Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Chilanga

For one person, living is cheaper in Chilanga: $585 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $12,500 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
28

Cost of Living Index in Chilanga
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Chilanga Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Chilanga

🇿🇲 Zambia

$585

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Chilanga

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,625 in Medellin versus $585 in Chilanga.

Medellin $1,625
Chilanga $585

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,412 in Medellin versus $928 in Chilanga.

Medellin $2,412
Chilanga $928

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,199 in Medellin versus $1,271 in Chilanga.

Medellin $3,199
Chilanga $1,271

Living in Medellin is roughly 178% more expensive than in Chilanga, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Chilanga is 57% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.30 COP 26.3K

$5.65 ZMW 112

46.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.91 COP 148.7K

$29.59 ZMW 589

58.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 COP 29.3K

$5.12 ZMW 102

80.47%

Cappuccino

$3.05 COP 9,676

$2.76 ZMW 54.9

10.51%

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

$1.80 COP 5,707

$0.74 ZMW 14.64

143.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,382

$0.48 ZMW 9.57

187.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 COP 10.3K

$1.23 ZMW 24.49

163.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 COP 17.6K

$2.31 ZMW 46.00

140.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 COP 4,760

$1.70 ZMW 33.83

-11.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 COP 7,508

$1.17 ZMW 23.22

102.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 COP 5,377

$2.10 ZMW 41.80

-19.05%

Eggs

$2.96 COP 9,379

$1.92 ZMW 38.10

54.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.22 COP 32.4K

$10.24 ZMW 204

-0.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.74 COP 30.9K

$6.36 ZMW 126

53.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 COP 44.1K

$6.65 ZMW 132

109.02%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.1K

$3.44 ZMW 68.5

20.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,839

$2.37 ZMW 47.19

-35.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 COP 7,052

$3.56 ZMW 70.8

-37.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 COP 7,194

$1.51 ZMW 29.94

50.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,311

$2.49 ZMW 49.46

-20.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 COP 5,285

$1.79 ZMW 35.65

-6.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 COP 3,742

$1.11 ZMW 21.99

6.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,919

$0.79 ZMW 15.67

56.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.87 COP 12.3K

$2.95 ZMW 58.7

31.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 COP 43.7K

$9.91 ZMW 197

39.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,256

$1.42 ZMW 28.20

16.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 COP 7,615

$2.33 ZMW 46.41

3.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 COP 3,944

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 COP 4,044

$2.56 ZMW 50.9

-50.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 COP 6,803

$1.47 ZMW 29.24

46.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 COP 26.5K

$4.87 ZMW 96.9

71.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,288

$1.48 ZMW 29.40

-8.78%

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

$34.8K COP 110.2M

$7,420 ZMW 147.6K

368.51%

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

$34.7K COP 110.0M

$27.4K ZMW 544.4K

26.72%

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

$167 COP 528.4K

$80.1 ZMW 1,592

108.18%

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

$13.62 COP 43.2K

$10.46 ZMW 208

30.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.12 COP 92.3K

$55.8 ZMW 1,110

-47.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.09 COP 143.0K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.97 COP 22.1K

$6.05 ZMW 120

15.21%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$139 ZMW 2,768

467.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,041 COP 28.7M

$16.6K ZMW 331.0K

-45.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.8 COP 278.4K

$23.71 ZMW 472

270.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.2 COP 184.4K

$15.19 ZMW 302

282.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 COP 440.7K

$45.76 ZMW 910

203.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.9 COP 313.5K

$71.2 ZMW 1,415

38.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 COP 2.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 COP 6.0M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 COP 3.2M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.6M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

-62.28%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Last update for Chilanga: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$619 38.1%

Chilanga

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$298 18.3%

Chilanga

$237 40.5% 20.5% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$209 12.9%

Chilanga

$146 25% 30.1% $63

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$173 10.6%

Chilanga

$70 12% 59.4% $103

Eating Out

Medellin

$171 10.5%

Chilanga

$109 18.7% 36% $61

Getting Around

Medellin

$95 5.9%

Chilanga

$9.9 * 1.7% 89.6% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$59 3.6%

Chilanga

$12 * 2.1% 79.5% $47

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $47.00 in Medellin vs $30.00 in Chilanga for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $298 vs $237 per month, with Chilanga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇿🇲 Chilanga

🕒 Local time

11:12 11:12 AM

18:12 6:12 PM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

107,051

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 ZMW = 5.03 USD

100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZMW, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 19.89 ZMW (100 ZMW = 5.03 USD). 1 EUR = 22.36 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Chilanga 11,680 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Chilanga

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 Chilanga: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin and Chilanga differ by about 178% in total monthly costs ($1,625 vs $585 including rent). Chilanga is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,437 in Medellin and $877 in Chilanga 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.

Childcare runs $790 in Medellin versus $139 in Chilanga. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chilanga – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $47.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $585 in Chilanga versus $1,625 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Chilanga but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Chilanga 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 Chilanga gentler on the wallet – expenses run 178% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.