Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Al-musayyib

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-musayyib: $768 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Al-musayyib
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Al-musayyib Living Index

Jump to prices

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Al-musayyib

🇮🇶 Iraq

$768

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Al-musayyib

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $768 in Al-musayyib.

Medellin $1,639
Al-musayyib $768

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,152 in Al-musayyib.

Medellin $2,413
Al-musayyib $1,152

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,536 in Al-musayyib.

Medellin $3,186
Al-musayyib $1,536

Living in Medellin is roughly 113% more expensive than in Al-musayyib, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Al-musayyib is 44% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$4.50 IQD 6,793

79.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$25.91 IQD 39.1K

81.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$6.43 IQD 9,721

47.74%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$2.82 IQD 4,267

6.74%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.38 IQD 576

373.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.22 IQD 332

540.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$3.33 IQD 5,026

-4.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$3.25 IQD 4,904

76.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$0.90 IQD 1,359

67.78%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$0.67 IQD 1,019

255.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$1.30 IQD 1,971

36.15%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$1.29 IQD 1,951

124.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$3.42 IQD 5,163

197.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$3.28 IQD 4,962

200.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$10.03 IQD 15.1K

39.48%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$1.02 IQD 1,540

289.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$0.90 IQD 1,357

72.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$0.94 IQD 1,415

131.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$0.48 IQD 721

354.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$0.54 IQD 817

262.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$0.48 IQD 732

231.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$0.48 IQD 730

139.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.34 IQD 518

264.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$1.68 IQD 2,531

135.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$11.98 IQD 18.1K

14.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$1.89 IQD 2,862

-12.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$1.87 IQD 2,831

20.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.32 IQD 480

265.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$2.01 IQD 3,043

-36.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$1.30 IQD 1,961

57.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$6.75 IQD 10.2K

26.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$0.55 IQD 825

145.45%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$16.5K IQD 25.0M

106.11%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$16.5K IQD 25.0M

109.69%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$187 IQD 282.9K

-9.38%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$19.82 IQD 30.0K

-31.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$38.37 IQD 58.0K

-26.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$33.70 IQD 50.9K

29.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$10.19 IQD 15.4K

-32.19%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$146 IQD 220.6K

445.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$3,199 IQD 4.8M

184.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$25.73 IQD 38.9K

229.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$33.53 IQD 50.7K

72.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$58.9 IQD 89.0K

129.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$41.11 IQD 62.1K

138.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$206 IQD 311.9K

485.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$127 IQD 192.6K

403.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$321 IQD 485.3K

531.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$308 IQD 465.5K

228.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$974 IQD 1.5M

328.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$537 IQD 811.4K

255.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

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-musayyib: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Al-musayyib

$127 16.6% 80.1% $514

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Al-musayyib

$145 18.9% 51.1% $152

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Al-musayyib

$245 31.9% 16.2% $34

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Al-musayyib

$115 14.9% 32.4% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Al-musayyib

$72 9.3% 57.6% $97

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Al-musayyib

$9.8 * 1.3% 89.6% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Al-musayyib

$54 7% 6% $3.5

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 $206 in Al-musayyib. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $26 in Al-musayyib for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $145 per month, with Al-musayyib cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇮🇶 Al-musayyib

🕒 Local time

18:09 6:09 PM

02:09 2:09 AM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

279,939

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.95 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 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).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,682 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Al-musayyib 12,340 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Al-musayyib

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-musayyib: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $768 in Al-musayyib, so Al-musayyib is about 53% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,459 in Medellin and $1,153 in Al-musayyib to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,208 in Medellin versus $206 in Al-musayyib. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $146 in Al-musayyib. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Al-musayyib – a meal for two runs $26 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $768 in Al-musayyib versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Al-musayyib but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Al-musayyib 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.