Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Badulla

For one person, living is cheaper in Badulla: $547 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
26

Cost of Living Index in Badulla
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Badulla Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Badulla

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$547

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Badulla

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Medellin versus $547 in Badulla.

Medellin $1,692
Badulla $547

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,471 in Medellin versus $883 in Badulla.

Medellin $2,471
Badulla $883

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,249 in Medellin versus $1,219 in Badulla.

Medellin $3,249
Badulla $1,219

Living in Medellin is roughly 210% more expensive than in Badulla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 25% above, Badulla is 60% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 26.9K

$3.84 LKR 1,276

117.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.1K

$24.93 LKR 8,291

86.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.5K

$7.54 LKR 2,507

25.60%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.1K

$2.47 LKR 823

26.72%

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

$1.77 COP 5,696

$0.68 LKR 227

160.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,594

$0.27 LKR 90.6

425.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$2.26 LKR 752

39.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.4K

$3.02 LKR 1,006

88.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,943

$1.62 LKR 539

-5.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,389

$0.57 LKR 190

301.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,273

$0.61 LKR 203

218.03%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,889

$1.65 LKR 548

86.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.2K

$15.15 LKR 5,038

-34.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.7K

$3.70 LKR 1,230

182.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.0K

$7.60 LKR 2,528

83.68%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$6.61 LKR 2,198

-38.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,929

$0.89 LKR 296

71.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,786

$4.27 LKR 1,421

-50.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,397

$1.26 LKR 420

81.75%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,803

$1.09 LKR 362

93.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,512

$0.79 LKR 261

116.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,774

$1.22 LKR 405

-4.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,096

$0.46 LKR 152

243.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.6K

$10.15 LKR 3,375

-61.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.3K

$13.31 LKR 4,428

5.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,682

$1.91 LKR 634

-7.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,746

$2.85 LKR 947

-4.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,805

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 246.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,827

$0.41 LKR 136

341.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,867

$0.33 LKR 111

545.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.2K

$0.87 LKR 288

834.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,113

$1.37 LKR 454

-6.57%

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

$34.4K COP 111.1M

$42.8K LKR 14.2M

-19.55%

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

$34.1K COP 110.1M

$46.1K LKR 15.3M

-25.96%

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

$178 COP 573.2K

$56.2 LKR 18.7K

216.02%

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

$13.89 COP 44.8K

$4.32 LKR 1,437

221.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.1K

$20.66 LKR 6,873

48.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 135.3K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.2K

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.1K

$4.39 LKR 1,461

70.16%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$40.51 LKR 13.5K

1850.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.7M

$17.5K LKR 5.8M

-29.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 278.4K

$18.24 LKR 6,068

373.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 191.1K

$17.37 LKR 5,779

241.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 446.2K

$77.6 LKR 25.8K

78.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 318.7K

$41.18 LKR 13.7K

139.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$76.3 LKR 25.4K

1656.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$44.38 LKR 14.8K

1403.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$89.8 LKR 29.9K

1049.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.2M

$4,570 LKR 1.5M

-10.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$747 LKR 248.4K

159.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

$222 LKR 73.7K

191.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

12.5

-12.48%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Badulla: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Badulla

$44 8.1% 93.3% $623

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Badulla

$237 43.3% 23.1% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Badulla

$81 14.9% 63.5% $141

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Badulla

$104 19.1% 39.7% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Badulla

$69 12.7% 59.7% $103

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Badulla

$2.1 * 0.4% 97.8% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Badulla

$8.8 * 1.6% 84.6% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,341 in Medellin and $76 in Badulla. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 2.9 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $25 in Badulla for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $237 per month, with Badulla cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇱🇰 Badulla

🕒 Local time

02:40 2:40 AM

13:10 1:10 PM

10 h 30 min ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

110,000

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3,225 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,624 COP (10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 333 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 374 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.68 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Badulla 17,040 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Badulla

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 Badulla: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Badulla is about 68% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, transport, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Medellin is about 2.9 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: $1,341 in Medellin versus $76 in Badulla. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $790 in Medellin versus $41 in Badulla. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Badulla – a meal for two runs $25 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $547 in Badulla versus $1,692 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Badulla but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Badulla 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.

It comes down to priorities – Badulla wins on affordability, Medellin on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.