Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Al Wakrah

For one person, living is cheaper in Al Wakrah: $1,443 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index
69

Cost of Living Index in Al Wakrah
Learn more

Al Wakrah Living Index

Jump to prices

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Al Wakrah

🇶🇦 Qatar

$1,443

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $1,443 in Al Wakrah, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Al Wakrah $1,443

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $2,567 in Al Wakrah, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Al Wakrah $2,567

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $3,690 in Al Wakrah, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Al Wakrah $3,690

Medellin costs about 14% more than Al Wakrah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Medellin and Al Wakrah sit above the global median – Medellin by 20%, Al Wakrah by 6%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$4.21 QAR 15.33

92.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$40.40 QAR 147

16.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$5.57 QAR 20.26

70.56%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.96 QAR 43.54

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 QAR 48.71

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$5.71 QAR 20.78

-47.29%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$0.76 QAR 2.78

136.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$0.26 QAR 0.94

442.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$2.08 QAR 7.56

-27.40%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$1.40 QAR 5.10

70.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$1.85 QAR 6.75

-4.32%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$3.06 QAR 11.15

-5.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$5.87 QAR 21.38

73.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$7.71 QAR 28.06

28.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$7.64 QAR 27.83

83.12%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$2.18 QAR 7.95

82.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$1.84 QAR 6.70

-15.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$1.54 QAR 5.60

41.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$1.22 QAR 4.43

78.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$0.78 QAR 2.84

151.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$0.77 QAR 2.79

106.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$1.09 QAR 3.95

5.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$0.51 QAR 1.85

143.14%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$9.73 QAR 35.42

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.82 QAR 6.62

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 QAR 8.14

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$4.20 QAR 15.30

-5.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

$0.56 QAR 2.05

108.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$1.88 QAR 6.84

-32.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$2.00 QAR 7.29

2.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$13.67 QAR 49.76

-37.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$0.54 QAR 1.95

150.00%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$24.6K QAR 89.4K

38.65%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$21.8K QAR 79.3K

59.24%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$86.7 QAR 316

95.67%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$34.61 QAR 126

-60.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$86.5 QAR 315

-67.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$134 QAR 489

-67.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$9.49 QAR 34.56

-27.19%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$735 QAR 2,674

8.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$9,459 QAR 34.4K

-3.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$25.86 QAR 94.1

227.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$20.92 QAR 76.2

177.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$100.0 QAR 364

35.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$82.3 QAR 299

18.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$1,056 QAR 3,844

14.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$660 QAR 2,402

-2.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$2,064 QAR 7,511

-1.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$1,989 QAR 7,241

-49.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$4,314 QAR 15.7K

-84.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.92

84.80%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Al Wakrah: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Al Wakrah

$660 45.7% 2.8% $18

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Al Wakrah

$182 12.6% 38.7% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Al Wakrah

$208 14.4% 1.6% $3.5

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Al Wakrah

$123 8.5% 27.5% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Al Wakrah

$103 7.1% 39% $66

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Al Wakrah

$14 * 1% 84.9% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Al Wakrah

$153 10.6% 167% $96

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $1,056 in Al Wakrah. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Al Wakrah are about 6.6 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $40 in Al Wakrah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $182 – making Al Wakrah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇶🇦 Al Wakrah

🕒 Local time

23:10 11:10 PM

07:10 7:10 AM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

87,970

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Qatari Riyal QAR ر.ق

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

1 QAR = 0.275 USD

1 QAR = 0.246 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

QAR, 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).

Qatari Riyal exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3.64 QAR (1 QAR = 0.275 USD). 1 EUR = 4.06 QAR (1 QAR = 0.246 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Medellin Al Wakrah 13,330 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Al Wakrah

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 Wakrah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 14%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $2,165 in Al Wakrah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Al Wakrah, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,056 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $40 in Al Wakrah. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 63% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

Families tend to lean toward Al Wakrah – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.