Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and George Town, Malaysia

For one person, living is cheaper in George Town: $952 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 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
46

Cost of Living Index in George Town
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George Town Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

George Town

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$952

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in George Town

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $952 in George Town.

Medellin $1,639
George Town $952

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,558 in George Town.

Medellin $2,413
George Town $1,558

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,164 in George Town.

Medellin $3,186
George Town $2,164

Living in Medellin is roughly 72% more expensive than in George Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, George Town is 30% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$3.46 MYR 14.06

133.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$15.45 MYR 62.9

204.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$4.68 MYR 19.05

102.99%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,734

$2.75 MYR 11.20

9.45%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$0.70 MYR 2.86

157.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,560

$0.35 MYR 1.43

302.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$2.47 MYR 10.07

28.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$4.42 MYR 18.01

30.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,875

$1.87 MYR 7.61

-19.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,677

$1.05 MYR 4.27

126.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,719

$1.73 MYR 7.04

2.31%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,332

$2.22 MYR 9.03

30.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$13.65 MYR 55.6

-25.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$4.48 MYR 18.22

120.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$8.70 MYR 35.40

60.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$2.34 MYR 9.51

69.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,011

$1.46 MYR 5.93

6.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,047

$2.22 MYR 9.04

-1.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,050

$1.20 MYR 4.89

81.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,336

$0.92 MYR 3.73

113.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,131

$0.85 MYR 3.47

87.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,698

$0.74 MYR 3.03

55.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$0.59 MYR 2.39

110.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$4.58 MYR 18.62

-13.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$18.84 MYR 76.7

-27.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$2.41 MYR 9.81

-31.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,290

$3.56 MYR 14.51

-36.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,770

$0.47 MYR 1.93

148.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

$12.01 MYR 48.90

544.21%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$1.23 MYR 5.01

3.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,611

$0.51 MYR 2.06

301.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$6.53 MYR 26.60

30.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,348

$0.82 MYR 3.35

64.63%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$45.5K MYR 185.4K

-25.20%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$34.6K MYR 141.0K

0.12%

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

$170 COP 547.7K

$36.85 MYR 150

360.38%

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

$13.55 COP 43.7K

$8.05 MYR 32.76

68.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$28.38 MYR 116

-1.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$40.35 MYR 164

8.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

$5.03 MYR 20.47

241.75%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$4.52 MYR 18.38

52.88%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$168 MYR 686

372.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$4,958 MYR 20.2K

83.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$53.2 MYR 216

59.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.1K

$34.86 MYR 142

66.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.7K

$73.5 MYR 299

83.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$70.8 MYR 288

38.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$709 MYR 2,885

70.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$366 MYR 1,491

75.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$1,104 MYR 4,493

83.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$904 MYR 3,681

11.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$1,057 MYR 4,302

-37.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

4.04

170.79%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for George Town: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

George Town

$366 38.5% 42.9% $275

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

George Town

$241 25.3% 18.8% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

George Town

$73 7.7% 65.3% $138

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

George Town

$100 10.5% 41% $69

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

George Town

$105 11% 38.1% $64

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

George Town

$18 1.9% 81.1% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

George Town

$49 5.2% 14.2% $8.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $709 in George Town. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

George Town pays 61% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $15 in George Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $241 per month, with George Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇲🇾 George Town

🕒 Local time

08:21 8:21 AM

21:21 9:21 PM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

794,313

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

1 MYR = 0.246 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,603 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.246 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin George Town 18,640 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
George Town

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 George Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

George Town is about 42% cheaper overall, especially in transport, eating out, and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 38% lower in Medellin. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,208 in Medellin versus $709 in George Town. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in George Town runs roughly 84% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $168 in George Town. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

For families, George Town 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.

Expats usually find George Town gentler on the wallet – expenses run 42% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.