Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Al Kufah

For one person, living is cheaper in Al Kufah: $703 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,200 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Al Kufah
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Al Kufah Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Al Kufah

🇮🇶 Iraq

$703

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Al Kufah

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $703 in Al Kufah.

Medellin $1,639
Al Kufah $703

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,050 in Al Kufah.

Medellin $2,413
Al Kufah $1,050

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,397 in Al Kufah.

Medellin $3,186
Al Kufah $1,397

Living in Medellin is roughly 133% more expensive than in Al Kufah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Al Kufah is 48% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$4.74 IQD 7,162

70.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$25.90 IQD 39.1K

81.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$6.63 IQD 10.0K

43.29%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$2.82 IQD 4,258

6.74%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$0.38 IQD 579

373.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$0.20 IQD 302

605.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$3.21 IQD 4,844

-0.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$3.24 IQD 4,897

77.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$0.96 IQD 1,451

57.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$0.69 IQD 1,041

244.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$1.32 IQD 1,989

34.09%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$1.70 IQD 2,574

70.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$2.02 IQD 3,046

404.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$3.99 IQD 6,032

147.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$7.85 IQD 11.9K

78.22%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$0.63 IQD 954

530.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$0.96 IQD 1,449

61.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$0.56 IQD 848

289.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$0.49 IQD 736

344.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$0.43 IQD 650

355.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$0.33 IQD 499

381.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$0.19 IQD 284

505.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$0.51 IQD 776

143.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$1.53 IQD 2,319

158.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$11.59 IQD 17.5K

18.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$2.00 IQD 3,017

-17.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$1.97 IQD 2,972

14.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

$0.32 IQD 480

265.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$1.95 IQD 2,954

-34.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$1.34 IQD 2,031

52.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$6.52 IQD 9,849

31.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$0.49 IQD 733

175.51%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$16.6K IQD 25.0M

105.78%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$16.8K IQD 25.4M

106.41%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$188 IQD 283.3K

-9.52%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$19.15 IQD 28.9K

-29.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$19.76 IQD 29.9K

42.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$15.05 IQD 22.7K

190.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$9.64 IQD 14.6K

-28.32%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$69.3 IQD 104.8K

1049.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$2,161 IQD 3.3M

321.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$10.13 IQD 15.3K

736.33%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$29.46 IQD 44.5K

96.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$20.07 IQD 30.3K

572.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$34.57 IQD 52.2K

183.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$208 IQD 313.5K

482.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$135 IQD 204.6K

373.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$371 IQD 561.3K

445.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$309 IQD 466.6K

227.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$1,244 IQD 1.9M

235.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$495 IQD 748.2K

285.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$902 IQD 1.4M

-27.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

4.12

165.53%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Al Kufah: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Al Kufah

$135 19.3% 78.9% $506

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Al Kufah

$138 19.6% 53.6% $159

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Al Kufah

$226 32.2% 7.2% $15

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Al Kufah

$116 16.6% 31.3% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Al Kufah

$42 6% 74.9% $127

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Al Kufah

$10 * 1.4% 89.4% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Al Kufah

$34 4.9% 40.3% $23

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 $1,208 in Medellin and $208 in Al Kufah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Al Kufah pays 37% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $26 in Al Kufah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $138 per month, with Al Kufah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇮🇶 Al Kufah

🕒 Local time

21:02 9:02 PM

05:02 5:02 AM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

230,000

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.93 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IQD, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,605 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,687 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.93 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Al Kufah 12,380 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Al Kufah

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 Al Kufah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al Kufah is about 57% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 27% 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: $1,208 in Medellin versus $208 in Al Kufah. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 116% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,639 per month in Medellin versus $703 in Al Kufah – Al Kufah is about 57% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $703 in Al Kufah versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Al Kufah but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Al Kufah 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.