Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Cam Pha

For one person, living is cheaper in Cam Pha: $770 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Cam Pha
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Cam Pha Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Cam Pha

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$770

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Cam Pha

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Medellin versus $770 in Cam Pha.

Medellin $1,692
Cam Pha $770

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,471 in Medellin versus $1,235 in Cam Pha.

Medellin $2,471
Cam Pha $1,235

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,249 in Medellin versus $1,700 in Cam Pha.

Medellin $3,249
Cam Pha $1,700

Living in Medellin is roughly 120% more expensive than in Cam Pha, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 25% above, Cam Pha is 43% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 27.0K

$2.01 ₫51.9K

314.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.9K

$23.13 ₫595.9K

101.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.7K

$4.24 ₫109.3K

123.35%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.2K

$1.85 ₫47.6K

69.19%

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

$1.77 COP 5,727

$0.51 ₫13.2K

247.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,619

$0.31 ₫7,929

358.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$1.14 ₫29.4K

176.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.5K

$1.96 ₫50.4K

190.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,969

$1.52 ₫39.1K

0.66%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,429

$0.99 ₫25.6K

131.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,306

$0.77 ₫19.8K

151.95%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,942

$1.46 ₫37.7K

110.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.4K

$12.26 ₫316.0K

-18.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.9K

$3.57 ₫92.0K

192.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.3K

$9.45 ₫243.4K

47.72%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$3.08 ₫79.4K

31.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,956

$0.98 ₫25.3K

56.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,823

$1.35 ₫34.7K

55.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,437

$1.12 ₫28.9K

104.46%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,839

$0.89 ₫22.9K

137.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,542

$1.15 ₫29.7K

48.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,794

$0.55 ₫14.1K

112.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,123

$0.54 ₫13.8K

192.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.7K

$1.37 ₫35.3K

185.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.5K

$10.68 ₫275.1K

31.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,712

$0.92 ₫23.7K

91.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,793

$1.60 ₫41.1K

69.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,825

$0.32 ₫8,354

268.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 247.4K

$7.91 ₫203.8K

864.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,859

$0.97 ₫25.0K

86.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,904

$0.57 ₫14.7K

273.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.4K

$2.30 ₫59.2K

253.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,135

$0.97 ₫25.0K

31.96%

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

$34.4K COP 111.7M

$30.4K ₫783.0M

13.31%

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

$34.1K COP 110.7M

$29.7K ₫765.7M

14.84%

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

$178 COP 576.3K

$84.7 ₫2.2M

109.81%

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

$13.89 COP 45.0K

$5.13 ₫132.1K

170.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.7K

$8.93 ₫230.0K

244.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 136.0K

$20.72 ₫533.7K

102.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.5K

$8.21 ₫211.4K

104.63%

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.2K

$4.77 ₫122.8K

56.60%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$338 ₫8.7M

133.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.9M

$28.6K ₫736.6M

-56.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 279.9K

$45.08 ₫1.2M

91.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 192.2K

$28.66 ₫738.3K

106.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 448.6K

$83.5 ₫2.2M

65.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 320.4K

$73.0 ₫1.9M

35.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$481 ₫12.4M

178.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$269 ₫6.9M

148.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$588 ₫15.2M

235.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$588 ₫15.1M

75.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.3M

$2,343 ₫60.4M

74.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$1,344 ₫34.6M

44.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

8.17

33.90%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Cam Pha: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Cam Pha

$269 34.9% 59.7% $398

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Cam Pha

$192 24.9% 37.5% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Cam Pha

$99 12.8% 55.6% $124

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Cam Pha

$64 8.3% 63% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Cam Pha

$104 13.4% 39.9% $69

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Cam Pha

$13 1.7% 86.1% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Cam Pha

$30 3.9% 46.8% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,341 in Medellin and $481 in Cam Pha. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $23 in Cam Pha for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $192 per month, with Cam Pha cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇻🇳 Cam Pha

🕒 Local time

07:52 7:52 AM

19:52 7:52 PM

12 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

182,137

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.08 USD

10,000 COP = 2.75 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.88 USD

100,000 VND = 3.46 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, 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 = 3,635 COP (10,000 COP = 2.75 EUR).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of November 4, 2026: 1 USD = 25,761 VND (100,000 VND = 3.88 USD). 1 EUR = 28,880 VND (100,000 VND = 3.46 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Cam Pha 16,970 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Cam Pha

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 Cam Pha: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cam Pha wins on cost – living expenses run 54% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Cam Pha the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,538 in Medellin and $1,156 in Cam Pha 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: $1,341 in Medellin versus $481 in Cam Pha. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Cam Pha runs roughly 90% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $790 in Medellin versus $338 in Cam Pha. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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 Cam Pha gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.