Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Ben Arous

For one person, living is cheaper in Ben Arous: $692 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Ben Arous
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Ben Arous Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Ben Arous

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Ben Arous

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $692 in Ben Arous, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Ben Arous $692

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $1,093 in Ben Arous, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Ben Arous $1,093

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $1,494 in Ben Arous, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Ben Arous $1,494

Medellin costs about 137% more than Ben Arous, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Ben Arous is 49% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$5.29 TND 15.91

52.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$19.75 TND 59.4

138.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$4.88 TND 14.68

94.67%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$1.18 TND 3.55

155.08%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$0.65 TND 1.95

176.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$0.25 TND 0.75

464.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$1.62 TND 4.86

96.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$1.98 TND 5.93

190.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$0.48 TND 1.43

214.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$0.10 TND 0.30

2280.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$1.62 TND 4.85

9.26%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$1.41 TND 4.24

104.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$10.39 TND 31.21

-1.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$5.86 TND 17.61

68.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$16.99 TND 51.0

-17.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$1.66 TND 4.97

139.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$4.44 TND 13.35

-65.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$0.94 TND 2.82

131.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$0.75 TND 2.26

190.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$0.85 TND 2.54

130.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$0.65 TND 1.97

144.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$0.48 TND 1.43

139.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$0.31 TND 0.92

300.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$3.52 TND 10.56

12.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$6.61 TND 19.86

106.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$0.96 TND 2.89

72.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$1.23 TND 3.69

83.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

$0.38 TND 1.15

207.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

$13.41 TND 40.30

476.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$0.29 TND 0.86

337.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$0.29 TND 0.86

606.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$1.83 TND 5.51

367.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$0.80 TND 2.40

68.75%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$39.3K TND 118.0K

-13.28%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$22.7K TND 68.1K

52.89%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$54.1 TND 163

213.64%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$10.23 TND 30.74

32.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$20.21 TND 60.7

38.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$32.52 TND 97.7

34.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

$16.90 TND 50.8

1.72%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$5.03 TND 15.10

37.38%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$62.2 TND 187

1181.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$1,924 TND 5,779

373.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$43.82 TND 132

93.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$61.2 TND 184

-5.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$86.3 TND 259

56.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$46.70 TND 140

109.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$208 TND 624

481.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$152 TND 458

320.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$379 TND 1,140

434.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$269 TND 808

276.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$909 TND 2,731

358.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$419 TND 1,260

355.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$249 TND 747

164.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

10.5

4.19%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ben Arous: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Ben Arous

$152 22% 76.2% $489

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Ben Arous

$202 29.2% 32.1% $95

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Ben Arous

$85 12.2% 60% $127

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Ben Arous

$87 12.6% 48.8% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Ben Arous

$107 15.5% 36.6% $62

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Ben Arous

$17 2.4% 82.2% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Ben Arous

$43 6.2% 26% $15

Cost Breakdown

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

Salaries in Medellin are about 2.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $20 in Ben Arous. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $202 – making Ben Arous the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇹🇳 Ben Arous

🕒 Local time

01:16 1:16 AM

07:16 7:16 AM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

88,322

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

1 TND = 0.333 USD

1 TND = 0.298 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TND, 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).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3 TND (1 TND = 0.333 USD). 1 EUR = 3.35 TND (1 TND = 0.298 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Ben Arous 9,220 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Ben Arous

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 Ben Arous: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,639 in Medellin, $692 in Ben Arous – Ben Arous comes out roughly 58% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $1,038 in Ben Arous. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $20 in Ben Arous. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $692 in Ben Arous. That makes Ben Arous about 58% cheaper.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Ben Arous, where all-in costs run around $692, than in Medellin at $1,639. In Ben Arous it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

If budget matters most, go with Ben Arous. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.