Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Harare

For one person, living is cheaper in Harare: $1,065 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Harare
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Harare Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Harare

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$1,065

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Harare

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,065 in Harare.

Medellin $1,639
Harare $1,065

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,788 in Harare.

Medellin $2,413
Harare $1,788

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,512 in Harare.

Medellin $3,186
Harare $2,512

Living in Medellin is roughly 54% more expensive than in Harare, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Harare is 22% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$9.89 ZWL 263

-18.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$45.10 ZWL 1,198

4.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$5.73 ZWL 152

65.79%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$3.02 ZWL 80.2

-0.33%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.93 ZWL 24.82

93.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.47 ZWL 12.37

200.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$1.21 ZWL 32.25

162.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$2.03 ZWL 53.9

183.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$1.55 ZWL 41.10

-2.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$1.01 ZWL 26.87

135.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$1.70 ZWL 45.12

4.12%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$1.88 ZWL 49.92

53.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$11.25 ZWL 299

-9.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$5.53 ZWL 147

78.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$6.79 ZWL 180

106.04%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$3.02 ZWL 80.3

31.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.65 ZWL 43.94

-6.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$1.99 ZWL 52.8

9.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$1.51 ZWL 40.24

44.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$1.70 ZWL 45.17

15.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$1.75 ZWL 46.44

-9.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$1.22 ZWL 32.51

-5.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.94 ZWL 25.07

31.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$2.01 ZWL 53.5

97.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$8.18 ZWL 217

67.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$1.37 ZWL 36.50

21.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$1.90 ZWL 50.5

18.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.98 ZWL 26.13

19.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$60.1 ZWL 1,596

28.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$4.06 ZWL 108

-68.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$1.95 ZWL 51.7

5.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$5.05 ZWL 134

69.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.77 ZWL 47.12

-23.73%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$22.2K ZWL 590.7K

53.23%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$27.4K ZWL 729.1K

26.34%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$50.4 ZWL 1,340

236.47%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$21.76 ZWL 578

-37.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$67.8 ZWL 1,801

-58.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$47.98 ZWL 1,275

-8.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$22.74 ZWL 604

-24.41%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$10.12 ZWL 269

-31.72%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$412 ZWL 10.9K

93.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$8,493 ZWL 225.6K

7.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$23.42 ZWL 622

261.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$20.83 ZWL 553

178.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$38.19 ZWL 1,015

253.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$40.76 ZWL 1,083

140.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$399 ZWL 10.6K

202.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$362 ZWL 9,605

77.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$999 ZWL 26.5K

102.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$887 ZWL 23.6K

14.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$917 ZWL 24.4K

354.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$389 ZWL 10.3K

390.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$418 ZWL 11.1K

57.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

13.69

-20.09%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Harare: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Harare

$362 34% 43.6% $280

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Harare

$214 20.1% 27.9% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Harare

$140 13.1% 33.7% $71

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Harare

$148 13.9% 12.6% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Harare

$55 5.2% 67.2% $114

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Harare

$78 7.3% 16.8% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Harare

$68 6.4% 18.6% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $399 in Harare. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 57% more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $45 in Harare for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $214 per month, with Harare cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇿🇼 Harare

🕒 Local time

15:48 3:48 PM

22:48 10:48 PM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

1,606,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Zimbabwean Dollar ZWL $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

100 ZWL = 3.76 USD

100 ZWL = 3.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZWL, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 26.57 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.76 USD). 1 EUR = 29.58 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.38 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Harare 11,980 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Harare

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 Harare: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Harare is about 35% cheaper overall, especially in clothing, groceries, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 57% 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 $399 in Harare. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $412 in Harare. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 39% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,065 in Harare versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Harare but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Harare 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.

Expats usually find Harare gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.