Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Fujairah

For one person, living is cheaper in Fujairah: $1,442 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 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
69

Cost of Living Index in Fujairah
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Fujairah Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Fujairah

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$1,442

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Fujairah

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

A single person spends $1,692 per month in Medellin vs $1,442 in Fujairah, rent included.

Medellin $1,692
Fujairah $1,442

A couple spends around $2,471 per month in Medellin vs $3,987 in Fujairah, rent included.

Medellin $2,471
Fujairah $3,987

A family of three spends $3,249 per month in Medellin vs $6,532 in Fujairah, rent included.

Medellin $3,249
Fujairah $6,532

Medellin costs about 17% more than Fujairah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Medellin and Fujairah sit above the global median – Medellin by 25%, Fujairah by 7%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 26.9K

$7.63 AED 28.02

9.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.3K

$40.45 AED 149

15.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.6K

$7.55 AED 27.73

25.43%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.1K

$5.59 AED 20.51

-44.01%

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

$1.77 COP 5,705

$1.13 AED 4.17

56.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,601

$0.39 AED 1.44

264.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$8.75 AED 32.15

-64.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.4K

$9.71 AED 35.65

-41.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,950

$1.63 AED 5.98

-6.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,401

$1.38 AED 5.06

65.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,282

$1.86 AED 6.82

4.30%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,905

$2.38 AED 8.74

28.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.3K

$12.55 AED 46.09

-20.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.7K

$9.51 AED 34.93

9.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.1K

$8.10 AED 29.74

72.35%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$1.74 AED 6.39

132.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,937

$1.68 AED 6.17

-8.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,797

$1.49 AED 5.46

40.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,409

$0.99 AED 3.64

131.31%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,813

$0.79 AED 2.89

167.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,521

$0.88 AED 3.22

94.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,780

$0.85 AED 3.14

37.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,104

$0.44 AED 1.61

259.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.6K

$5.61 AED 20.61

-30.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.4K

$13.55 AED 49.77

3.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,690

$2.20 AED 8.08

-20.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,760

$2.40 AED 8.80

12.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,811

$3.25 AED 11.94

-63.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 246.4K

$40.67 AED 149

87.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,836

$2.93 AED 10.74

-38.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,878

$0.52 AED 1.92

309.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.3K

$8.10 AED 29.75

0.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,119

$0.91 AED 3.36

40.66%

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

$34.4K COP 111.2M

$26.4K AED 96.8K

30.62%

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

$34.1K COP 110.3M

$19.8K AED 72.8K

72.19%

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

$178 COP 574.1K

$121 AED 444

47.03%

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

$13.89 COP 44.9K

$38.89 AED 143

-64.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.3K

$79.7 AED 293

-61.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 135.5K

$46.74 AED 172

-10.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.3K

$13.75 AED 50.5

22.18%

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.1K

$10.90 AED 40.04

-31.47%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$261 AED 959

202.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.7M

$8,574 AED 31.5K

43.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 278.9K

$21.54 AED 79.1

300.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 191.4K

$13.84 AED 50.8

328.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 446.9K

$76.0 AED 279

82.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 319.2K

$61.7 AED 226

60.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$584 AED 2,145

129.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$535 AED 1,963

24.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$5,244 AED 19.3K

-62.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$4,630 AED 17.0K

-77.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.2M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

$3,784 AED 13.9K

-82.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

2.5

337.60%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Fujairah: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Fujairah

$535 37.1% 19.9% $133

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Fujairah

$242 16.8% 21.3% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Fujairah

$239 16.6% 7.7% $17

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Fujairah

$220 15.3% 27.4% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Fujairah

$78 5.4% 54.8% $94

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Fujairah

$59 4.1% 36.7% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Fujairah

$69 4.8% 20.5% $12

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,341 in Medellin versus $584 in Fujairah. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Fujairah are about 5.9 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $40 in Fujairah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $307 vs $242 – making Fujairah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇦🇪 Fujairah

🕒 Local time

16:34 4:34 PM

01:34 1:34 AM

9 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

93,673

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.244 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, 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 = 3,610 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.1 AED (1 AED = 0.244 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Fujairah 13,760 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Fujairah

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 Fujairah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,692 in Medellin, $1,442 in Fujairah – Fujairah comes out roughly 15% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,538 per month in Medellin and $2,162 in Fujairah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Fujairah, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $584 there versus $1,341 in Medellin.

Kindergarten costs $790 per month in Medellin and $261 in Fujairah. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 27% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,692 in Medellin and $1,442 in Fujairah, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

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

For expats, Fujairah is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 15% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.