Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Antananarivo

For one person, living is cheaper in Antananarivo: $645 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Antananarivo
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Antananarivo Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Antananarivo

🇲🇬 Madagascar

$645

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Antananarivo

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $645 in Antananarivo, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Antananarivo $645

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $991 in Antananarivo, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Antananarivo $991

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $1,338 in Antananarivo, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Antananarivo $1,338

Medellin costs about 154% more than Antananarivo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Antananarivo is 53% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$2.62 MGA 12.0K

208.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$19.47 MGA 89.1K

141.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$5.52 MGA 25.3K

72.10%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$1.58 MGA 7,217

90.51%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$0.79 MGA 3,636

127.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$0.45 MGA 2,059

213.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$1.01 MGA 4,631

214.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$2.14 MGA 9,782

168.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$0.92 MGA 4,226

64.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$0.97 MGA 4,440

145.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$0.74 MGA 3,374

139.19%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$2.02 MGA 9,250

43.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$8.07 MGA 36.9K

26.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$4.24 MGA 19.4K

132.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$4.70 MGA 21.5K

197.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$1.07 MGA 4,903

271.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$0.57 MGA 2,628

171.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$0.99 MGA 4,551

120.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$0.79 MGA 3,617

175.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$0.59 MGA 2,685

232.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$0.95 MGA 4,358

67.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$0.32 MGA 1,451

259.37%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$0.71 MGA 3,242

74.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$1.56 MGA 7,148

153.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$4.98 MGA 22.8K

174.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$0.96 MGA 4,401

72.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$1.77 MGA 8,123

27.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

$0.13 MGA 610

800.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$3.38 MGA 15.5K

-62.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$1.93 MGA 8,822

6.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$4.45 MGA 20.4K

92.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$1.14 MGA 5,235

18.42%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$11.7K MGA 53.5M

191.27%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$25.2K MGA 115.5M

37.40%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$72.7 MGA 332.5K

133.52%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$16.30 MGA 74.6K

-16.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$56.6 MGA 259.0K

-50.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$28.53 MGA 130.6K

53.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

$6.88 MGA 31.5K

149.85%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$5.65 MGA 25.8K

22.30%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$24.31 MGA 111.3K

3176.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$14.7K MGA 67.2M

-37.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$28.35 MGA 129.7K

198.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$26.86 MGA 122.9K

115.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$74.7 MGA 341.7K

80.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$66.9 MGA 306.0K

46.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$323 MGA 1.5M

274.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$149 MGA 680.8K

331.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$706 MGA 3.2M

187.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$314 MGA 1.4M

222.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$665 MGA 3.0M

527.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$574 MGA 2.6M

232.65%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$130 MGA 593.6K

406.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

15.75

-30.54%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Antananarivo: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Antananarivo

$149 23.1% 76.8% $493

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Antananarivo

$138 21.4% 53.6% $159

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Antananarivo

$146 22.6% 31.1% $66

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Antananarivo

$71 11% 58.3% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Antananarivo

$89 13.7% 47.6% $80

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Antananarivo

$14 * 2.1% 85.5% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Antananarivo

$40 6.2% 30.8% $18

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 $323 in Antananarivo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Medellin are about 5.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $19 in Antananarivo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $138 – making Antananarivo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇲🇬 Antananarivo

🕒 Local time

05:55 5:55 AM

13:55 1:55 PM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

1,274,225 Capital

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Malagasy Ariary MGA Ar

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

10,000 MGA = 2.18 USD

10,000 MGA = 1.96 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MGA, 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 = 3,603 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

Malagasy Ariary exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4,577 MGA (10,000 MGA = 2.18 USD). 1 EUR = 5,108 MGA (10,000 MGA = 1.96 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Antananarivo 13,710 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Antananarivo

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 Antananarivo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 154%, 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 $967 in Antananarivo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Antananarivo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $323 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $645 in Antananarivo. That makes Antananarivo about 61% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $797 per month in Medellin and $24 in Antananarivo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Antananarivo, where all-in costs run around $645, than in Medellin at $1,639. In Antananarivo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

If budget matters most, go with Antananarivo. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.