Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Alberton

For one person, living is cheaper in Alberton: $1,206 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Alberton
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Alberton Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Alberton

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,206

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Alberton

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,206 in Alberton.

Medellin $1,639
Alberton $1,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,989 in Alberton.

Medellin $2,413
Alberton $1,989

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,772 in Alberton.

Medellin $3,186
Alberton $2,772

Living in Medellin is roughly 36% more expensive than in Alberton, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Alberton is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$8.78 R 147

-7.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$36.42 R 608

29.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$4.92 R 82.1

93.09%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$2.27 R 37.96

32.60%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$1.02 R 17.02

76.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$0.83 R 13.91

69.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$2.38 R 39.66

33.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$2.46 R 41.13

133.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$1.20 R 20.03

25.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$1.12 R 18.76

112.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$1.83 R 30.53

-3.28%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$2.31 R 38.55

25.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$8.41 R 140

21.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$4.83 R 80.6

104.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$6.04 R 101

131.62%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$1.77 R 29.47

124.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$1.59 R 26.49

-2.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$1.79 R 29.80

21.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$1.62 R 27.11

34.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$1.07 R 17.91

83.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$1.17 R 19.46

35.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$1.16 R 19.31

-0.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$0.93 R 15.45

33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$3.16 R 52.7

25.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$3.10 R 51.7

341.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$1.27 R 21.19

30.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$1.32 R 21.97

71.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

$3.09 R 51.6

-62.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

$120 R 1,998

-35.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$0.29 R 4.80

337.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$0.76 R 12.62

169.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$14.46 R 241

-40.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$1.40 R 23.38

-3.57%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$30.1K R 502.3K

13.21%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$33.2K R 553.7K

4.53%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$151 R 2,522

12.31%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$36.94 R 617

-63.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$36.25 R 605

-22.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$40.04 R 668

9.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

$14.90 R 249

15.37%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$5.99 R 99.9

15.36%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$151 R 2,526

426.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$1,775 R 29.6K

413.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$53.3 R 889

59.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$31.64 R 528

83.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$93.5 R 1,560

44.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$83.9 R 1,400

16.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$428 R 7,143

182.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$361 R 6,032

77.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$915 R 15.3K

121.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$980 R 16.4K

3.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$726 R 12.1K

474.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$597 R 9,968

219.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$2,097 R 35.0K

-68.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

11.34

-3.53%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Alberton: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Alberton

$361 30% 43.7% $280

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Alberton

$177 14.7% 40.3% $120

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Alberton

$224 18.6% 6.1% $13

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Alberton

$137 11.3% 19.5% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Alberton

$118 9.8% 30.2% $51

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Alberton

$136 11.3% 45.5% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Alberton

$52 4.3% 9.6% $5.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $428 in Alberton. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Alberton pays about 3.2 times 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 $36 in Alberton for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $177 per month, with Alberton cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇿🇦 Alberton

🕒 Local time

00:43 12:43 AM

07:43 7:43 AM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

121,536

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, 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).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.69 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Alberton 11,680 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Alberton

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 Alberton: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Alberton is about 26% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 69% 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 $428 in Alberton. 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 Alberton – a meal for two runs $36 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,206 in Alberton versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Alberton but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Alberton 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.