Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Janub-as-surrah

For one person, living is cheaper in Janub-as-surrah: $1,192 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 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
62

Cost of Living Index in Janub-as-surrah
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Janub-as-surrah Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Janub-as-surrah

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,192

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Janub-as-surrah

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 Janub-as-surrah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,192 in Janub-as-surrah.

Medellin $1,639
Janub-as-surrah $1,192

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $2,136 in Janub-as-surrah.

Medellin $2,413
Janub-as-surrah $2,136

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $3,080 in Janub-as-surrah.

Medellin $3,186
Janub-as-surrah $3,080

Living in Medellin is roughly 38% more expensive than in Janub-as-surrah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Janub-as-surrah is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$7.16 KWD 2.21

12.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.7K

$45.63 KWD 14.06

3.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.6K

$8.05 KWD 2.48

18.01%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.88 KWD 0.89

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.90 KWD 0.89

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,722

$4.68 KWD 1.44

-35.68%

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

$1.80 COP 5,801

$0.50 KWD 0.15

260.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,554

$0.30 KWD 0.09

370.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.2K

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.5K

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,869

$1.23 KWD 0.38

22.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,667

$0.88 KWD 0.27

170.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,712

$2.15 KWD 0.66

-17.67%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,320

$2.24 KWD 0.69

29.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$4.56 KWD 1.41

123.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.8K

$5.76 KWD 1.78

71.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.1K

$10.47 KWD 3.23

33.62%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$2.23 KWD 0.69

78.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,005

$1.63 KWD 0.50

-4.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,039

$1.19 KWD 0.37

83.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,041

$1.40 KWD 0.43

55.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,328

$1.45 KWD 0.45

35.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,125

$1.04 KWD 0.32

52.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,694

$1.57 KWD 0.48

-26.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,009

$0.47 KWD 0.15

163.83%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.78 KWD 0.86

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 KWD 0.29

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 KWD 0.39

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$2.69 KWD 0.83

47.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.1K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,352

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,281

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,766

$0.91 KWD 0.28

28.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,089

$2.90 KWD 0.89

-56.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,603

$3.08 KWD 0.95

-33.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$17.76 KWD 5.48

-51.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,343

$0.35 KWD 0.11

285.71%

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

$34.1K COP 109.8M

$24.0K KWD 7,381

42.24%

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

$34.7K COP 111.8M

$20.5K KWD 6,314

69.22%

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

$170 COP 547.0K

$59.0 KWD 18.20

187.35%

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

$13.55 COP 43.7K

$20.95 KWD 6.46

-35.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.5K

$26.53 KWD 8.18

5.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 140.9K

$83.8 KWD 25.82

-47.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.4K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$10.02 KWD 3.09

-31.04%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$240 KWD 73.9

232.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$7,958 KWD 2,453

14.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.2K

$32.95 KWD 10.16

157.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 186.9K

$44.25 KWD 13.64

30.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.2K

$109 KWD 33.52

24.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 315.6K

$84.9 KWD 26.18

15.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$806 KWD 248

49.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$533 KWD 164

20.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$1,847 KWD 569

9.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$1,515 KWD 467

-33.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.4M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

6.53

67.53%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Janub-as-surrah: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Janub-as-surrah

$533 44.8% 16.9% $108

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Janub-as-surrah

$164 13.7% 44.9% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Janub-as-surrah

$107 8.9% 49.6% $105

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Janub-as-surrah

$141 11.8% 17% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Janub-as-surrah

$122 10.2% 27.9% $47

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Janub-as-surrah

$22 * 1.8% 76.6% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Janub-as-surrah

$104 8.7% 80.5% $46

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 $806 in Janub-as-surrah. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $46 in Janub-as-surrah for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $164 per month, with Janub-as-surrah cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇰🇼 Janub-as-surrah

🕒 Local time

17:19 5:19 PM

01:19 1:19 AM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

18,496

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

1 KWD = 3.24 USD

1 KWD = 2.91 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KWD, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

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

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.24 USD). 1 EUR = 0.344 KWD (1 KWD = 2.91 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Janub-as-surrah 12,810 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Janub-as-surrah

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 Janub-as-surrah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Janub-as-surrah wins on cost – living expenses run 27% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Janub-as-surrah the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,459 in Medellin and $1,788 in Janub-as-surrah to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,208 in Medellin versus $806 in Janub-as-surrah. 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 $1,192 in Janub-as-surrah – Janub-as-surrah is about 27% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Supermarket bills run roughly 82% 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. Janub-as-surrah 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.