Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Bayan Lepas

For one person, living is cheaper in Bayan Lepas: $735 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Bayan Lepas
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Bayan Lepas Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Bayan Lepas

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$735

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Bayan Lepas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $735 in Bayan Lepas.

Medellin $1,639
Bayan Lepas $735

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,214 in Bayan Lepas.

Medellin $2,413
Bayan Lepas $1,214

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,694 in Bayan Lepas.

Medellin $3,186
Bayan Lepas $1,694

Living in Medellin is roughly 123% more expensive than in Bayan Lepas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Bayan Lepas is 46% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$2.97 MYR 12.11

172.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$16.85 MYR 68.7

179.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$4.09 MYR 16.65

132.27%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$2.81 MYR 11.45

7.12%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.84 MYR 3.44

114.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.55 MYR 2.23

156.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$4.78 MYR 19.46

-33.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$4.94 MYR 20.14

16.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$2.56 MYR 10.44

-41.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$0.97 MYR 3.94

145.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$0.89 MYR 3.63

98.88%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$2.05 MYR 8.35

40.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$3.47 MYR 14.15

184.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$6.91 MYR 28.16

102.46%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$3.11 MYR 12.66

27.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.59 MYR 6.47

-2.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$3.08 MYR 12.56

-29.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$1.18 MYR 4.79

84.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$1.30 MYR 5.31

50.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$1.20 MYR 4.90

32.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$0.77 MYR 3.12

49.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.67 MYR 2.74

85.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$5.09 MYR 20.72

-22.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$19.20 MYR 78.2

-28.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.64 MYR 2.59

82.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$14.76 MYR 60.1

424.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$1.56 MYR 6.35

-18.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$0.77 MYR 3.12

75.32%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$24.53 MYR 99.9

591.60%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$11.64 MYR 47.44

16.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$31.20 MYR 127

-10.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$29.63 MYR 121

47.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$7.39 MYR 30.10

132.61%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$4.83 MYR 19.66

43.06%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$39.33 MYR 160

115.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$26.27 MYR 107

120.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$64.0 MYR 261

111.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$80.7 MYR 329

21.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$197 MYR 804

511.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$221 MYR 902

189.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$496 MYR 2,022

308.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$568 MYR 2,316

77.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$965 MYR 3,931

-31.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

3.5

212.57%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Bayan Lepas: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Bayan Lepas

$221 30.1% 65.5% $420

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Bayan Lepas

$184 * 25.1% 37.9% $113

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Bayan Lepas

$67 9.2% 68.1% $144

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Bayan Lepas

$109 14.8% 35.7% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Bayan Lepas

$95 12.9% 44% $74

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Bayan Lepas

$19 * 2.6% 79.8% $75

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Bayan Lepas

$39 5.3% 31.7% $18

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 $197 in Bayan Lepas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bayan Lepas pays 47% 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 $17 in Bayan Lepas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $184 per month, with Bayan Lepas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇲🇾 Bayan Lepas

🕒 Local time

18:12 6:12 PM

07:12 7:12 AM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

217,600

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, 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).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Bayan Lepas 18,650 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Bayan Lepas

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 Bayan Lepas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $735 in Bayan Lepas, so Bayan Lepas is about 55% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 32% 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 $197 in Bayan Lepas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Bayan Lepas – a meal for two runs $17 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Bayan Lepas runs roughly 81% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

At $735 in Bayan Lepas versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Bayan Lepas but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Bayan Lepas 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 Bayan Lepas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.