Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and El Bayadh

For one person, living is cheaper in El Bayadh: $521 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in El Bayadh
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El Bayadh Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

El Bayadh

🇩🇿 Algeria

$521

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in El Bayadh

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Medellin versus $521 in El Bayadh.

Medellin $1,692
El Bayadh $521

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,471 in Medellin versus $851 in El Bayadh.

Medellin $2,471
El Bayadh $851

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,249 in Medellin versus $1,181 in El Bayadh.

Medellin $3,249
El Bayadh $1,181

Living in Medellin is roughly 225% more expensive than in El Bayadh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 25% above, El Bayadh is 61% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 26.9K

$3.23 DZD 436

158.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.1K

$17.39 DZD 2,351

167.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.6K

$3.88 DZD 525

144.07%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.1K

$0.65 DZD 87.7

381.54%

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

$1.77 COP 5,700

$0.62 DZD 84.5

185.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,597

$0.24 DZD 32.33

491.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$1.55 DZD 210

103.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.4K

$2.11 DZD 285

170.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,946

$0.90 DZD 122

70.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,394

$0.14 DZD 19.38

1535.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,276

$1.15 DZD 156

68.70%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,895

$1.18 DZD 159

160.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.2K

$8.00 DZD 1,081

24.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.7K

$3.89 DZD 525

168.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.0K

$14.26 DZD 1,928

-2.10%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$2.10 DZD 284

92.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,932

$2.72 DZD 368

-43.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,791

$1.07 DZD 145

96.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,402

$0.90 DZD 121

154.44%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,807

$0.59 DZD 79.6

257.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,515

$0.45 DZD 60.8

280.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,776

$0.71 DZD 96.4

64.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,099

$0.25 DZD 33.72

532.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.6K

$2.60 DZD 351

50.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.3K

$6.57 DZD 889

113.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,685

$1.28 DZD 172

37.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,752

$1.89 DZD 255

43.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,807

$0.24 DZD 32.47

391.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 246.2K

$6.68 DZD 903

1042.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,831

$0.53 DZD 72.0

241.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,871

$0.40 DZD 54.3

432.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.2K

$5.25 DZD 710

54.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,115

$0.36 DZD 48.15

255.56%

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

$34.4K COP 111.1M

$31.5K DZD 4.3M

9.16%

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

$34.1K COP 110.1M

$34.5K DZD 4.7M

-0.99%

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

$178 COP 573.5K

$36.26 DZD 4,901

390.15%

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

$13.89 COP 44.8K

$9.03 DZD 1,221

53.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.2K

$12.06 DZD 1,630

154.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 135.4K

$22.44 DZD 3,033

86.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.2K

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.1K

$4.39 DZD 594

70.16%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$336 DZD 45.4K

135.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.7M

$4,750 DZD 642.0K

158.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 278.6K

$32.09 DZD 4,338

169.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 191.2K

$34.00 DZD 4,596

74.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 446.4K

$69.8 DZD 9,430

98.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 318.9K

$81.1 DZD 11.0K

21.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$142 DZD 19.1K

847.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$90.8 DZD 12.3K

634.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$269 DZD 36.4K

633.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$198 DZD 26.8K

421.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.2M

$979 DZD 132.3K

318.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$1,026 DZD 138.7K

89.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.3

106.42%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for El Bayadh: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

El Bayadh

$91 17.4% 86.4% $576

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

El Bayadh

$173 33.3% 43.6% $134

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

El Bayadh

$57 11% 74.2% $165

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

El Bayadh

$61 11.6% 64.9% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

El Bayadh

$98 18.7% 43.3% $75

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

El Bayadh

$10 2% 89.1% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

El Bayadh

$31 6% 45.1% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,341 in Medellin and $142 in El Bayadh. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $17 in El Bayadh for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $173 per month, with El Bayadh cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇩🇿 El Bayadh

🕒 Local time

09:42 9:42 AM

15:42 3:42 PM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

91,632

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Algerian Dinar DZD د.ج

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

1,000 DZD = 7.4 USD

1,000 DZD = 6.61 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DZD, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 3,227 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,613 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

Algerian Dinar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 135 DZD (1,000 DZD = 7.4 USD). 1 EUR = 151 DZD (1,000 DZD = 6.61 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin El Bayadh 8,380 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
El Bayadh

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 El Bayadh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

El Bayadh wins on cost – living expenses run 69% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making El Bayadh the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,538 in Medellin and $782 in El Bayadh 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 $142 in El Bayadh. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in El Bayadh – a meal for two runs $17 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,692 per month in Medellin versus $521 in El Bayadh – El Bayadh is about 69% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $521 in El Bayadh versus $1,692 in Medellin, a $800 budget is realistic in El Bayadh but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes El Bayadh 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 El Bayadh gentler on the wallet – expenses run 69% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.