Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Bergen

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,589 a month against $2,844 in Bergen, rent and utilities included – about $15,100 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index
138

Cost of Living Index in Bergen
Learn more

Bergen Living Index

Jump to prices

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,589

/mo nomad

Bergen

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,844

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Bergen

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,589 in Medellin versus $2,844 in Bergen.

Medellin $1,589
Bergen $2,844

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,364 in Medellin versus $4,282 in Bergen.

Medellin $2,364
Bergen $4,282

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,139 in Medellin versus $5,719 in Bergen.

Medellin $3,139
Bergen $5,719

Living in Medellin costs roughly 44% less than in Bergen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 19% above, Bergen 112% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.01 COP 25.5K

$22.98 NOK 219

-65.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 COP 148.3K

$135 NOK 1,292

-65.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.43 COP 30.1K

$15.52 NOK 148

-39.24%

Cappuccino

$2.91 COP 9,277

$5.42 NOK 51.8

-46.31%

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

$1.75 COP 5,585

$5.10 NOK 48.71

-65.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 COP 4,218

$4.47 NOK 42.65

-70.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.13 COP 9,969

$12.57 NOK 120

-75.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.55 COP 17.7K

$10.41 NOK 99.4

-46.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 COP 4,495

$2.15 NOK 20.57

-34.42%

White Bread (500g)

$2.44 COP 7,777

$3.78 NOK 36.13

-35.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 COP 5,191

$3.51 NOK 33.54

-53.56%

Eggs

$2.82 COP 8,990

$6.41 NOK 61.3

-56.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.69 COP 30.9K

$14.32 NOK 137

-32.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.32 COP 29.7K

$17.21 NOK 164

-45.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.46 COP 42.9K

$36.16 NOK 345

-62.78%

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 COP 12.8K

$4.12 NOK 39.38

-2.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 COP 4,719

$2.72 NOK 25.95

-45.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 COP 6,768

$3.61 NOK 34.44

-41.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.25 COP 7,178

$5.39 NOK 51.4

-58.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 COP 6,092

$2.52 NOK 24.02

-24.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 COP 5,160

$3.35 NOK 31.97

-51.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,658

$2.86 NOK 27.34

-59.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 COP 4,021

$1.78 NOK 17.03

-29.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.82 COP 12.2K

$17.10 NOK 163

-77.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.11 COP 41.8K

$17.97 NOK 172

-27.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 COP 5,083

$3.59 NOK 34.31

-55.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,188

$4.21 NOK 40.20

-46.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,731

$5.15 NOK 49.21

-77.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.0 COP 239.0K

$86.4 NOK 825

-13.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,056

$12.39 NOK 118

-89.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,531

$1.84 NOK 17.61

11.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.20 COP 26.1K

$70.5 NOK 674

-88.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 COP 4,046

$2.35 NOK 22.42

-45.96%

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

$26.8K COP 85.3M

$48.6K NOK 463.7K

-44.85%

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

$34.4K COP 109.6M

$43.3K NOK 413.9K

-20.61%

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

$162 COP 516.9K

$275 NOK 2,623

-40.94%

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

$13.12 COP 41.8K

$32.93 NOK 314

-60.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.09 COP 89.5K

$82.9 NOK 791

-66.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.33 COP 141.2K

$45.61 NOK 436

-2.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.33 COP 52.0K

$41.77 NOK 399

-60.90%

Cinema Ticket

$6.09 COP 19.4K

$18.87 NOK 180

-67.73%

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

$764 COP 2.4M

$238 NOK 2,272

221.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,904 COP 28.4M

$12.0K NOK 114.9K

-25.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.0 COP 270.8K

$107 NOK 1,022

-20.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 COP 183.2K

$54.6 NOK 522

5.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$132 COP 419.8K

$118 NOK 1,128

11.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.8 COP 305.1K

$162 NOK 1,545

-40.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

$1,414 NOK 13.5K

-27.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$604 COP 1.9M

$1,083 NOK 10.3K

-44.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,802 COP 5.7M

$2,348 NOK 22.4K

-23.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$993 COP 3.2M

$1,696 NOK 16.2K

-41.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,921 COP 12.5M

$7,822 NOK 74.7K

-49.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,639 COP 5.2M

$4,769 NOK 45.5K

-65.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$626 COP 2.0M

$4,527 NOK 43.2K

-86.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.27

107.59%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 6, 2026

Last update for Bergen: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$604 38.3%

Bergen

$1.1K 38.3% 79.2% $479

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$288 18.3%

Bergen

$524 18.6% 81.8% $236

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$203 12.9%

Bergen

$390 13.8% 91.9% $187

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$166 10.6%

Bergen

$199 7% 19.3% $32

Eating Out

Medellin

$166 10.6%

Bergen

$417 14.8% 151% $251

Getting Around

Medellin

$91 5.8%

Bergen

$129 4.6% 41% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.6%

Bergen

$83 3% 47.5% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,028 in Medellin and $1,414 in Bergen. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bergen pays 623% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $47.00 in Medellin vs $135 in Bergen for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $524 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇳🇴 Bergen

🕒 Local time

06:58 6:58 AM

13:58 1:58 PM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

292,482

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR

100 NOK = 10.47 USD

100 NOK = 9.34 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3,187 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,571 COP (10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.55 NOK (1 NOK = 0.105 USD). 1 EUR = 10.7 NOK (100 NOK = 9.34 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Medellin Bergen 8,900 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Bergen

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 Bergen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 79% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 623% lower in Bergen. 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: $1,028 in Medellin versus $1,414 in Bergen. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $764 in Medellin versus $238 in Bergen. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 82% higher in Bergen. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,589 in Medellin versus $2,844 in Bergen, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Bergen. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Medellin is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Bergen, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Medellin and Bergen are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Medellin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 79% less than in Bergen. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.