Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Brackenfell

For one person, living is cheaper in Brackenfell: $1,038 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Brackenfell
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Brackenfell Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Brackenfell

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,038

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Brackenfell

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,038 in Brackenfell.

Medellin $1,639
Brackenfell $1,038

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,651 in Brackenfell.

Medellin $2,413
Brackenfell $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,264 in Brackenfell.

Medellin $3,186
Brackenfell $2,264

Living in Medellin is roughly 58% more expensive than in Brackenfell, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Brackenfell is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$9.25 R 155

-12.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.7K

$24.23 R 405

94.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.6K

$6.11 R 102

55.48%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,722

$2.49 R 41.55

20.88%

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

$1.80 COP 5,801

$1.09 R 18.18

65.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,554

$0.99 R 16.50

42.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.2K

$2.42 R 40.37

31.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.5K

$2.51 R 41.87

129.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,869

$1.07 R 17.91

41.12%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,667

$1.16 R 19.32

105.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,712

$2.12 R 35.35

-16.51%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,320

$1.91 R 31.85

51.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$8.12 R 136

25.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.8K

$2.75 R 45.93

258.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.1K

$6.85 R 114

104.23%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$1.44 R 24.03

175.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,005

$1.97 R 32.88

-21.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,039

$1.71 R 28.51

27.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,041

$1.69 R 28.17

28.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,328

$1.39 R 23.27

41.01%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,125

$1.05 R 17.54

51.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,694

$0.95 R 15.83

21.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,009

$1.08 R 18.07

14.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$3.59 R 60.0

10.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.1K

$4.23 R 70.7

223.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,352

$1.41 R 23.49

17.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,281

$2.01 R 33.54

12.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,766

$1.54 R 25.74

-24.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,089

$0.62 R 10.41

104.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,603

$0.93 R 15.61

120.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$4.96 R 82.9

72.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,343

$1.37 R 22.82

-1.46%

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

$34.1K COP 109.8M

$18.1K R 302.1K

88.39%

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

$34.7K COP 111.8M

$19.7K R 329.9K

75.58%

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

$170 COP 547.0K

$117 R 1,951

45.30%

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

$13.55 COP 43.7K

$28.72 R 480

-52.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.5K

$40.08 R 670

-29.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 140.9K

$23.95 R 400

82.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.4K

$10.85 R 181

58.43%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$9.05 R 151

-23.65%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$151 R 2,519

428.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$7,043 R 117.7K

29.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.2K

$42.85 R 716

97.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 186.9K

$22.96 R 384

152.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.2K

$67.4 R 1,126

100.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 315.6K

$50.7 R 847

92.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$646 R 10.8K

87.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$395 R 6,598

62.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$1,295 R 21.6K

56.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$927 R 15.5K

9.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.4M

$880 R 14.7K

374.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$681 R 11.4K

180.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$1,850 R 30.9K

-64.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

10.97

-0.27%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Brackenfell: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Brackenfell

$395 38.1% 38.4% $247

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Brackenfell

$174 16.7% 41.5% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Brackenfell

$186 17.9% 12.2% $26

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Brackenfell

$148 14.2% 13% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Brackenfell

$83 8% 51% $86

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Brackenfell

$11 * 1.1% 87.7% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Brackenfell

$42 4.1% 26.9% $15

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 $646 in Brackenfell. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brackenfell pays about 2.8 times 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 $24 in Brackenfell for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $174 per month, with Brackenfell cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇿🇦 Brackenfell

🕒 Local time

00:23 12:23 AM

07:23 7:23 AM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

80,000

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.71 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Brackenfell 10,790 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Brackenfell

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 Brackenfell: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brackenfell wins on cost – living expenses run 37% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Brackenfell the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 64% 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 $646 in Brackenfell. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $151 in Brackenfell. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Brackenfell – a meal for two runs $24 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Brackenfell is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.