Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Bechar

For one person, living is cheaper in Bechar: $522 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 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
25

Cost of Living Index in Bechar
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Bechar Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Bechar

🇩🇿 Algeria

$522

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Bechar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $522 in Bechar.

Medellin $1,639
Bechar $522

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $867 in Bechar.

Medellin $2,413
Bechar $867

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,211 in Bechar.

Medellin $3,186
Bechar $1,211

Living in Medellin is roughly 214% more expensive than in Bechar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Bechar is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$3.63 DZD 488

122.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$17.19 DZD 2,314

173.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$4.20 DZD 566

126.19%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$0.71 DZD 95.7

323.94%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.56 DZD 75.5

221.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.26 DZD 34.44

442.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$1.45 DZD 196

119.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$2.02 DZD 272

184.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$0.91 DZD 123

65.93%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$0.15 DZD 20.32

1486.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$1.15 DZD 155

53.91%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$1.20 DZD 162

140.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$8.21 DZD 1,106

24.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$4.02 DZD 541

145.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$14.12 DZD 1,902

-0.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$2.02 DZD 272

96.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$2.79 DZD 376

-44.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$1.11 DZD 149

96.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$0.92 DZD 123

136.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$0.58 DZD 77.7

237.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$0.46 DZD 62.0

245.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$0.71 DZD 96.1

61.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.25 DZD 34.30

396.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$2.69 DZD 362

47.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$6.43 DZD 865

112.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$1.42 DZD 191

16.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$1.76 DZD 237

28.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.26 DZD 34.62

350.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$5.92 DZD 797

1206.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$0.52 DZD 70.2

144.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$0.48 DZD 65.0

327.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$5.88 DZD 792

45.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$0.39 DZD 52.2

246.15%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$28.0K DZD 3.8M

21.51%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$32.1K DZD 4.3M

7.93%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$38.28 DZD 5,155

343.18%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$9.43 DZD 1,269

43.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$13.44 DZD 1,810

108.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$23.74 DZD 3,197

84.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$4.62 DZD 623

49.57%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$367 DZD 49.4K

117.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$5,430 DZD 731.2K

67.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$29.71 DZD 4,001

185.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$30.21 DZD 4,069

91.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$69.4 DZD 9,339

94.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$79.8 DZD 10.8K

22.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$123 DZD 16.6K

881.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$84.4 DZD 11.4K

660.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$283 DZD 38.1K

615.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$219 DZD 29.4K

362.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$941 DZD 126.8K

343.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$1,105 DZD 148.8K

72.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.3

106.42%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Bechar: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Bechar

$84 16.2% 86.8% $557

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Bechar

$175 33.5% 41.1% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Bechar

$61 11.7% 71.1% $150

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Bechar

$65 12.4% 61.8% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Bechar

$94 18% 44.3% $75

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Bechar

$9.9 1.9% 89.4% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Bechar

$33 6.3% 42.7% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $123 in Bechar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $17 in Bechar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $175 per month, with Bechar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇩🇿 Bechar

🕒 Local time

17:05 5:05 PM

23:05 11:05 PM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

165,627

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Algerian Dinar DZD د.ج

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

1,000 DZD = 7.43 USD

1,000 DZD = 6.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DZD, 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).

Algerian Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 135 DZD (1,000 DZD = 7.43 USD). 1 EUR = 150 DZD (1,000 DZD = 6.67 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Bechar 8,070 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Bechar

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 Bechar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bechar wins on cost – living expenses run 68% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Bechar the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,459 in Medellin and $783 in Bechar to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,208 in Medellin versus $123 in Bechar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Bechar – a meal for two runs $17 versus $47 in Medellin. 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 $522 in Bechar – Bechar is about 68% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $522 in Bechar versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $800 budget is realistic in Bechar but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Bechar 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 Bechar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 68% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.