Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Gjilan

For one person, living is cheaper in Gjilan: $774 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Gjilan
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Gjilan Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Gjilan

🇽🇰 Kosovo

$774

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Gjilan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $774 in Gjilan.

Medellin $1,639
Gjilan $774

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,149 in Gjilan.

Medellin $2,413
Gjilan $1,149

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,524 in Gjilan.

Medellin $3,186
Gjilan $1,524

Living in Medellin is roughly 112% more expensive than in Gjilan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Gjilan is 43% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$4.28 €3.83

89.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.7K

$22.18 €19.87

112.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.6K

$5.45 €4.88

74.31%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,722

$1.37 €1.23

119.71%

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

$1.80 COP 5,801

$1.07 €0.96

68.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,554

$0.88 €0.79

60.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.2K

$1.65 €1.48

92.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.5K

$1.36 €1.21

322.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,869

$1.30 €1.16

16.15%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,667

$0.44 €0.39

440.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,712

$1.27 €1.14

39.37%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,320

$1.78 €1.59

62.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$8.03 €7.20

26.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.8K

$6.77 €6.06

45.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.1K

$12.45 €11.15

12.37%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$1.60 €1.44

148.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,005

$1.58 €1.41

-1.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,039

$1.78 €1.59

22.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,041

$1.67 €1.50

30.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,328

$0.92 €0.82

113.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,125

$0.86 €0.77

84.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,694

$0.77 €0.69

49.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,009

$0.49 €0.44

153.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$3.37 €3.02

17.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.1K

$5.50 €4.93

148.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,352

$0.91 €0.82

82.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,281

$1.22 €1.09

85.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,766

$0.55 €0.49

112.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,089

$2.21 €1.98

-42.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,603

$0.54 €0.49

279.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$3.38 €3.02

152.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,343

$1.43 €1.28

-5.59%

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

$34.1K COP 109.8M

$22.2K €19.9K

53.28%

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

$34.7K COP 111.8M

$25.7K €23.0K

35.05%

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

$170 COP 547.0K

$104 €93.4

62.72%

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

$13.55 COP 43.7K

$11.39 €10.20

18.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.5K

$23.40 €20.96

19.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 140.9K

$19.32 €17.31

126.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.4K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$4.57 €4.09

51.20%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$169 €151

372.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$1,476 €1,322

517.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.2K

$42.23 €37.82

100.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 186.9K

$31.95 €28.61

81.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.2K

$63.0 €56.4

114.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 315.6K

$80.1 €71.8

22.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$277 €248

335.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$227 €203

182.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$474 €424

328.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$357 €320

183.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.4M

$905 €811

360.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$698 €625

173.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$456 €408

44.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

4.5

143.11%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Gjilan: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Gjilan

$227 29.3% 64.6% $415

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Gjilan

$189 24.4% 36.3% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Gjilan

$139 18% 34.2% $72

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Gjilan

$86 11.1% 49.4% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Gjilan

$98 12.6% 42.1% $71

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Gjilan

$7.1 * 0.9% 92.4% $86

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Gjilan

$28 3.7% 50.5% $29

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $277 in Gjilan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 44% 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 $22 in Gjilan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $189 per month, with Gjilan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇽🇰 Gjilan

🕒 Local time

20:06 8:06 PM

02:06 2:06 AM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

54,239

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Gjilan 10,110 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

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Medellin
Gjilan

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 Gjilan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $774 in Gjilan, so Gjilan is about 53% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 44% 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: $1,208 in Medellin versus $277 in Gjilan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 57% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,639 per month in Medellin versus $774 in Gjilan – Gjilan is about 53% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $774 in Gjilan versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Gjilan but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Gjilan 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.

It comes down to priorities – Gjilan wins on affordability, Medellin on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.