Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Biala Podlaska

For one person, living is cheaper in Biala Podlaska: $1,282 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Biala Podlaska
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Biala Podlaska Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Biala Podlaska

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,282

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Biala Podlaska

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Medellin versus $1,282 in Biala Podlaska.

Medellin $1,692
Biala Podlaska $1,282

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,471 in Medellin versus $1,893 in Biala Podlaska.

Medellin $2,471
Biala Podlaska $1,893

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,249 in Medellin versus $2,504 in Biala Podlaska.

Medellin $3,249
Biala Podlaska $2,504

Living in Medellin is roughly 32% more expensive than in Biala Podlaska, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 25% above, Biala Podlaska is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 27.0K

$7.51 zł 29.37

11.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.9K

$20.44 zł 79.9

127.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.7K

$9.07 zł 35.45

4.41%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.2K

$3.46 zł 13.53

-9.54%

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

$1.77 COP 5,727

$2.77 zł 10.81

-36.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,619

$2.77 zł 10.83

-48.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$4.60 zł 17.98

-31.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.5K

$5.09 zł 19.89

11.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,969

$0.95 zł 3.72

61.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,429

$1.10 zł 4.30

108.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,306

$1.38 zł 5.39

40.58%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,942

$3.32 zł 12.96

-7.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.4K

$10.42 zł 40.72

-4.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.9K

$6.78 zł 26.49

54.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.3K

$11.46 zł 44.80

21.82%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$1.18 zł 4.62

243.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,956

$1.64 zł 6.43

-6.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,823

$2.31 zł 9.05

-9.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,437

$2.99 zł 11.67

-23.41%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,839

$0.77 zł 3.02

174.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,542

$0.92 zł 3.58

85.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,794

$1.33 zł 5.22

-12.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,123

$0.58 zł 2.25

172.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.7K

$5.56 zł 21.74

-29.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.5K

$6.56 zł 25.64

114.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,712

$1.10 zł 4.30

60.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,793

$1.75 zł 6.82

54.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,825

$1.04 zł 4.07

13.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 247.4K

$29.54 zł 115

158.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,859

$1.84 zł 7.18

-1.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,904

$0.68 zł 2.65

213.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.4K

$9.24 zł 36.10

-12.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,135

$1.51 zł 5.92

-15.23%

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

$34.4K COP 111.7M

$30.6K zł 119.6K

12.54%

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

$34.1K COP 110.7M

$27.9K zł 108.9K

22.50%

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

$178 COP 576.3K

$191 zł 746

-6.87%

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

$13.89 COP 45.0K

$8.72 zł 34.10

59.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.7K

$12.70 zł 49.64

142.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 136.0K

$38.86 zł 152

7.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.5K

$20.46 zł 80.0

-17.89%

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.2K

$5.12 zł 19.99

45.90%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$507 zł 1,979

55.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.9M

$13.6K zł 53.1K

-9.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 279.9K

$73.3 zł 286

17.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 192.2K

$40.00 zł 156

48.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 448.6K

$87.8 zł 343

57.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 320.4K

$96.9 zł 379

2.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$649 zł 2,535

106.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$446 zł 1,742

49.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$1,098 zł 4,291

79.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$819 zł 3,202

26.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.3M

$2,947 zł 11.5K

39.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$2,216 zł 8,660

-12.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

$1,025 zł 4,005

-36.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

6.87

59.24%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Biala Podlaska: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Biala Podlaska

$446 34.8% 33.2% $221

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Biala Podlaska

$217 17% 29.3% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Biala Podlaska

$212 16.6% 4.5% $10

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Biala Podlaska

$184 14.4% 6.7% $12

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Biala Podlaska

$134 10.5% 22.2% $38

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Biala Podlaska

$39 3% 58.3% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Biala Podlaska

$49 3.8% 13.7% $7.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,341 in Medellin and $649 in Biala Podlaska. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Biala Podlaska pays 59% 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 $20 in Biala Podlaska for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $217 per month, with Biala Podlaska cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇵🇱 Biala Podlaska

🕒 Local time

18:42 6:42 PM

00:42 12:42 AM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

56,760

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.08 USD

10,000 COP = 2.74 EUR

1 PLN = 0.256 USD

1 PLN = 0.227 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PLN, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 3,242 COP (10,000 COP = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 3,650 COP (10,000 COP = 2.74 EUR).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 3.91 PLN (1 PLN = 0.256 USD). 1 EUR = 4.4 PLN (1 PLN = 0.227 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Biala Podlaska 10,050 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Biala Podlaska

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 Biala Podlaska: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,692 in Medellin and $1,282 in Biala Podlaska, so Biala Podlaska is about 24% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 37% 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: $1,341 in Medellin versus $649 in Biala Podlaska. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $790 in Medellin versus $507 in Biala Podlaska. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Biala Podlaska 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.

Expats usually find Biala Podlaska gentler on the wallet – expenses run 24% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.