Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Amritsar

For one person, living is cheaper in Amritsar: $426 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $14,600 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
20

Cost of Living Index in Amritsar
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Amritsar Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Amritsar

🇮🇳 India

$426

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Amritsar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $426 in Amritsar.

Medellin $1,639
Amritsar $426

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $680 in Amritsar.

Medellin $2,413
Amritsar $680

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $934 in Amritsar.

Medellin $3,186
Amritsar $934

Living in Medellin is roughly 285% more expensive than in Amritsar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Amritsar is 69% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$2.08 ₹198

288.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$8.42 ₹802

458.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$3.45 ₹329

175.36%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$1.90 ₹180

58.42%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.40 ₹38.02

350.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.20 ₹19.02

605.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$1.57 ₹149

102.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$3.10 ₹295

85.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$0.68 ₹65.1

122.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$0.55 ₹52.0

332.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$0.86 ₹81.9

105.81%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$0.85 ₹81.1

240.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$4.32 ₹411

135.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$2.80 ₹267

252.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$1.64 ₹156

142.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$0.76 ₹72.3

103.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$0.63 ₹59.6

246.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$0.44 ₹42.33

395.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$0.28 ₹26.34

600.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$0.32 ₹30.26

396.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$0.33 ₹31.86

248.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.32 ₹30.52

287.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$4.93 ₹470

-19.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$11.76 ₹1,119

16.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$1.65 ₹157

0.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$2.71 ₹258

-16.61%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$5.46 ₹520

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.36 ₹33.92

225.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$21.36 ₹2,034

262.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$1.07 ₹102

18.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$0.22 ₹20.98

831.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$1.66 ₹158

415.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.08 ₹103

25.00%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$11.3K ₹1.1M

200.17%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$25.3K ₹2.4M

37.26%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$38.82 ₹3,696

337.02%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$2.99 ₹284

353.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$6.79 ₹647

313.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$29.42 ₹2,802

48.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$5.17 ₹493

232.50%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$3.07 ₹292

125.08%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$38.98 ₹3,711

1943.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$606 ₹57.7K

1403.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$26.94 ₹2,566

214.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$25.23 ₹2,403

129.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$54.0 ₹5,141

149.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$43.71 ₹4,162

123.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$107 ₹10.2K

1029.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$75.9 ₹7,226

745.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$282 ₹26.8K

620.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$211 ₹20.1K

379.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$1,142 ₹108.7K

265.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$821 ₹78.1K

132.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$701 ₹66.8K

-6.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

36.75%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Amritsar: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Amritsar

$76 17.8% 88.2% $566

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Amritsar

$107 25.2% 63.8% $190

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Amritsar

$49 11.4% 77% $163

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Amritsar

$66 15.5% 61% $103

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Amritsar

$67 15.8% 60.1% $102

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Amritsar

$25 5.9% 73.3% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Amritsar

$36 8.4% 38.2% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $107 in Amritsar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Amritsar pays 7% 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 $8 in Amritsar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $107 per month, with Amritsar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇮🇳 Amritsar

🕒 Local time

17:19 5:19 PM

03:49 3:49 AM

10 h 30 min ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

1,132,761

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.5 USD

1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, 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).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 95.22 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Amritsar 14,760 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Amritsar

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 Amritsar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Amritsar wins on cost – living expenses run 74% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Amritsar the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 6% 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 $107 in Amritsar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Amritsar – a meal for two runs $8 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,639 per month in Medellin versus $426 in Amritsar – Amritsar is about 74% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $426 in Amritsar versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $800 budget is realistic in Amritsar but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Amritsar 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 Amritsar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 74% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.