Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Accra

For one person, living is cheaper in Accra: $1,077 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Accra
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Accra Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Accra

🇬🇭 Ghana

$1,077

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Accra

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 Accra actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $1,077 in Accra, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Accra $1,077

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $1,708 in Accra, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Accra $1,708

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $2,340 in Accra, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Accra $2,340

Medellin costs about 52% more than Accra, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Accra is 21% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$8.38 GHS 97.1

-3.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$51.6 GHS 597

-8.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$10.25 GHS 119

-7.32%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$4.59 GHS 53.2

-34.42%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$1.62 GHS 18.71

11.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.47 GHS 5.48

200.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$1.90 GHS 22.01

67.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$2.19 GHS 25.32

162.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$3.59 GHS 41.53

-57.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$1.62 GHS 18.79

46.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$3.08 GHS 35.70

-42.53%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$2.62 GHS 30.36

10.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$11.92 GHS 138

-14.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$7.37 GHS 85.3

33.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$9.96 GHS 115

40.46%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$3.58 GHS 41.45

10.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.39 GHS 16.06

11.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$1.78 GHS 20.61

22.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$3.73 GHS 43.20

-41.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$2.79 GHS 32.33

-29.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$2.77 GHS 32.13

-42.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$0.74 GHS 8.63

55.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.62 GHS 7.14

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$2.63 GHS 30.49

50.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$7.14 GHS 82.6

91.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$1.25 GHS 14.44

32.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$2.36 GHS 27.37

-4.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$1.52 GHS 17.64

-23.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$41.35 GHS 479

87.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$1.76 GHS 20.36

-27.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$1.27 GHS 14.74

61.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$4.24 GHS 49.04

101.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.31 GHS 15.17

3.05%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$7,861 GHS 91.0K

333.39%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$20.1K GHS 232.9K

72.39%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$73.3 GHS 849

131.35%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$19.53 GHS 226

-30.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$42.72 GHS 495

-34.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$70.6 GHS 818

-38.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$18.31 GHS 212

-6.12%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$12.80 GHS 148

-46.02%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$468 GHS 5,418

70.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$18.5K GHS 214.1K

-50.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$14.14 GHS 164

499.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$18.57 GHS 215

212.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$36.87 GHS 427

266.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$52.4 GHS 607

86.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$686 GHS 7,942

76.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$280 GHS 3,247

128.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$1,077 GHS 12.5K

88.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$474 GHS 5,492

113.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$2,839 GHS 32.9K

46.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$1,425 GHS 16.5K

34.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$176 GHS 2,034

274.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

26.75

-59.10%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Accra: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Accra

$280 26% 56.3% $361

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Accra

$279 25.9% 6.1% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Accra

$136 12.6% 35.8% $76

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Accra

$175 16.3% 3.3% $5.6

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Accra

$55 5.1% 67.5% $114

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Accra

$56 5.2% 40.6% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Accra

$96 8.9% 67.3% $39

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $686 in Accra. 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 3.7 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $52 in Accra. Groceries tell a different story – $297 in Medellin vs $279 in Accra – so Accra wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇬🇭 Accra

🕒 Local time

15:35 3:35 PM

20:35 8:35 PM

5 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

2,388,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Ghanaian Cedi GHS ₵

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

100 GHS = 8.64 USD

100 GHS = 7.76 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GHS, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

Ghanaian Cedi exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 11.58 GHS (100 GHS = 8.64 USD). 1 EUR = 12.89 GHS (100 GHS = 7.76 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Accra 8,330 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Accra

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 Accra: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,639 in Medellin, $1,077 in Accra – Accra comes out roughly 34% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $1,615 in Accra. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Accra, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $686 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

Groceries cost about 6% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $52 in Accra. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,639 in Medellin and $1,077 in Accra, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Accra – 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 Accra. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.