Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Kampala

For one person, living is cheaper in Kampala: $616 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Kampala
Learn more

Kampala Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Kampala

🇺🇬 Uganda

$616

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Kampala

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $616 in Kampala.

Medellin $1,639
Kampala $616

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $940 in Kampala.

Medellin $2,413
Kampala $940

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,263 in Kampala.

Medellin $3,186
Kampala $1,263

Living in Medellin is roughly 166% more expensive than in Kampala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Kampala is 55% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$2.19 UGX 9,620

269.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$22.69 UGX 99.5K

107.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$6.82 UGX 29.9K

39.30%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$2.28 UGX 9,994

32.02%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.32 UGX 1,389

462.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.23 UGX 1,003

513.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$1.14 UGX 4,986

178.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$1.69 UGX 7,418

240.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$0.68 UGX 2,983

122.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$0.80 UGX 3,522

197.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$1.23 UGX 5,382

43.90%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$1.47 UGX 6,433

96.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$3.93 UGX 17.3K

159.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$3.97 UGX 17.4K

148.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$4.53 UGX 19.9K

208.83%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$1.87 UGX 8,208

112.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.28 UGX 5,595

21.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$1.15 UGX 5,041

89.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$1.12 UGX 4,929

94.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$1.14 UGX 4,999

71.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$1.14 UGX 4,991

39.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$0.66 UGX 2,902

74.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.45 UGX 1,967

175.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$2.17 UGX 9,525

82.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$6.80 UGX 29.8K

101.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,222

$1.02 UGX 4,457

62.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,104

$1.71 UGX 7,481

32.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.69 UGX 3,007

69.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$36.32 UGX 159.3K

113.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$0.43 UGX 1,905

195.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$0.29 UGX 1,272

606.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$2.81 UGX 12.3K

204.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.25 UGX 5,487

8.00%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$6,811 UGX 29.9M

400.14%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$6,696 UGX 29.4M

417.75%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$64.4 UGX 282.4K

163.47%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$10.73 UGX 47.1K

26.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$32.03 UGX 140.5K

-12.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$50.9 UGX 223.4K

-14.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$5.36 UGX 23.5K

220.71%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$6.87 UGX 30.1K

0.58%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$260 UGX 1.1M

205.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$7,974 UGX 35.0M

14.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$12.71 UGX 55.7K

566.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$11.92 UGX 52.3K

386.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$28.62 UGX 125.5K

371.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$38.91 UGX 170.7K

151.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$458 UGX 2.0M

163.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$151 UGX 662.8K

324.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$1,151 UGX 5.1M

76.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$269 UGX 1.2M

276.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$1,194 UGX 5.2M

249.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$922 UGX 4.0M

107.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$160 UGX 701.7K

310.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

20.75

-47.28%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Kampala: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Kampala

$151 24.5% 76.4% $490

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Kampala

$134 21.7% 54.9% $163

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Kampala

$107 17.4% 49.3% $104

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Kampala

$77 12.4% 54.8% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Kampala

$41 6.7% 75.5% $128

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Kampala

$41 6.7% 56.2% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Kampala

$65 10.5% 12.4% $7.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $458 in Kampala. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 4.1 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $23 in Kampala for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $134 per month, with Kampala cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇺🇬 Kampala

🕒 Local time

12:43 12:43 PM

20:43 8:43 PM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

1,516,210 Capital

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UGX, 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).

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4,386 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD). 1 EUR = 4,883 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Kampala 12,010 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Kampala

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 Kampala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kampala is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 166% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Medellin is about 4.1 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 $458 in Kampala. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 122% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Kampala – a meal for two runs $23 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $616 in Kampala versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kampala but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Kampala 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 Kampala gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.