Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Albay

For one person, living is cheaper in Albay: $729 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Albay
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Albay Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Albay

🇵🇭 Philippines

$729

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Albay

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,625 in Medellin versus $729 in Albay.

Medellin $1,625
Albay $729

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,412 in Medellin versus $1,108 in Albay.

Medellin $2,412
Albay $1,108

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,199 in Medellin versus $1,487 in Albay.

Medellin $3,199
Albay $1,487

Living in Medellin is roughly 123% more expensive than in Albay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Albay is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.30 COP 26.1K

$3.78 ₱242

119.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.91 COP 147.5K

$16.81 ₱1,074

179.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 COP 29.1K

$2.82 ₱180

227.66%

Cappuccino

$3.05 COP 9,597

$2.19 ₱140

39.27%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.63 ₱40.22

185.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,346

$0.33 ₱21.13

318.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 COP 10.2K

$1.12 ₱71.7

189.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 COP 17.5K

$1.99 ₱127

179.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 COP 4,721

$1.61 ₱103

-6.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 COP 7,447

$1.12 ₱71.8

111.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 COP 5,333

$0.96 ₱61.4

77.08%

Eggs

$2.96 COP 9,302

$1.88 ₱120

57.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.22 COP 32.1K

$5.70 ₱365

79.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.74 COP 30.6K

$4.21 ₱269

131.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 COP 43.7K

$6.95 ₱445

100.00%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.0K

$2.33 ₱149

77.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,799

$1.56 ₱99.7

-1.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 COP 6,994

$2.42 ₱155

-8.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 COP 7,136

$1.17 ₱75.1

94.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,259

$1.93 ₱123

3.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 COP 5,242

$1.96 ₱125

-14.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 COP 3,712

$0.98 ₱62.4

20.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,887

$0.54 ₱34.46

129.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.87 COP 12.2K

$2.90 ₱186

33.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 COP 43.3K

$7.69 ₱491

79.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,213

$0.96 ₱61.4

72.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 COP 7,553

$1.95 ₱125

23.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.24 ₱15.19

416.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 246.0K

$11.21 ₱717

597.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 COP 4,011

$0.74 ₱47.17

72.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 COP 6,748

$0.23 ₱14.72

834.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 COP 26.3K

$1.93 ₱124

333.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,253

$1.24 ₱79.1

8.87%

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

$34.8K COP 109.3M

$21.2K ₱1.4M

63.85%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$18.9K ₱1.2M

83.33%

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

$167 COP 524.1K

$124 ₱7,929

34.35%

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

$13.62 COP 42.8K

$15.06 ₱963

-9.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.12 COP 91.6K

$24.69 ₱1,578

17.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.09 COP 141.8K

$32.74 ₱2,093

37.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.0K

$4.58 ₱293

275.11%

Cinema Ticket

$6.97 COP 21.9K

$5.24 ₱335

33.02%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$131 ₱8,392

501.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,041 COP 28.4M

$7,896 ₱504.8K

14.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.8 COP 276.1K

$33.24 ₱2,125

164.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.2 COP 182.9K

$19.61 ₱1,254

196.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 COP 437.1K

$70.4 ₱4,500

97.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.9 COP 310.9K

$56.3 ₱3,596

75.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.2M

$261 ₱16.7K

293.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 COP 1.9M

$170 ₱10.9K

264.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 COP 5.9M

$512 ₱32.7K

267.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 COP 3.2M

$351 ₱22.5K

186.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.5M

$2,446 ₱156.4K

63.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

$974 ₱62.3K

74.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

$162 ₱10.3K

310.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

6.79

61.12%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Last update for Albay: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$619 38.1%

Albay

$170 23.3% 72.6% $450

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$298 18.3%

Albay

$178 24.5% 40.1% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$209 12.9%

Albay

$164 22.5% 21.8% $46

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$173 10.6%

Albay

$81 11.1% 53.2% $92

Eating Out

Medellin

$171 10.5%

Albay

$78 10.8% 54.1% $92

Getting Around

Medellin

$95 5.9%

Albay

$14 1.9% 85.2% $81

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$59 3.6%

Albay

$43 5.9% 26.8% $16

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,028 in Medellin and $261 in Albay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 4.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $17 in Albay for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $298 vs $178 per month, with Albay cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇵🇭 Albay

🕒 Local time

12:16 12:16 PM

01:16 1:16 AM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

179,481

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.84 EUR

100 PHP = 1.56 USD

100 PHP = 1.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 3,145 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,521 COP (10,000 COP = 2.84 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 63.93 PHP (100 PHP = 1.56 USD). 1 EUR = 71.58 PHP (100 PHP = 1.4 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Medellin Albay 16,980 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Albay

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 Albay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin and Albay differ by about 123% in total monthly costs ($1,625 vs $729 including rent). Albay is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Medellin is about 4.1 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,028 in Medellin versus $261 in Albay. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 67% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Albay – a meal for two runs $17 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $729 in Albay versus $1,625 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Albay but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Albay 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.

Expats usually find Albay gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.