Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Elbasan

For one person, living is cheaper in Elbasan: $887 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Elbasan
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Elbasan Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Elbasan

🇦🇱 Albania

$887

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Elbasan

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

A single person spends $1,692 per month in Medellin vs $887 in Elbasan, rent included.

Medellin $1,692
Elbasan $887

A couple spends around $2,471 per month in Medellin vs $1,399 in Elbasan, rent included.

Medellin $2,471
Elbasan $1,399

A family of three spends $3,249 per month in Medellin vs $1,912 in Elbasan, rent included.

Medellin $3,249
Elbasan $1,912

Medellin costs about 91% more than Elbasan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 25% above the global median, while Elbasan is 34% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 26.9K

$9.95 ALL 802

-16.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.3K

$36.83 ALL 2,967

26.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.6K

$6.76 ALL 544

40.09%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.1K

$1.72 ALL 138

81.98%

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

$1.77 COP 5,705

$1.40 ALL 113

26.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,601

$0.65 ALL 52.7

118.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$2.14 ALL 172

47.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.4K

$2.74 ALL 220

108.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,950

$1.90 ALL 153

-19.47%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,401

$0.94 ALL 75.4

143.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,282

$1.57 ALL 127

23.57%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,905

$2.60 ALL 210

18.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.3K

$10.33 ALL 832

-3.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.7K

$5.91 ALL 476

76.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.1K

$11.30 ALL 910

23.54%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$1.20 ALL 96.8

237.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,937

$2.25 ALL 182

-32.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,797

$1.39 ALL 112

51.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,409

$1.14 ALL 91.6

100.88%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,813

$1.00 ALL 80.2

111.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,521

$1.04 ALL 83.8

64.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,780

$0.83 ALL 66.6

40.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,104

$0.66 ALL 53.5

139.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.6K

$4.34 ALL 350

-9.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.4K

$6.10 ALL 492

130.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,690

$1.02 ALL 82.3

72.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,760

$1.80 ALL 145

50.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,811

$0.47 ALL 38.21

151.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 246.4K

$19.64 ALL 1,582

288.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,836

$3.60 ALL 290

-49.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,878

$1.45 ALL 117

46.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.3K

$14.57 ALL 1,174

-44.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,119

$2.14 ALL 172

-40.19%

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

$34.4K COP 111.2M

$29.2K ALL 2.4M

17.90%

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

$34.1K COP 110.3M

$29.3K ALL 2.4M

16.60%

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

$178 COP 574.1K

$61.7 ALL 4,970

188.10%

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

$13.89 COP 44.9K

$15.34 ALL 1,236

-9.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.3K

$12.08 ALL 973

154.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 135.5K

$58.0 ALL 4,671

-27.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.3K

$17.03 ALL 1,372

-1.35%

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.1K

$4.41 ALL 355

69.39%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$142 ALL 11.4K

457.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.7M

$1,886 ALL 151.9K

552.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 278.9K

$72.7 ALL 5,856

18.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 191.4K

$44.03 ALL 3,547

34.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 446.9K

$93.4 ALL 7,522

48.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 319.2K

$96.4 ALL 7,767

2.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$297 ALL 23.9K

352.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$208 ALL 16.8K

220.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$435 ALL 35.1K

354.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$317 ALL 25.5K

226.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.2M

$1,377 ALL 111.0K

197.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$870 ALL 70.1K

122.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

$626 ALL 50.4K

3.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

6.1

79.34%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Elbasan: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Elbasan

$208 23.5% 68.8% $459

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Elbasan

$208 23.4% 32.5% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Elbasan

$89 10.1% 59.9% $133

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Elbasan

$145 16.3% 16.1% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Elbasan

$138 15.6% 19.9% $34

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Elbasan

$32 3.7% 65.3% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Elbasan

$67 7.5% 17.4% $9.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,341 in Medellin versus $297 in Elbasan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 3% higher in Medellin, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $37 in Elbasan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $307 vs $208 – making Elbasan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇦🇱 Elbasan

🕒 Local time

21:54 9:54 PM

03:54 3:54 AM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

78,703

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3,230 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,626 COP (10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 80.56 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 90.44 ALL (100 ALL = 1.11 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Between locations

Medellin Elbasan 10,020 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Elbasan

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 Elbasan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 91%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,538 per month in Medellin and $1,331 in Elbasan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Elbasan, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $297 there versus $1,341 in Medellin.

Groceries cost about 48% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $37 in Elbasan. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Elbasan, where all-in costs run around $887, than in Medellin at $1,692. In Elbasan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

If budget matters most, go with Elbasan. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.