Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Bytom

For one person, living is cheaper in Bytom: $1,491 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. The total is higher in Medellin despite lower rent and utilities.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
72

Cost of Living Index in Bytom
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Bytom Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Bytom

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,491

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Bytom

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,491 in Bytom.

Medellin $1,639
Bytom $1,491

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $2,091 in Bytom.

Medellin $2,413
Bytom $2,091

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,690 in Bytom.

Medellin $3,186
Bytom $2,690

Living in Medellin is roughly 10% more expensive than in Bytom, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 20% above, Bytom 10% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$10.20 zł 40.31

-20.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$35.95 zł 142

30.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$8.94 zł 35.35

6.26%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$3.35 zł 13.23

-10.15%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$2.21 zł 8.74

-18.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$1.86 zł 7.34

-24.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$3.58 zł 14.14

-11.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$4.67 zł 18.48

23.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$1.08 zł 4.28

39.81%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$1.20 zł 4.75

98.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$1.47 zł 5.81

20.41%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$3.22 zł 12.73

-10.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$9.50 zł 37.54

7.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$5.48 zł 21.68

80.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$11.79 zł 46.61

18.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$1.07 zł 4.21

271.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$1.63 zł 6.46

-4.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$1.50 zł 5.95

45.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$2.53 zł 10.01

-13.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$0.95 zł 3.77

106.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$0.78 zł 3.07

103.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$1.28 zł 5.07

-10.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$0.66 zł 2.62

87.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$5.55 zł 21.96

-28.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$6.31 zł 24.93

116.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$1.00 zł 3.95

66.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$1.62 zł 6.40

39.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

$1.25 zł 4.95

-6.40%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

$34.82 zł 138

122.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$1.75 zł 6.92

-27.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$0.74 zł 2.93

177.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$10.17 zł 40.20

-15.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$1.64 zł 6.50

-17.68%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$30.5K zł 120.7K

11.60%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$27.6K zł 109.3K

25.41%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$318 zł 1,256

-46.59%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$7.63 zł 30.18

77.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$16.84 zł 66.6

66.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$38.27 zł 151

14.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

$18.97 zł 75.0

-9.38%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$7.42 zł 29.32

-6.87%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$472 zł 1,866

68.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$11.9K zł 46.9K

-23.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$67.7 zł 268

25.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$30.72 zł 121

88.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$88.7 zł 351

52.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$92.7 zł 366

5.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$523 zł 2,069

130.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$527 zł 2,084

21.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$979 zł 3,869

107.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$801 zł 3,166

26.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$2,962 zł 11.7K

40.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$2,203 zł 8,707

-13.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

7.19

52.16%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Bytom: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Bytom

$527 35.4% 17.8% $114

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Bytom

$205 13.8% 31% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Bytom

$342 23% 61.9% $131

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Bytom

$192 12.9% 13.3% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Bytom

$126 8.5% 25.5% $43

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Bytom

$45 3% 51.6% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Bytom

$53 3.6% 7.7% $4.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $523 in Bytom. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $36 in Bytom for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $205 per month, with Bytom cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇵🇱 Bytom

🕒 Local time

03:01 3:01 AM

09:01 9:01 AM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

162,250

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

1 PLN = 0.253 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 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,603 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3.95 PLN (1 PLN = 0.253 USD). 1 EUR = 4.41 PLN (1 PLN = 0.227 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Bytom 9,790 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Bytom

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 Bytom: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bytom wins on cost – living expenses run 9% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Bytom the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,459 in Medellin and $2,236 in Bytom to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,208 in Medellin versus $523 in Bytom. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,639 per month in Medellin versus $1,491 in Bytom – Bytom is about 9% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Bytom runs roughly 55% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Bytom 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.

Expats usually find Bytom gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.