Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Ballsh

For one person, living is cheaper in Ballsh: $1,185 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Ballsh
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Ballsh Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Ballsh

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,185

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Ballsh

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $1,185 in Ballsh, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Ballsh $1,185

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $1,834 in Ballsh, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Ballsh $1,834

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $2,484 in Ballsh, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Ballsh $2,484

Medellin costs about 38% more than Ballsh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Ballsh is 13% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.6K

$9.65 ALL 786

-16.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.9K

$54.6 ALL 4,443

-13.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$7.04 ALL 573

34.94%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,540

$2.25 ALL 183

33.78%

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

$1.80 COP 5,693

$1.47 ALL 120

22.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,469

$0.90 ALL 73.3

56.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.0K

$3.50 ALL 285

-9.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.2K

$4.11 ALL 335

39.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,778

$2.24 ALL 183

-32.59%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,524

$1.22 ALL 99.0

95.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,606

$2.35 ALL 191

-24.68%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,146

$3.80 ALL 310

-23.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.2K

$13.01 ALL 1,059

-21.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.2K

$9.45 ALL 770

4.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.3K

$17.32 ALL 1,411

-19.23%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.6K

$1.97 ALL 160

101.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,911

$2.51 ALL 204

-38.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,907

$2.22 ALL 181

-1.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,910

$1.91 ALL 155

14.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,210

$1.06 ALL 86.7

84.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,029

$1.32 ALL 107

20.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,625

$1.50 ALL 123

-23.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,934

$0.80 ALL 65.5

55.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$4.79 ALL 390

-17.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.3K

$10.42 ALL 849

31.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,252

$1.62 ALL 132

2.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,145

$2.03 ALL 166

11.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,696

$0.53 ALL 42.87

120.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 244.8K

$18.09 ALL 1,473

327.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,013

$3.77 ALL 307

-66.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,480

$3.82 ALL 311

-46.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.1K

$18.59 ALL 1,514

-54.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,262

$2.42 ALL 197

-44.21%

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

$34.1K COP 107.8M

$33.2K ALL 2.7M

2.51%

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

$34.7K COP 109.7M

$29.1K ALL 2.4M

18.94%

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

$170 COP 536.8K

$97.8 ALL 7,963

73.50%

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

$13.55 COP 42.9K

$18.77 ALL 1,529

-27.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.8K

$20.21 ALL 1,646

38.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 138.3K

$50.8 ALL 4,139

-14.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.4K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.9K

$9.73 ALL 792

-28.98%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$341 ALL 27.7K

133.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.8M

$8,309 ALL 676.7K

9.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 268.1K

$48.97 ALL 3,989

73.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 183.4K

$47.59 ALL 3,876

21.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 427.1K

$118 ALL 9,633

14.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 309.7K

$112 ALL 9,148

-12.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$446 ALL 36.3K

170.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$332 ALL 27.1K

93.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$612 ALL 49.9K

231.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$486 ALL 39.6K

108.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.2M

$1,745 ALL 142.1K

138.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$1,144 ALL 93.2K

66.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.16

112.02%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ballsh: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Ballsh

$332 28% 48.2% $309

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Ballsh

$295 24.9% 0.6% $1.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Ballsh

$137 11.5% 35.3% $75

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Ballsh

$160 13.5% 5.4% $9.1

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Ballsh

$147 12.4% 12.9% $22

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Ballsh

$43 3.6% 54% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Ballsh

$70 5.9% 22.2% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $446 in Ballsh. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $55 in Ballsh. Groceries tell a different story – $297 in Medellin vs $295 in Ballsh – so Ballsh wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇦🇱 Ballsh

🕒 Local time

02:31 2:31 AM

08:31 8:31 AM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

7,000

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.16 USD

10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR

100 ALL = 1.23 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3,164 COP (10,000 COP = 3.16 USD). 1 EUR = 3,531 COP (10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 81.44 ALL (100 ALL = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 90.88 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Ballsh 10,000 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Ballsh

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 Ballsh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 38%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $1,778 in Ballsh. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Ballsh, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $446 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $1,185 in Ballsh. That makes Ballsh about 28% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $797 per month in Medellin and $341 in Ballsh. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Ballsh, where all-in costs run around $1,185, than in Medellin at $1,639. In Ballsh it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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