Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Grimstad

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $2,179 in Grimstad, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
104

Cost of Living Index in Grimstad
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Grimstad Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Grimstad

🇳🇴 Norway

$2,179

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Grimstad

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $2,179 in Grimstad.

Medellin $1,639
Grimstad $2,179

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $3,734 in Grimstad.

Medellin $2,413
Grimstad $3,734

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $5,290 in Grimstad.

Medellin $3,186
Grimstad $5,290

Living in Medellin costs roughly 25% less than in Grimstad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 20% above, Grimstad 60% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$21.29 NOK 198

-62.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$79.4 NOK 737

-40.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$15.38 NOK 143

-38.23%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$4.87 NOK 45.25

-38.19%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$4.20 NOK 38.99

-57.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$3.41 NOK 31.65

-58.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$11.76 NOK 109

-72.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$10.54 NOK 97.9

-45.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$2.65 NOK 24.59

-43.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$3.74 NOK 34.70

-36.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$3.24 NOK 30.07

-45.37%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$3.60 NOK 33.41

-19.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$12.94 NOK 120

-21.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$14.43 NOK 134

-31.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$24.57 NOK 228

-43.06%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$2.17 NOK 20.19

82.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$2.47 NOK 22.93

-37.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$3.57 NOK 33.20

-38.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$4.38 NOK 40.72

-50.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$2.73 NOK 25.37

-28.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$2.92 NOK 27.12

-45.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$3.25 NOK 30.18

-64.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$1.86 NOK 17.25

-33.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$19.23 NOK 179

-79.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$16.29 NOK 151

-16.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$3.52 NOK 32.71

-52.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$4.28 NOK 39.77

-47.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$5.27 NOK 48.95

-77.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$92.6 NOK 860

-16.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$12.16 NOK 113

-89.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$1.84 NOK 17.09

11.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$72.4 NOK 673

-88.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$2.36 NOK 21.89

-42.80%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$50.2K NOK 466.2K

-32.11%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$45.0K NOK 418.5K

-23.03%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$314 NOK 2,913

-45.89%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$34.50 NOK 321

-60.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$55.8 NOK 518

-49.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$43.72 NOK 406

-0.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$16.41 NOK 152

-57.89%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$242 NOK 2,251

228.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$15.9K NOK 148.1K

-42.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$94.8 NOK 881

-10.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$53.1 NOK 494

9.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$106 NOK 985

27.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$163 NOK 1,510

-39.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$902 NOK 8,382

33.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$545 NOK 5,062

17.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$1,988 NOK 18.5K

2.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$1,825 NOK 17.0K

-44.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$4,724 NOK 43.9K

-11.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$3,502 NOK 32.5K

-45.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$4,577 NOK 42.5K

-85.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

4.9

123.27%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Grimstad: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Grimstad

$545 25% 15.1% $97

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Grimstad

$446 20.5% 50.1% $149

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Grimstad

$404 18.5% 91.1% $193

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Grimstad

$385 17.7% 127% $216

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Grimstad

$187 8.6% 10.9% $18

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Grimstad

$135 6.2% 44.3% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Grimstad

$77 3.5% 33.1% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $902 in Grimstad. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Grimstad pays about 7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $79 in Grimstad for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $446 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇳🇴 Grimstad

🕒 Local time

23:25 11:25 PM

05:25 5:25 AM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

25,093

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

100 NOK = 10.76 USD

100 NOK = 9.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NOK, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 9.29 NOK (1 NOK = 0.108 USD). 1 EUR = 10.34 NOK (100 NOK = 9.67 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Grimstad 9,080 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Grimstad

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 Grimstad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin is about 25% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and utilities. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 86% 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 $902 in Grimstad. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,639 per month in Medellin versus $2,179 in Grimstad – Medellin is about 25% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Medellin runs roughly 16% less than in Grimstad. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Either city works on $2,500 a month, though Medellin gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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