Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Matola and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Matola: $999 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Matola
Learn more

Matola Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index

Jump to prices

Matola

🇲🇿 Mozambique

$999

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $999 per month in Matola vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Matola $999
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $1,523 per month in Matola vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Matola $1,523
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $2,048 per month in Matola vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Matola $2,048
Medellin $3,186

Matola is about 39% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Matola sits 27% below the global median, while Medellin is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.80 MZN 493

$8.09 COP 26.1K

-3.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.6 MZN 3,960

$47.05 COP 151.9K

33.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.34 MZN 464

$9.50 COP 30.7K

-22.74%

Cappuccino

$1.59 MZN 100

$3.01 COP 9,734

-47.18%

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

$0.82 MZN 52.0

$1.80 COP 5,809

-54.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 MZN 42.67

$1.41 COP 4,560

-52.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.18 MZN 74.8

$3.18 COP 10.3K

-62.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 MZN 97.5

$5.75 COP 18.6K

-73.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 MZN 101

$1.51 COP 4,875

5.30%

White Bread (500g)

$0.99 MZN 62.6

$2.38 COP 7,677

-58.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 MZN 101

$1.77 COP 5,719

-10.17%

Eggs

$1.93 MZN 122

$2.89 COP 9,332

-33.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.47 MZN 852

$10.19 COP 32.9K

32.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.82 MZN 368

$9.87 COP 31.9K

-41.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.76 MZN 301

$13.99 COP 45.2K

-65.98%

Apples (1kg)

$1.97 MZN 125

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-50.38%

Banana (1kg)

$0.62 MZN 39.38

$1.55 COP 5,011

-60.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.64 MZN 103

$2.18 COP 7,047

-24.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.03 MZN 65.4

$2.18 COP 7,050

-52.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.00 MZN 63.5

$1.96 COP 6,336

-48.98%

Onion (1kg)

$0.74 MZN 47.08

$1.59 COP 5,131

-53.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.95 MZN 60.1

$1.15 COP 3,698

-17.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 MZN 33.64

$1.24 COP 4,014

-57.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.89 MZN 183

$3.96 COP 12.8K

-27.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.21 MZN 456

$13.68 COP 44.2K

-47.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 MZN 61.3

$1.66 COP 5,359

-41.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 MZN 76.8

$2.26 COP 7,290

-46.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,770

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.61 MZN 102

$1.27 COP 4,094

26.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.20 MZN 76.1

$2.05 COP 6,611

-41.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.12 MZN 1,525

$8.55 COP 27.6K

182.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 MZN 88.5

$1.35 COP 4,348

3.70%

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

$31.4K MZN 2.0M

$34.1K COP 110.0M

-7.78%

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

$22.5K MZN 1.4M

$34.7K COP 111.9M

-35.01%

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

$39.21 MZN 2,480

$170 COP 547.7K

-76.89%

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

$7.64 MZN 483

$13.55 COP 43.7K

-43.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$77.9 MZN 4,926

$28.07 COP 90.6K

177.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.09 MZN 2,473

$43.70 COP 141.1K

-10.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

Cinema Ticket

$7.60 MZN 481

$6.91 COP 22.3K

9.99%

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

$173 MZN 10.9K

$797 COP 2.6M

-78.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,041 MZN 318.8K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

-44.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.21 MZN 3,113

$84.7 COP 273.5K

-41.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.0 MZN 3,539

$58.0 COP 187.1K

-3.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.2 MZN 5,011

$135 COP 435.7K

-41.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.4 MZN 4,898

$97.9 COP 316.0K

-20.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$462 MZN 29.2K

$1,208 COP 3.9M

-61.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$391 MZN 24.7K

$642 COP 2.1M

-39.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$696 MZN 44.0K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

-65.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$552 MZN 34.9K

$1,012 COP 3.3M

-45.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$307 MZN 19.4K

$657 COP 2.1M

-53.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

128.52%

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

Last update for Matola: October 27, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Matola

$391 39.1%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 64.2% $251

Groceries & Markets

Matola

$185 18.6%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 60.2% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Matola

$125 12.5%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 69.4% $87

Eating Out

Matola

$118 11.9%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 43.2% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Matola

$118 11.8%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 43.4% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Matola

$54 5.4%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 6% $3.2

Getting Around

Matola

$7.6 * 0.8%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 1128% $86

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $462 in Matola versus $1,208 in Medellin. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Medellin are about 2.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $63 in Matola versus $47 in Medellin. Groceries tell a different story – $185 in Matola vs $297 in Medellin – so Matola wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇿 Matola

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

01:44 1:44 AM

18:44 6:44 PM

7 h behind Matola

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

675,422

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Mozambican Metical MZN MT

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MZN = 1.58 USD

100 MZN = 1.41 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to MZN – Mozambican Metical Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇿 Mozambican Metical (MT)

Mozambican Metical exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 63.25 MZN (100 MZN = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 70.89 MZN (100 MZN = 1.41 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,619 COP (10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR).

USD to MZN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Matola Medellin 12,120 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Matola
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

Matola vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $999 in Matola, $1,639 in Medellin – Matola comes out roughly 39% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,498 per month in Matola and $2,459 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Matola, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $462 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $999 in Matola and $1,639 in Medellin. That makes Matola about 39% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $173 per month in Matola and $797 in Medellin. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Matola, where all-in costs run around $999, than in Medellin at $1,639. In Matola it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Matola – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Matola. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.