Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and El Oued

For one person, living is cheaper in El Oued: $524 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 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 Oued
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El Oued Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

El Oued

🇩🇿 Algeria

$524

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Medellin versus $524 in El Oued.

Medellin $1,692
El Oued $524

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,471 in Medellin versus $859 in El Oued.

Medellin $2,471
El Oued $859

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,249 in Medellin versus $1,194 in El Oued.

Medellin $3,249
El Oued $1,194

Living in Medellin is roughly 223% more expensive than in El Oued, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 26.9K

$2.85 DZD 386

192.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.2K

$19.88 DZD 2,691

134.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.6K

$4.23 DZD 572

123.88%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.1K

$1.26 DZD 170

148.41%

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

$1.77 COP 5,702

$1.13 DZD 153

56.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,599

$0.51 DZD 69.6

178.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$1.53 DZD 206

105.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.4K

$2.23 DZD 302

155.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,948

$0.88 DZD 120

73.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,397

$0.16 DZD 21.62

1331.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,279

$1.10 DZD 149

76.36%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,900

$1.23 DZD 167

149.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.3K

$7.81 DZD 1,057

27.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.7K

$3.91 DZD 529

167.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.1K

$14.23 DZD 1,927

-1.90%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$2.02 DZD 274

100.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,934

$2.82 DZD 382

-45.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,794

$1.06 DZD 143

98.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,405

$0.91 DZD 123

151.65%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,810

$0.63 DZD 84.6

234.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,518

$0.45 DZD 61.0

280.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,778

$0.76 DZD 103

53.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,101

$0.25 DZD 34.17

532.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.6K

$2.70 DZD 366

44.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.3K

$6.21 DZD 840

126.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,688

$1.10 DZD 149

60.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,756

$1.90 DZD 257

42.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,809

$0.23 DZD 30.82

413.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 246.3K

$7.02 DZD 950

986.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,833

$0.57 DZD 77.7

217.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,874

$0.41 DZD 55.1

419.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.3K

$5.31 DZD 719

53.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,117

$0.32 DZD 43.95

300.00%

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

$34.4K COP 111.2M

$31.7K DZD 4.3M

8.57%

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

$34.1K COP 110.2M

$34.7K DZD 4.7M

-1.63%

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

$178 COP 573.8K

$36.65 DZD 4,961

384.94%

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

$13.89 COP 44.8K

$9.37 DZD 1,269

48.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.2K

$11.74 DZD 1,589

161.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 135.4K

$22.11 DZD 2,992

89.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.2K

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.1K

$4.48 DZD 606

66.74%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$336 DZD 45.4K

135.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.7M

$10.3K DZD 1.4M

19.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 278.7K

$32.04 DZD 4,337

169.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 191.3K

$34.41 DZD 4,658

72.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 446.6K

$65.8 DZD 8,906

110.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 319.0K

$73.4 DZD 9,939

34.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$142 DZD 19.3K

842.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$90.6 DZD 12.3K

636.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$272 DZD 36.8K

626.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$197 DZD 26.7K

424.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.2M

$970 DZD 131.3K

322.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$918 DZD 124.2K

111.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

$259 DZD 35.1K

149.20%

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 Oued: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

El Oued

$91 17.3% 86.4% $577

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

El Oued

$172 32.8% 44.1% $136

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

El Oued

$58 11% 74% $165

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

El Oued

$69 13.2% 59.9% $103

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

El Oued

$93 17.7% 46.3% $80

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

El Oued

$11 2% 88.7% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

El Oued

$31 5.9% 45.4% $26

Cost Breakdown

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

Medellin pays about 2.5 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 $20 in El Oued for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $172 per month, with El Oued cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇩🇿 El Oued

🕒 Local time

17:03 5:03 PM

23:03 11:03 PM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

134,699

💱 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 = 7.39 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 = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,610 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

Algerian Dinar exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 135 DZD (1,000 DZD = 7.39 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 Oued 8,930 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
El Oued

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 Oued: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,692 in Medellin and $524 in El Oued, so El Oued is about 69% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

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: $1,341 in Medellin versus $142 in El Oued. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $790 in Medellin versus $336 in El Oued. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 79% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $524 in El Oued versus $1,692 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in El Oued but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes El Oued 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 Oued 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.