Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Barbados

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $1,835 in Barbados, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. The total is higher in Barbados despite lower rent and utilities.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Barbados
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Barbados Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Barbados

🇧🇧 Barbados

$1,835

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Barbados

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,835 in Barbados.

Medellin $1,639
Barbados $1,835

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $4,058 in Barbados.

Medellin $2,413
Barbados $4,058

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $6,280 in Barbados.

Medellin $3,186
Barbados $6,280

Living in Medellin costs roughly 11% less than in Barbados, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 20% above, Barbados 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$24.59 BBD 49.18

-67.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$112 BBD 224

-57.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$12.57 BBD 25.15

-24.42%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$4.63 BBD 9.26

-34.99%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$2.17 BBD 4.34

-17.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$1.80 BBD 3.60

-21.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$3.08 BBD 6.16

3.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$4.03 BBD 8.06

42.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$3.61 BBD 7.22

-58.17%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$2.60 BBD 5.19

-8.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$3.99 BBD 7.98

-55.64%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$6.08 BBD 12.16

-52.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$6.57 BBD 13.14

55.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$10.07 BBD 20.14

-1.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$11.38 BBD 22.75

22.93%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$5.04 BBD 10.08

-21.23%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$4.32 BBD 8.63

-64.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$5.36 BBD 10.71

-59.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$5.66 BBD 11.32

-61.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$6.94 BBD 13.88

-71.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$4.75 BBD 9.50

-66.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$2.70 BBD 5.40

-57.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$2.68 BBD 5.37

-53.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$6.87 BBD 13.74

-42.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$15.80 BBD 31.61

-13.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$1.71 BBD 3.43

-2.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$3.05 BBD 6.10

-25.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

$1.74 BBD 3.48

-32.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$4.99 BBD 9.97

-74.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$3.33 BBD 6.66

-38.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$1.99 BBD 3.97

-32.16%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$49.2K BBD 98.3K

-30.72%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$39.2K BBD 78.5K

-11.62%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$101 BBD 203

67.44%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$49.42 BBD 98.8

-72.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$86.9 BBD 174

-67.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$73.6 BBD 147

-40.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$8.66 BBD 17.32

-20.21%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$45.91 BBD 91.8

84.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$20.07 BBD 40.13

188.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$61.0 BBD 122

121.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$655 BBD 1,309

84.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$665 BBD 1,330

-3.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$1,814 BBD 3,629

11.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$3,391 BBD 6,782

-70.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$1,318 BBD 2,636

-50.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

-0.55%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barbados: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Barbados

$665 36.2% 3.6% $23

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Barbados

$427 23.3% 43.8% $130

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Barbados

$238 13% 12.5% $26

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Barbados

$329 17.9% 94.2% $160

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Barbados

$57 * 3.1% 66.2% $112

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Barbados

$29 * 1.6% 69.4% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Barbados

$91 5% 58% $33

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 $1,208 in Medellin and $655 in Barbados. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barbados pays about 2 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $112 in Barbados for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $427 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇧🇧 Barbados

🕒 Local time

02:07 2:07 AM

03:07 3:07 AM

1 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

623

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Barbados Dollar BBD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

1 BBD = 0.5 USD

1 BBD = 0.448 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BBD, 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).

Barbados Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 2 BBD (1 BBD = 0.5 USD). 1 EUR = 2.23 BBD (1 BBD = 0.448 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Between locations

Medellin Barbados 1,920 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Barbados

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 Barbados: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $1,835 in Barbados, so Medellin is about 11% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 50% 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 $655 in Barbados. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Medellin – a meal for two runs $47 versus $112 in Barbados. 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 $1,835 in Barbados – Medellin is about 11% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Medellin gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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