Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Colombo

For one person, living is cheaper in Colombo: $804 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Colombo
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Colombo Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Colombo

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$804

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Colombo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $804 in Colombo.

Medellin $1,639
Colombo $804

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,240 in Colombo.

Medellin $2,413
Colombo $1,240

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,675 in Colombo.

Medellin $3,186
Colombo $1,675

Living in Medellin is roughly 104% more expensive than in Colombo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Colombo is 41% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$3.74 LKR 1,243

116.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$24.72 LKR 8,217

90.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$7.60 LKR 2,528

25.00%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$2.45 LKR 814

22.86%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.68 LKR 226

164.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.27 LKR 89.8

422.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$2.22 LKR 739

43.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$3.07 LKR 1,020

87.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$1.57 LKR 520

-3.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$0.54 LKR 178

340.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$0.80 LKR 266

121.25%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$1.71 LKR 568

69.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$13.92 LKR 4,626

-26.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$4.78 LKR 1,590

106.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$7.46 LKR 2,480

87.53%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$6.40 LKR 2,126

-37.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$0.85 LKR 283

82.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$4.26 LKR 1,416

-48.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$1.33 LKR 443

63.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$1.00 LKR 334

96.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$0.81 LKR 270

96.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$0.93 LKR 308

23.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.45 LKR 151

175.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$10.33 LKR 3,435

-61.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$12.87 LKR 4,279

6.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$1.93 LKR 642

-13.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$3.00 LKR 999

-24.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.18 LKR 59.3

550.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$5.96 LKR 1,982

1198.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$0.40 LKR 134

217.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$0.35 LKR 116

485.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$0.94 LKR 312

809.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.32 LKR 438

2.27%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$43.4K LKR 14.4M

-21.53%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$39.7K LKR 13.2M

-12.63%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$58.9 LKR 19.6K

188.28%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$4.20 LKR 1,397

222.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$20.61 LKR 6,853

36.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$19.88 LKR 6,611

119.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$5.81 LKR 1,932

195.87%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$4.42 LKR 1,469

56.33%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$38.13 LKR 12.7K

1989.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$1,214 LKR 403.5K

650.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$17.77 LKR 5,907

376.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$16.62 LKR 5,525

248.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$77.8 LKR 25.9K

73.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$42.22 LKR 14.0K

131.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$586 LKR 194.7K

106.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$275 LKR 91.4K

133.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$1,677 LKR 557.5K

20.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$490 LKR 163.0K

106.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$3,636 LKR 1.2M

14.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$1,158 LKR 385.0K

64.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$259 LKR 86.0K

154.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

12.69

-13.79%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Colombo: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Colombo

$275 34.2% 57.1% $366

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Colombo

$235 29.2% 20.8% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Colombo

$84 10.4% 60.4% $128

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Colombo

$103 12.8% 39.2% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Colombo

$69 8.6% 58.9% $100

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Colombo

$8.8 1.1% 90.6% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Colombo

$29 3.6% 50.1% $29

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $586 in Colombo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 2.5 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $25 in Colombo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $235 per month, with Colombo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇱🇰 Colombo

🕒 Local time

17:09 5:09 PM

03:39 3:39 AM

10 h 30 min ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

753,000

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, 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 = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Colombo 16,920 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Colombo

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 Colombo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Colombo wins on cost – living expenses run 51% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Colombo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Medellin is about 2.5 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,208 in Medellin versus $586 in Colombo. 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 Colombo – a meal for two runs $25 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Colombo is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Colombo delivers better value at $804 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Colombo hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Colombo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.