Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Gaborone

For one person, living is cheaper in Gaborone: $866 a month against $1,589 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Gaborone
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Gaborone Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,589

/mo nomad

Gaborone

🇧🇼 Botswana

$866

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Gaborone

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,589 in Medellin versus $866 in Gaborone.

Medellin $1,589
Gaborone $866

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,364 in Medellin versus $1,301 in Gaborone.

Medellin $2,364
Gaborone $1,301

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,139 in Medellin versus $1,737 in Gaborone.

Medellin $3,139
Gaborone $1,737

Living in Medellin is roughly 84% more expensive than in Gaborone, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 19% above, Gaborone is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.01 COP 25.5K

$11.04 P 148

-27.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 COP 148.3K

$29.11 P 390

59.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.43 COP 30.1K

$5.87 P 78.6

60.65%

Cappuccino

$2.91 COP 9,277

$2.37 P 31.70

22.78%

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

$1.75 COP 5,585

$0.71 P 9.45

146.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 COP 4,218

$0.44 P 5.87

200.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.13 COP 9,969

$1.98 P 26.47

58.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.55 COP 17.7K

$2.56 P 34.24

116.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 COP 4,495

$1.47 P 19.66

-4.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.44 COP 7,777

$0.87 P 11.59

180.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 COP 5,191

$1.98 P 26.48

-17.68%

Eggs

$2.82 COP 8,990

$2.54 P 34.06

11.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.69 COP 30.9K

$6.45 P 86.4

50.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.32 COP 29.7K

$4.77 P 63.9

95.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.46 COP 42.9K

$4.88 P 65.4

175.82%

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 COP 12.8K

$1.64 P 22.01

143.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 COP 4,719

$1.40 P 18.73

5.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 COP 6,768

$1.95 P 26.07

8.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.25 COP 7,178

$1.65 P 22.13

36.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 COP 6,092

$1.31 P 17.53

45.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 COP 5,160

$1.15 P 15.40

40.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,658

$1.28 P 17.20

-10.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 COP 4,021

$0.93 P 12.50

35.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.82 COP 12.2K

$3.71 P 49.75

2.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.11 COP 41.8K

$4.39 P 58.8

198.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 COP 5,083

$1.43 P 19.23

11.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,188

$1.74 P 23.26

29.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,731

$0.67 P 9.00

74.63%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.0 COP 239.0K

$30.16 P 404

148.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,056

$0.64 P 8.60

98.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,531

$2.61 P 35.04

-21.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.20 COP 26.1K

$2.86 P 38.37

186.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 COP 4,046

$1.32 P 17.74

-3.79%

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

$26.8K COP 85.3M

$19.6K P 263.0K

36.42%

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

$34.4K COP 109.6M

$19.9K P 266.4K

73.07%

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

$162 COP 516.9K

$60.2 P 807

169.50%

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

$13.12 COP 41.8K

$19.85 P 266

-33.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.09 COP 89.5K

$42.94 P 575

-34.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.33 COP 141.2K

$34.16 P 458

29.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.33 COP 52.0K

$16.03 P 215

1.87%

Cinema Ticket

$6.09 COP 19.4K

$5.98 P 80.1

1.84%

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

$764 COP 2.4M

$130 P 1,740

488.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,904 COP 28.4M

$2,526 P 33.8K

252.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.0 COP 270.8K

$48.16 P 645

76.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 COP 183.2K

$16.58 P 222

246.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$132 COP 419.8K

$74.0 P 991

78.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.8 COP 305.1K

$78.3 P 1,049

22.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

$363 P 4,860

183.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$604 COP 1.9M

$219 P 2,941

175.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,802 COP 5.7M

$542 P 7,263

232.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$993 COP 3.2M

$354 P 4,741

180.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,921 COP 12.5M

$2,021 P 27.1K

93.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,639 COP 5.2M

$1,252 P 16.8K

30.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$626 COP 2.0M

$450 P 6,033

39.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

11.33

-3.44%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 6, 2026

Last update for Gaborone: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$604 38.3%

Gaborone

$219 25.5% 63.7% $385

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$288 18.3%

Gaborone

$174 20.2% 39.7% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$203 12.9%

Gaborone

$123 14.3% 39.5% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$166 10.6%

Gaborone

$98 11.4% 41.4% $69

Eating Out

Medellin

$166 10.6%

Gaborone

$154 17.9% 7.5% $12

Getting Around

Medellin

$91 5.8%

Gaborone

$47 5.4% 48.9% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.6%

Gaborone

$46 5.4% 18.4% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,028 in Medellin and $363 in Gaborone. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 39% 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: $47.00 in Medellin vs $29.00 in Gaborone for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $174 per month, with Gaborone cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇧🇼 Gaborone

🕒 Local time

06:58 6:58 AM

13:58 1:58 PM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

231,626 Capital

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Botswana Pula BWP P

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR

100 BWP = 7.46 USD

100 BWP = 6.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BWP, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3,187 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,571 COP (10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR).

Botswana Pula exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 13.4 BWP (100 BWP = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 15.02 BWP (100 BWP = 6.66 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Medellin Gaborone 11,460 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

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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 Gaborone: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gaborone is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 84% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 39% higher in Medellin, 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: $1,028 in Medellin versus $363 in Gaborone. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 66% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Gaborone – a meal for two runs $29.00 versus $47.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $866 in Gaborone versus $1,589 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Gaborone but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Gaborone the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Gaborone is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Medellin, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Medellin and Gaborone are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Gaborone gentler on the wallet – expenses run 84% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.