Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Ibadan

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibadan: $251 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
12

Cost of Living Index in Ibadan
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Ibadan Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Ibadan

🇳🇬 Nigeria

$251

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Ibadan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $251 in Ibadan.

Medellin $1,639
Ibadan $251

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $558 in Ibadan.

Medellin $2,413
Ibadan $558

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $865 in Ibadan.

Medellin $3,186
Ibadan $865

Living in Medellin is roughly 554% more expensive than in Ibadan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Ibadan is 82% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$1.10 ₦1,471

635.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$29.84 ₦40.0K

57.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$6.06 ₦8,127

56.77%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$0.78 ₦1,046

285.90%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.22 ₦295

718.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.13 ₦179

984.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$0.53 ₦715

500.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$1.15 ₦1,545

400.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$0.58 ₦782

160.34%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$0.60 ₦798

296.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$1.10 ₦1,478

60.91%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$1.57 ₦2,102

84.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$3.62 ₦4,857

181.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$3.83 ₦5,129

157.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$0.72 ₦962

1843.06%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$1.64 ₦2,203

142.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.27 ₦1,696

22.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$1.09 ₦1,464

100.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$0.29 ₦388

651.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$0.57 ₦769

243.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$0.23 ₦308

591.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$0.21 ₦281

447.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.12 ₦159

933.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$0.58 ₦781

582.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$1.11 ₦1,484

1132.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$0.40 ₦531

315.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$0.50 ₦669

352.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.14 ₦187

735.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$0.66 ₦884

92.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$0.62 ₦825

230.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$1.14 ₦1,523

650.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$0.57 ₦759

136.84%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$4,183 ₦5.6M

714.45%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$29.0K ₦38.8M

19.67%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$11.37 ₦15.2K

1392.08%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$3.83 ₦5,129

253.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$8.60 ₦11.5K

226.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$21.27 ₦28.5K

105.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$1.47 ₦1,973

370.07%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$48.34 ₦64.8K

1547.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$622 ₦833.1K

1365.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$11.76 ₦15.8K

620.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$5.62 ₦7,529

931.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$14.86 ₦19.9K

808.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$20.99 ₦28.1K

366.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$123 ₦165.0K

881.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$45.67 ₦61.2K

1304.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$444 ₦594.5K

357.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$293 ₦392.4K

245.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$849 ₦1.1M

391.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$30.37 ₦40.7K

6190.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$57.7 ₦77.3K

1039.48%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

18.39

-40.51%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Ibadan: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Ibadan

$46 18.2% 92.9% $596

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Ibadan

$86 34.3% 71.1% $211

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Ibadan

$24 9.5% 88.7% $187

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Ibadan

$43 17.1% 74.8% $127

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Ibadan

$24 9.6% 85.8% $145

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Ibadan

$4.3 * 1.7% 95.4% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Ibadan

$24 9.7% 57.9% $33

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 $123 in Ibadan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 11 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $30 in Ibadan for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $86 per month, with Ibadan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇳🇬 Ibadan

🕒 Local time

13:41 1:41 PM

19:41 7:41 PM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

3,034,200

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Nigerian Naira NGN ₦

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

10,000 NGN = 7.46 USD

10,000 NGN = 6.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NGN, 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).

Nigerian Naira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,340 NGN (10,000 NGN = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 1,492 NGN (10,000 NGN = 6.7 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Ibadan 8,770 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Ibadan

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 Ibadan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ibadan wins on cost – living expenses run 85% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Ibadan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Medellin is about 11 times higher, 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 $123 in Ibadan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $48 in Ibadan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ibadan – a meal for two runs $30 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $251 in Ibadan versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $800 budget is realistic in Ibadan but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Ibadan 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 – Ibadan wins on affordability, Medellin on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.