Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mbabane and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbabane: $756 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Mbabane
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Mbabane Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Mbabane

🇸🇿 Eswatini

$756

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $756 per month in Mbabane vs $1,692 in Medellin, rent included.

Mbabane $756
Medellin $1,692

A couple spends around $1,214 per month in Mbabane vs $2,471 in Medellin, rent included.

Mbabane $1,214
Medellin $2,471

A family of three spends $1,672 per month in Mbabane vs $3,249 in Medellin, rent included.

Mbabane $1,672
Medellin $3,249

Mbabane is about 55% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Mbabane sits 44% below the global median, while Medellin is 25% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.17 SZL 169

$8.34 COP 26.9K

21.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.37 SZL 556

$46.53 COP 150.2K

-28.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.02 SZL 100

$9.47 COP 30.6K

-36.43%

Cappuccino

$2.61 SZL 43.40

$3.13 COP 10.1K

-16.61%

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

$1.11 SZL 18.52

$1.77 COP 5,702

-37.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.57 SZL 9.43

$1.42 COP 4,599

-59.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.08 SZL 34.65

$3.15 COP 10.2K

-33.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.35 SZL 39.17

$5.70 COP 18.4K

-58.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 SZL 25.37

$1.53 COP 4,948

-0.65%

White Bread (500g)

$0.85 SZL 14.13

$2.29 COP 7,397

-62.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.67 SZL 27.87

$1.94 COP 6,279

-13.92%

Eggs

$1.78 SZL 29.69

$3.07 COP 9,900

-42.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.87 SZL 181

$9.99 COP 32.3K

8.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.61 SZL 93.3

$10.45 COP 33.7K

-46.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.22 SZL 87.0

$13.96 COP 45.1K

-62.61%

Apples (1kg)

$1.75 SZL 29.10

$4.05 COP 13.1K

-56.79%

Banana (1kg)

$0.66 SZL 10.99

$1.53 COP 4,934

-56.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.21 SZL 20.09

$2.10 COP 6,794

-42.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.41 SZL 23.43

$2.29 COP 7,405

-38.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.25 SZL 20.86

$2.11 COP 6,810

-40.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 SZL 24.72

$1.71 COP 5,518

-13.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 SZL 11.13

$1.17 COP 3,778

-42.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 SZL 12.79

$1.58 COP 5,101

-51.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.77 SZL 46.18

$3.91 COP 12.6K

-29.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.13 SZL 102

$14.04 COP 45.3K

-56.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 SZL 26.57

$1.76 COP 5,688

-9.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 SZL 27.25

$2.71 COP 8,756

-39.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 SZL 12.30

$1.18 COP 3,809

-37.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 246.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,833

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 SZL 23.78

$2.13 COP 6,874

-32.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.09 SZL 51.5

$8.13 COP 26.3K

-61.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 SZL 22.12

$1.28 COP 4,117

3.91%

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

$34.4K COP 111.2M

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

$34.1K COP 110.2M

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

$65.2 SZL 1,086

$178 COP 573.8K

-63.31%

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

$37.37 SZL 622

$13.89 COP 44.8K

169.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$26.65 SZL 444

$30.74 COP 99.2K

-13.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.34 SZL 372

$41.94 COP 135.4K

-46.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.08 SZL 51.3

$16.80 COP 54.2K

-81.67%

Cinema Ticket

$3.52 SZL 58.6

$7.47 COP 24.1K

-52.88%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,211 SZL 103.4K

$12.3K COP 39.7M

-49.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$34.83 SZL 580

$86.3 COP 278.7K

-59.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.14 SZL 252

$59.3 COP 191.3K

-74.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.4 SZL 1,156

$138 COP 446.6K

-49.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$54.4 SZL 905

$98.8 COP 319.0K

-45.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$267 SZL 4,447

$1,341 COP 4.3M

-80.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$176 SZL 2,937

$667 COP 2.2M

-73.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$451 SZL 7,509

$1,976 COP 6.4M

-77.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$357 SZL 5,945

$1,033 COP 3.3M

-65.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$488 SZL 8,129

$4,098 COP 13.2M

-88.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$363 SZL 6,040

$1,940 COP 6.3M

-81.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.25

10.94

-33.73%

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

Last update for Mbabane: November 1, 2026

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Mbabane

$181 23.9%

Medellin

$307 18.2% 70.3% $127

Accommodation & Living

Mbabane

$176 23.3%

Medellin

$667 39.4% 278% $491

Eating Out

Mbabane

$153 20.2%

Medellin

$173 10.2% 13.2% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mbabane

$129 17.1%

Medellin

$222 13.1% 72.1% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Mbabane

$78 10.3%

Medellin

$172 10.2% 120% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Mbabane

$29 3.9%

Medellin

$57 3.4% 93.6% $28

Getting Around

Mbabane

$10 * 1.3%

Medellin

$93 5.5% 825% $83

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $267 in Mbabane versus $1,341 in Medellin. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $33 in Mbabane versus $47 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $181 vs $307 – making Mbabane the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇿 Mbabane

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

01:35 1:35 AM

18:35 6:35 PM

7 h behind Mbabane

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

94,874 Capital

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Eswatini Lilangeni SZL L

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 SZL = 6.01 USD

100 SZL = 5.37 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to SZL – Eswatini Lilangeni Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇿 Eswatini Lilangeni (L)

Eswatini Lilangeni exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 16.65 SZL (100 SZL = 6.01 USD). 1 EUR = 18.62 SZL (100 SZL = 5.37 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,610 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

USD to SZL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mbabane Medellin 11,980 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Mbabane
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

Mbabane vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin costs about 124% more than Mbabane, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,135 per month in Mbabane and $2,538 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mbabane, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $267 there versus $1,341 in Medellin.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $756 in Mbabane and $1,692 in Medellin. That makes Mbabane about 55% cheaper.

Groceries cost about 70% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

It depends on your priorities. Medellin has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $756 in Mbabane to $1,692 in Medellin. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.