Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Maseru and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Maseru: $669 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Maseru
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Maseru Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Maseru

🇱🇸 Lesotho

$669

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $669 in Maseru versus $1,625 in Medellin.

Maseru $669
Medellin $1,625

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,123 in Maseru versus $2,412 in Medellin.

Maseru $1,123
Medellin $2,412

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,576 in Maseru versus $3,199 in Medellin.

Maseru $1,576
Medellin $3,199

Living in Maseru costs roughly 59% less than in Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Maseru is 51% below, Medellin is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.87 LSL 146

$8.30 COP 26.3K

6.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.91 LSL 395

$46.91 COP 148.7K

-49.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.34 LSL 138

$9.24 COP 29.3K

-9.74%

Cappuccino

$1.99 LSL 32.92

$3.05 COP 9,676

-34.75%

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

$1.11 LSL 18.32

$1.80 COP 5,707

-38.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 LSL 14.55

$1.38 COP 4,382

-36.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.79 LSL 29.49

$3.24 COP 10.3K

-44.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 LSL 40.51

$5.56 COP 17.6K

-55.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.18 LSL 19.50

$1.50 COP 4,760

-21.33%

White Bread (500g)

$0.87 LSL 14.42

$2.37 COP 7,508

-63.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 LSL 29.75

$1.70 COP 5,377

5.88%

Eggs

$1.53 LSL 25.27

$2.96 COP 9,379

-48.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.55 LSL 108

$10.22 COP 32.4K

-35.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.15 LSL 101

$9.74 COP 30.9K

-36.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.31 LSL 104

$13.90 COP 44.1K

-54.60%

Apples (1kg)

$1.94 LSL 31.96

$4.13 COP 13.1K

-53.03%

Banana (1kg)

$2.29 LSL 37.85

$1.53 COP 4,839

49.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.77 LSL 45.67

$2.22 COP 7,052

24.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.39 LSL 39.48

$2.27 COP 7,194

5.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 LSL 25.62

$1.99 COP 6,311

-22.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 LSL 27.53

$1.67 COP 5,285

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.55 LSL 25.50

$1.18 COP 3,742

31.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 LSL 13.13

$1.24 COP 3,919

-35.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.08 LSL 83.9

$3.87 COP 12.3K

31.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.24 LSL 119

$13.78 COP 43.7K

-47.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 LSL 17.18

$1.66 COP 5,256

-37.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 LSL 25.30

$2.40 COP 7,615

-36.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 LSL 13.55

$1.24 COP 3,944

-33.87%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.08 LSL 496

$78.2 COP 248.0K

-61.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.75 LSL 12.43

$1.28 COP 4,044

-41.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.70 LSL 11.52

$2.15 COP 6,803

-67.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.69 LSL 60.9

$8.37 COP 26.5K

-55.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 LSL 21.71

$1.35 COP 4,288

-2.22%

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

$21.2K LSL 349.9K

$34.8K COP 110.2M

-39.01%

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

$16.6K LSL 274.0K

$34.7K COP 110.0M

-52.12%

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

$167 COP 528.4K

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

$14.55 LSL 240

$13.62 COP 43.2K

6.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.75 LSL 639

$29.12 COP 92.3K

33.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.08 LSL 381

$45.09 COP 143.0K

-48.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.97 COP 22.1K

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

$52.7 LSL 870

$790 COP 2.5M

-93.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,219 LSL 20.1K

$9,041 COP 28.7M

-86.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.86 LSL 757

$87.8 COP 278.4K

-47.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.2 LSL 944

$58.2 COP 184.4K

-1.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 LSL 1,714

$139 COP 440.7K

-25.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$150 LSL 2,478

$98.9 COP 313.5K

51.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$92.8 LSL 1,531

$1,028 COP 3.3M

-90.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$56.7 LSL 935

$620 COP 2.0M

-90.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$444 LSL 7,330

$1,881 COP 6.0M

-76.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$170 LSL 2,800

$1,008 COP 3.2M

-83.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$391 LSL 6,453

$3,988 COP 12.6M

-90.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$527 LSL 8,696

$1,702 COP 5.4M

-69.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$622 LSL 10.3K

$663 COP 2.1M

-6.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.5

10.94

-22.30%

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

Last update for Maseru: October 19, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Maseru

$196 29.3%

Medellin

$298 18.3% 51.8% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Maseru

$161 24%

Medellin

$173 10.6% 7.5% $12

Eating Out

Maseru

$142 21.2%

Medellin

$171 10.5% 20.5% $29

Accommodation & Living

Maseru

$57 8.5%

Medellin

$619 38.1% 993% $563

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Maseru

$53 * 8%

Medellin

$209 12.9% 293% $156

Getting Around

Maseru

$38 5.6%

Medellin

$95 5.9% 153% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Maseru

$23 * 3.5%

Medellin

$59 3.6% 156% $36

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 $92.8 in Maseru and $1,028 in Medellin. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 7% 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: $24.00 in Maseru vs $47.00 in Medellin for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $196 vs $298 per month, with Maseru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇸 Maseru

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

16:24 4:24 PM

09:24 9:24 AM

7 h behind Maseru

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

227,880 Capital

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Lesotho Loti LSL L

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 LSL = 6.06 USD

100 LSL = 5.39 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to LSL – Lesotho Loti Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇸 Lesotho Loti (L)

Lesotho Loti exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 LSL (100 LSL = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 LSL (100 LSL = 5.39 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 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 LSL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Maseru Medellin 11,610 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Maseru
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

Maseru vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Maseru and Medellin differ by about 143% in total monthly costs ($669 vs $1,625 including rent). Maseru is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 7% 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $92.8 in Maseru versus $1,028 in Medellin. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Maseru – a meal for two runs $24.00 versus $47.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $669 per month in Maseru versus $1,625 in Medellin – a 143% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $669 in Maseru versus $1,625 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Maseru but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Maseru 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 Maseru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 143% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.