Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Bursa

For one person, living is cheaper in Bursa: $1,047 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $7,100 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Bursa
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Bursa Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Bursa

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,047

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Bursa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,047 in Bursa.

Medellin $1,639
Bursa $1,047

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,654 in Bursa.

Medellin $2,413
Bursa $1,654

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,260 in Bursa.

Medellin $3,186
Bursa $2,260

Living in Medellin is roughly 57% more expensive than in Bursa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Bursa is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$9.79 ₺488

-17.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$30.03 ₺1,496

56.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$7.75 ₺386

22.58%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$3.65 ₺182

-17.53%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$1.06 ₺52.7

69.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.38 ₺18.70

271.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$2.29 ₺114

38.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$2.93 ₺146

96.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$0.96 ₺47.91

57.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$0.80 ₺39.98

197.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$2.26 ₺112

-21.68%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$2.28 ₺114

26.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$10.26 ₺511

-0.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$4.90 ₺244

101.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$18.96 ₺945

-26.21%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$1.66 ₺83.0

139.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.96 ₺97.7

-20.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$1.04 ₺52.0

109.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$1.30 ₺64.7

67.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$0.58 ₺28.79

237.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$0.39 ₺19.64

307.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$0.73 ₺36.47

57.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.72 ₺35.85

72.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$2.07 ₺103

91.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$14.15 ₺705

-3.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$2.08 ₺103

-20.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$2.25 ₺112

0.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.98 ₺48.93

19.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$36.23 ₺1,805

113.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$1.03 ₺51.2

23.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$0.87 ₺43.12

135.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$6.89 ₺343

24.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.37 ₺68.2

-1.46%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$44.3K ₺2.2M

-23.08%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$38.9K ₺1.9M

-10.95%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$75.9 ₺3,785

123.40%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$10.92 ₺544

24.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$14.81 ₺738

89.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$61.2 ₺3,048

-28.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$23.04 ₺1,148

-25.39%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$5.88 ₺293

17.52%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$548 ₺27.3K

45.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$10.9K ₺542.8K

-16.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$44.43 ₺2,214

90.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$34.51 ₺1,720

67.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$78.4 ₺3,907

72.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$92.6 ₺4,615

5.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$401 ₺20.0K

201.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$310 ₺15.5K

106.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$723 ₺36.1K

180.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$607 ₺30.2K

66.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$1,191 ₺59.4K

250.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$1,217 ₺60.6K

57.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$1,028 ₺51.2K

-36.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

42.67

-74.36%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Bursa: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Bursa

$310 29.6% 51.6% $331

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Bursa

$236 22.5% 20.5% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Bursa

$102 9.7% 51.9% $110

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Bursa

$168 16.1% 0.7% $1.3

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Bursa

$112 10.7% 33.4% $57

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Bursa

$46 4.4% 51.4% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Bursa

$73 7% 26.8% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $401 in Bursa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bursa pays 56% 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 $30 in Bursa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $236 per month, with Bursa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇹🇷 Bursa

🕒 Local time

09:02 9:02 AM

17:02 5:02 PM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

3,238,618

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

100 TRY = 2.01 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, 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 = 3,501 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 49.83 TRY (100 TRY = 2.01 USD). 1 EUR = 55.46 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Bursa 10,790 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Bursa

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 Bursa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bursa is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and transport. The 57% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 36% 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 $401 in Bursa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 26% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Bursa – a meal for two runs $30 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,047 in Bursa versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bursa but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Bursa 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 Bursa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.