Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and El Mahalla El Kubra

For one person, living is cheaper in El Mahalla El Kubra: $408 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $14,600 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
20

Cost of Living Index in El Mahalla El Kubra
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El Mahalla El Kubra Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

El Mahalla El Kubra

🇪🇬 Egypt

$408

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in El Mahalla El Kubra

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

A single person spends $1,625 per month in Medellin vs $408 in El Mahalla El Kubra, rent included.

Medellin $1,625
El Mahalla El Kubra $408

A couple spends around $2,412 per month in Medellin vs $661 in El Mahalla El Kubra, rent included.

Medellin $2,412
El Mahalla El Kubra $661

A family of three spends $3,199 per month in Medellin vs $914 in El Mahalla El Kubra, rent included.

Medellin $3,199
El Mahalla El Kubra $914

Medellin costs about 298% more than El Mahalla El Kubra, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while El Mahalla El Kubra is 70% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.30 COP 26.1K

$4.15 E£231

100.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.91 COP 147.5K

$14.14 E£789

231.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 COP 29.1K

$2.99 E£167

209.03%

Cappuccino

$3.05 COP 9,596

$1.27 E£70.7

140.16%

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

$1.80 COP 5,659

$0.32 E£17.90

462.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,345

$0.11 E£5.89

1154.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 COP 10.2K

$1.31 E£73.0

147.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 COP 17.5K

$2.89 E£161

92.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 COP 4,720

$0.85 E£47.50

76.47%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 COP 7,445

$0.30 E£16.87

690.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 COP 5,332

$0.52 E£28.74

226.92%

Eggs

$2.96 COP 9,301

$1.13 E£63.1

161.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.22 COP 32.1K

$2.89 E£161

253.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.74 COP 30.6K

$4.01 E£224

142.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 COP 43.7K

$7.40 E£413

87.84%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.0K

$1.54 E£86.1

168.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,799

$0.65 E£36.21

135.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 COP 6,993

$0.45 E£25.05

393.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 COP 7,135

$0.33 E£18.20

587.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,258

$0.24 E£13.30

729.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 COP 5,241

$0.30 E£16.53

456.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 COP 3,711

$0.27 E£15.21

337.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,886

$0.22 E£12.44

463.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.87 COP 12.2K

$1.86 E£104

108.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 COP 43.3K

$5.79 E£323

138.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,212

$1.19 E£66.2

39.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 COP 7,552

$2.26 E£126

6.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.20 E£11.11

520.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 245.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 COP 4,011

$0.32 E£17.70

300.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 COP 6,747

$0.46 E£25.38

367.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 COP 26.3K

$0.91 E£50.9

819.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,252

$0.43 E£24.23

213.95%

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

$34.8K COP 109.3M

$31.8K E£1.8M

9.47%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$22.8K E£1.3M

52.34%

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

$167 COP 524.0K

$14.47 E£807

1051.69%

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

$13.62 COP 42.8K

$3.93 E£219

246.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.12 COP 91.6K

$8.50 E£474

242.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.09 COP 141.8K

$15.92 E£888

183.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.0K

Cinema Ticket

$6.97 COP 21.9K

$2.79 E£156

149.82%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$32.18 E£1,795

2355.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,041 COP 28.4M

$2,084 E£116.2K

333.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.8 COP 276.1K

$16.89 E£942

419.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.2 COP 182.8K

$43.76 E£2,441

32.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 COP 437.0K

$101 E£5,630

37.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.9 COP 310.9K

$56.4 E£3,146

75.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.2M

$131 E£7,322

683.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 COP 1.9M

$75.4 E£4,204

721.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 COP 5.9M

$254 E£14.2K

641.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 COP 3.2M

$144 E£8,011

601.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.5M

$745 E£41.6K

435.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

$355 E£19.8K

379.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

21.33

-48.71%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Last update for El Mahalla El Kubra: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$619 38.1%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$75 18.5% 87.8% $544

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$298 18.3%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$111 27.3% 62.7% $187

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$209 12.9%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$27 6.6% 87.2% $183

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$173 10.6%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$98 24.1% 43.2% $75

Eating Out

Medellin

$171 10.5%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$71 17.5% 58.2% $99

Getting Around

Medellin

$95 5.9%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$3.4 * 0.8% 96.4% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$59 3.6%

El Mahalla El Kubra

$22 5.3% 63.6% $38

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,028 in Medellin versus $131 in El Mahalla El Kubra. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $14 in El Mahalla El Kubra. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $298 vs $111 – making El Mahalla El Kubra the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇪🇬 El Mahalla El Kubra

🕒 Local time

01:22 1:22 AM

09:22 9:22 AM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

431,052

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 3,144 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,528 COP (10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 55.77 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.57 EGP (100 EGP = 1.6 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin El Mahalla El Kubra 11,220 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
El Mahalla El Kubra

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 Mahalla El Kubra: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,625 in Medellin, $408 in El Mahalla El Kubra – roughly 298% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,437 per month in Medellin and $612 in El Mahalla El Kubra. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in El Mahalla El Kubra, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $131 there versus $1,028 in Medellin.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,625 in Medellin and $408 in El Mahalla El Kubra. That’s a gap of about 298%.

Kindergarten costs $790 per month in Medellin and $32 in El Mahalla El Kubra. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in El Mahalla El Kubra, where all-in costs run around $408, than in Medellin at $1,625. In El Mahalla El Kubra it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward El Mahalla El Kubra – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.