Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Ha'il

For one person, living is cheaper in Ha’il: $1,073 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Ha'il
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Ha'il Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Ha'il

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,073

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Ha'il

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Medellin versus $1,073 in Ha’il.

Medellin $1,692
Ha'il $1,073

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,471 in Medellin versus $1,623 in Ha’il.

Medellin $2,471
Ha'il $1,623

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,249 in Medellin versus $2,174 in Ha’il.

Medellin $3,249
Ha'il $2,174

Living in Medellin is roughly 58% more expensive than in Ha’il, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 25% above, Ha’il is 21% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 26.9K

$5.40 SAR 20.28

54.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.3K

$36.86 SAR 138

26.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.6K

$5.91 SAR 22.17

60.24%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.17 SAR 4.38

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 SAR 8.32

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.1K

$2.60 SAR 9.77

20.38%

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

$1.77 COP 5,705

$0.61 SAR 2.30

190.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,601

$0.23 SAR 0.86

517.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.4K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,950

$1.69 SAR 6.34

-9.47%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,401

$0.86 SAR 3.21

166.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,282

$1.88 SAR 7.05

3.19%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,905

$1.93 SAR 7.26

59.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.3K

$6.68 SAR 25.08

49.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.7K

$8.88 SAR 33.31

17.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.1K

$8.15 SAR 30.58

71.29%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$1.49 SAR 5.59

171.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,937

$1.52 SAR 5.70

0.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,797

$1.27 SAR 4.77

65.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,409

$1.94 SAR 7.28

18.04%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,813

$1.29 SAR 4.85

63.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,521

$1.61 SAR 6.05

6.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,780

$1.23 SAR 4.61

-4.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,104

$0.48 SAR 1.79

229.17%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.64 SAR 9.92

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 SAR 6.47

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 SAR 6.78

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.6K

$6.77 SAR 25.42

-42.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.4K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,690

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,760

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,811

$0.91 SAR 3.43

29.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 246.4K

$36.03 SAR 135

111.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,836

$2.67 SAR 10.04

-32.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,878

$1.77 SAR 6.65

20.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.3K

$13.27 SAR 49.82

-38.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,119

$0.64 SAR 2.41

100.00%

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

$34.4K COP 111.2M

$31.0K SAR 116.5K

10.99%

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

$34.1K COP 110.3M

$21.8K SAR 81.8K

56.62%

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

$178 COP 574.1K

$52.8 SAR 198

236.36%

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

$13.89 COP 44.9K

$21.29 SAR 79.9

-34.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.3K

$45.84 SAR 172

-32.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 135.5K

$66.0 SAR 248

-36.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.3K

$26.26 SAR 98.6

-36.02%

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.1K

$14.67 SAR 55.1

-49.08%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$419 SAR 1,571

88.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.7M

$12.1K SAR 45.5K

1.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 278.9K

$42.92 SAR 161

101.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 191.4K

$55.5 SAR 208

6.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 446.9K

$97.9 SAR 367

41.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 319.2K

$83.5 SAR 313

18.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$241 SAR 904

456.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$406 SAR 1,525

64.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$361 SAR 1,355

447.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$618 SAR 2,321

67.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.2M

$1,982 SAR 7,437

106.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$1,201 SAR 4,507

61.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

$1,081 SAR 4,056

-40.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.54

97.47%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Ha'il: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Ha'il

$406 37.9% 39.1% $261

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Ha'il

$179 16.7% 41.9% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Ha'il

$120 11.2% 46% $102

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Ha'il

$96 8.9% 44.6% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Ha'il

$126 11.7% 26.9% $46

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Ha'il

$51 4.8% 45.2% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Ha'il

$95 8.9% 67.6% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,341 in Medellin and $241 in Ha’il. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ha’il pays 67% 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 $37 in Ha’il for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $179 per month, with Ha’il cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇸🇦 Ha'il

🕒 Local time

05:07 5:07 AM

13:07 1:07 PM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

310,897

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, 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 = 3,628 COP (10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Ha'il 12,310 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Ha'il

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 Ha'il: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ha’il wins on cost – living expenses run 37% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Ha’il the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 40% 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: $1,341 in Medellin versus $241 in Ha’il. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $790 in Medellin versus $419 in Ha’il. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 72% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Ha’il is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

Expats usually find Ha’il gentler on the wallet – expenses run 37% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.