Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Cox's Bazar

For one person, living is cheaper in Cox’s Bazar: $348 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $15,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
17

Cost of Living Index in Cox's Bazar
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Cox's Bazar Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Cox's Bazar

🇧🇩 Bangladesh

$348

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Cox's Bazar

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $348 in Cox’s Bazar.

Medellin $1,639
Cox's Bazar $348

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $558 in Cox’s Bazar.

Medellin $2,413
Cox's Bazar $558

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $769 in Cox’s Bazar.

Medellin $3,186
Cox's Bazar $769

Living in Medellin is roughly 372% more expensive than in Cox’s Bazar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Cox’s Bazar is 74% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$1.56 ৳194

418.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$12.21 ৳1,513

285.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$2.95 ৳366

222.03%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 ৳320

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 ৳308

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$1.92 ৳238

56.77%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$0.36 ৳44.57

400.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$0.10 ৳12.90

1310.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$0.80 ৳99.2

88.75%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$0.50 ৳62.2

376.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$0.66 ৳81.9

168.18%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$1.04 ৳129

177.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$7.20 ৳892

41.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$2.07 ৳256

376.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$7.29 ৳904

91.91%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$2.35 ৳291

68.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$0.88 ৳109

76.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$1.60 ৳199

36.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$0.52 ৳64.1

319.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$0.46 ৳57.2

326.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$0.58 ৳71.3

174.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$0.47 ৳58.5

144.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$0.30 ৳36.72

313.33%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$7.68 ৳952

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.55 ৳316

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 ৳565

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$1.91 ৳236

107.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$0.29 ৳36.32

337.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$0.35 ৳43.20

485.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$4.16 ৳516

105.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$1.14 ৳142

18.42%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$31.7K ৳3.9M

7.60%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$34.0K ৳4.2M

2.07%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$12.20 ৳1,512

1290.57%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$2.63 ৳326

415.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$11.12 ৳1,377

152.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$16.05 ৳1,989

172.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

$4.07 ৳504

322.36%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$2.36 ৳292

192.80%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$24.65 ৳3,055

3131.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$1,454 ৳180.1K

526.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$22.55 ৳2,795

275.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$18.21 ৳2,256

218.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$32.91 ৳4,078

310.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$34.87 ৳4,321

180.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$164 ৳20.4K

634.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$96.1 ৳11.9K

567.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$300 ৳37.1K

576.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$164 ৳20.3K

517.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$348 ৳43.1K

1100.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$261 ৳32.4K

631.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$286 ৳35.4K

130.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

11.5

-4.87%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cox's Bazar: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Cox's Bazar

$96 27.6% 85% $545

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Cox's Bazar

$108 31% 63.8% $189

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Cox's Bazar

$26 7.5% 87.7% $185

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Cox's Bazar

$46 13.3% 72.7% $123

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Cox's Bazar

$49 14.1% 71.1% $120

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Cox's Bazar

$2 * 0.6% 97.8% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Cox's Bazar

$21 6% 63.9% $37

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $164 in Cox’s Bazar. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 2.3 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $12 in Cox’s Bazar for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $108 per month, with Cox’s Bazar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇧🇩 Cox's Bazar

🕒 Local time

04:21 4:21 AM

15:21 3:21 PM

11 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

223,522

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Bangladeshi Taka BDT ৳

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

1,000 BDT = 8.07 USD

1,000 BDT = 7.23 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BDT, 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).

Bangladeshi Taka exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 124 BDT (1,000 BDT = 8.07 USD). 1 EUR = 138 BDT (1,000 BDT = 7.23 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Cox's Bazar 16,650 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Cox's Bazar

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 Cox's Bazar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $348 in Cox’s Bazar, so Cox’s Bazar is about 79% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Medellin is about 2.3 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 $164 in Cox’s Bazar. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 176% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,639 per month in Medellin versus $348 in Cox’s Bazar – Cox’s Bazar is about 79% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $348 in Cox’s Bazar versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Cox’s Bazar but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Cox’s Bazar 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.

It comes down to priorities – Cox’s Bazar wins on affordability, Medellin on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.