.4 BHD 19.97

$47.05 COP 151.9K

13.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.22 BHD 2.70

$9.50 COP 30.7K

-24.00%

Cappuccino

$5.01 BHD 1.88

$3.01 COP 9,735

66.45%

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

$0.88 BHD 0.33

$1.80 COP 5,809

-51.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 BHD 0.12

$1.41 COP 4,561

-77.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.48 BHD 2.42

$3.18 COP 10.3K

103.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$10.09 BHD 3.78

$5.75 COP 18.6K

75.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 BHD 0.52

$1.51 COP 4,876

-7.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 BHD 0.39

$2.38 COP 7,678

-55.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 BHD 0.87

$1.77 COP 5,720

31.64%

Eggs

$2.22 BHD 0.83

$2.89 COP 9,333

-23.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.62 BHD 3.22

$10.19 COP 32.9K

-15.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.58 BHD 2.46

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-33.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.38 BHD 3.13

$13.99 COP 45.2K

-40.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.39 BHD 0.89

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-39.80%

Banana (1kg)

$2.31 BHD 0.86

$1.55 COP 5,012

49.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 BHD 0.73

$2.18 COP 7,048

-11.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.38 BHD 0.52

$2.18 COP 7,051

-36.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.01 BHD 0.38

$1.96 COP 6,337

-48.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 BHD 0.51

$1.59 COP 5,132

-14.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 BHD 0.58

$1.15 COP 3,699

35.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 BHD 0.32

$1.24 COP 4,014

-32.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.26 BHD 1.97

$3.96 COP 12.8K

32.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.18 BHD 6.80

$13.68 COP 44.2K

32.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.63 BHD 1.36

$1.66 COP 5,359

118.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 BHD 1.00

$2.26 COP 7,291

17.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.78 BHD 0.29

$1.17 COP 3,771

-33.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.65 BHD 13.71

$77.4 COP 249.8K

-52.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.18 BHD 1.94

$1.27 COP 4,094

307.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.42 BHD 1.28

$2.05 COP 6,612

66.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.82 BHD 5.92

$8.55 COP 27.6K

85.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.66 BHD 0.25

$1.35 COP 4,349

-51.11%

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

$25.9K BHD 9,671

$34.1K COP 110.0M

-24.10%

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

$19.3K BHD 7,234

$34.7K COP 111.9M

-44.21%

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

$153 BHD 57.1

$170 COP 547.8K

-10.07%

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

$24.67 BHD 9.23

$13.55 COP 43.8K

82.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.29 BHD 13.20

$28.07 COP 90.6K

25.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.9 BHD 25.77

$43.70 COP 141.1K

57.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.13 BHD 11.27

$17.19 COP 55.5K

75.28%

Cinema Ticket

$10.78 BHD 4.03

$6.91 COP 22.3K

56.01%

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

$622 BHD 233

$797 COP 2.6M

-21.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.9K BHD 4,091

$9,112 COP 29.4M

20.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.1 BHD 18.74

$84.7 COP 273.5K

-40.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 BHD 21.71

$58.0 COP 187.2K

0.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.1 BHD 33.32

$135 COP 435.8K

-33.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.7 BHD 33.16

$97.9 COP 316.0K

-9.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,004 BHD 376

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-16.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$638 BHD 239

$642 COP 2.1M

-0.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,052 BHD 767

$2,028 COP 6.5M

1.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,303 BHD 487

$1,012 COP 3.3M

28.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,590 BHD 969

$4,170 COP 13.5M

-37.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,974 BHD 738

$1,910 COP 6.2M

3.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,384 BHD 892

$657 COP 2.1M

262.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.21

10.94

-43.24%

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

Last update for Manama: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Manama

$638 40.9%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 0.6% $3.7

Groceries & Markets

Manama

$249 16%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 19.3% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Manama

$213 13.6%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 0.6% $1.3

Eating Out

Manama

$181 11.6%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 6.1% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Manama

$129 8.2%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 31.3% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Manama

$90 5.8%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 36.4% $33

Getting Around

Manama

$62 4%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 50.8% $32

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,004 in Manama and $1,208 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Manama pays about 3.6 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $53 in Manama vs $47 in Medellin. Groceries flip the comparison at $249 vs $297, with Manama cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇭 Manama

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

07:55 7:55 AM

23:55 11:55 PM

8 h behind Manama

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

157,474 Capital

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BHD = 2.67 USD

1 BHD = 2.39 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to BHD – Bahraini Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇭 Bahraini Dinar (.د.ب)

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.374 BHD (1 BHD = 2.67 USD). 1 EUR = 0.418 BHD (1 BHD = 2.39 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,605 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

USD to BHD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Manama Medellin 13,180 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Manama
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

Manama vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Manama wins on cost – living expenses run 5% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Manama the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Manama is about 3.6 times higher, 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: $1,004 in Manama versus $1,208 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Manama runs roughly 53% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $622 in Manama versus $797 in Medellin. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Manama is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

For families, Manama 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.