Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Aalst

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,614 a month against $2,067 in Aalst, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
101

Cost of Living Index in Aalst
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Aalst Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Aalst

🇧🇪 Belgium

$2,067

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Aalst

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Medellin and in Aalst actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,614 in Medellin versus $2,067 in Aalst.

Medellin $1,614
Aalst $2,067

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,402 in Medellin versus $3,086 in Aalst.

Medellin $2,402
Aalst $3,086

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,190 in Medellin versus $4,105 in Aalst.

Medellin $3,190
Aalst $4,105

Living in Medellin costs roughly 22% less than in Aalst, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 20% above, Aalst 53% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.3K

$22.53 €20.10

-64.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 146.9K

$106 €94.3

-56.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.3K

$13.43 €11.99

-29.26%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,908

$4.43 €3.95

-29.80%

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

$1.83 COP 5,824

$3.63 €3.24

-49.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,378

$3.17 €2.83

-56.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,712

$5.55 €4.96

-45.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.5K

$5.53 €4.93

-0.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,619

$1.31 €1.17

10.69%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,527

$2.81 €2.51

-16.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,351

$2.13 €1.90

-21.13%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,115

$3.83 €3.42

-25.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.4K

$17.39 €15.52

-41.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.3K

$11.87 €10.59

-19.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.7K

$22.29 €19.90

-37.01%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 13.0K

$2.99 €2.67

36.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,762

$2.43 €2.17

-38.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,920

$2.67 €2.38

-18.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,340

$3.23 €2.88

-28.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,139

$2.47 €2.21

-21.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,218

$1.95 €1.74

-15.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,586

$1.54 €1.37

-26.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,971

$1.05 €0.94

19.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.7K

$12.93 €11.54

-69.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.5K

$8.74 €7.80

52.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,406

$1.72 €1.54

-1.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,557

$2.08 €1.85

13.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,843

$3.09 €2.76

-60.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 243.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,197

$2.86 €2.55

-53.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,802

$2.35 €2.09

-8.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 27.0K

$40.40 €36.05

-79.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,132

$2.12 €1.89

-38.68%

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

$28.0K COP 89.1M

$34.7K €30.9K

-19.26%

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

$35.4K COP 112.8M

$32.8K €29.3K

7.93%

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

$172 COP 547.9K

$203 €181

-15.14%

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

$13.37 COP 42.6K

$21.94 €19.58

-39.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.5K

$50.8 €45.37

-43.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 144.1K

$36.21 €32.32

24.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.3K

$21.03 €18.77

-18.97%

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 20.0K

$15.18 €13.55

-58.63%

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

$770 COP 2.5M

$1,605 €1,433

-52.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.7M

$33.7K €30.1K

-73.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 275.1K

$113 €101

-23.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.9K

$46.17 €41.21

23.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 434.7K

$102 €90.9

34.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 311.7K

$163 €146

-40.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.4M

$911 €813

15.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$808 €721

-23.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

$1,384 €1,236

36.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.3M

$1,104 €985

-7.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

$4,162 €3,714

-2.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

$2,890 €2,580

-41.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

$2,782 €2,483

-76.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

3.46

216.18%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Last update for Aalst: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Aalst

$807 39.1% 31.1% $192

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Aalst

$360 17.4% 22.2% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Aalst

$276 13.3% 28.7% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Aalst

$191 9.2% 12.3% $21

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Aalst

$340 16.4% 102% $171

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Aalst

$27 * 1.3% 71.1% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Aalst

$67 3.2% 15.2% $8.8

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 $1,055 in Medellin and $911 in Aalst. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aalst pays 326% 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: $46.00 in Medellin vs $106 in Aalst for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $295 vs $360 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇧🇪 Aalst

🕒 Local time

20:50 8:50 PM

03:50 3:50 AM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

78,271

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 3,184 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,563 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Aalst 8,740 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Aalst

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

Medellin vs Aalst: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin and Aalst differ by about 28% in total monthly costs ($1,614 vs $2,067 including rent). Medellin is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 326% lower in Aalst. 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: $1,055 in Medellin versus $911 in Aalst. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 22% higher in Aalst. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,614 per month in Medellin versus $2,067 in Aalst – a 28% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,614 in Medellin versus $2,067 in Aalst, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Aalst. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin 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.

Safety-wise, Medellin and Aalst 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 28% less than in Aalst. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.