Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Karabuk

For one person, living is cheaper in Karabuk: $1,021 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Karabuk
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Karabuk Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Karabuk

🇹🇷 Turkey

$1,021

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Karabuk

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Medellin versus $1,021 in Karabuk.

Medellin $1,692
Karabuk $1,021

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,471 in Medellin versus $1,553 in Karabuk.

Medellin $2,471
Karabuk $1,553

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,249 in Medellin versus $2,085 in Karabuk.

Medellin $3,249
Karabuk $2,085

Living in Medellin is roughly 66% more expensive than in Karabuk, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 25% above, Karabuk is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 26.9K

$8.11 ₺406

2.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.1K

$24.37 ₺1,219

90.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.5K

$8.32 ₺416

13.82%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.1K

$3.57 ₺179

-12.32%

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

$1.77 COP 5,696

$1.08 ₺54.1

63.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,594

$0.27 ₺13.44

425.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$1.58 ₺79.2

99.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.4K

$2.85 ₺142

100.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,943

$0.98 ₺49.04

56.12%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,389

$0.94 ₺47.02

143.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,273

$2.40 ₺120

-19.17%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,889

$2.66 ₺133

15.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.2K

$9.77 ₺489

2.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.7K

$3.88 ₺194

169.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.0K

$20.40 ₺1,021

-31.57%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$1.65 ₺82.4

145.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,929

$1.98 ₺99.0

-22.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,786

$0.86 ₺43.18

144.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,397

$1.16 ₺58.2

97.41%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,803

$0.48 ₺23.92

339.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,512

$0.43 ₺21.33

297.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,774

$0.79 ₺39.67

48.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,096

$0.61 ₺30.28

159.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.6K

$2.15 ₺107

81.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.3K

$8.04 ₺402

74.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,682

$2.14 ₺107

-17.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,746

$2.14 ₺107

26.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,805

$0.80 ₺40.06

47.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 246.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,827

$0.99 ₺49.49

82.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,867

$0.88 ₺44.15

142.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.2K

$5.95 ₺298

36.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,113

$1.26 ₺62.9

1.59%

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

$34.4K COP 111.1M

$40.6K ₺2.0M

-15.21%

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

$34.1K COP 110.1M

$48.5K ₺2.4M

-29.60%

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

$178 COP 573.2K

$78.0 ₺3,901

127.89%

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

$13.89 COP 44.8K

$10.18 ₺509

36.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.1K

$12.70 ₺635

142.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 135.3K

$54.5 ₺2,724

-22.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.2K

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.1K

$5.01 ₺251

49.10%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$458 ₺22.9K

72.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.7M

$6,096 ₺305.0K

101.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 278.4K

$47.71 ₺2,387

80.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 191.1K

$53.0 ₺2,650

11.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 446.2K

$118 ₺5,912

17.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 318.7K

$102 ₺5,103

-3.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$422 ₺21.1K

217.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$328 ₺16.4K

103.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$767 ₺38.4K

157.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$560 ₺28.0K

84.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.2M

$1,280 ₺64.0K

220.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$1,032 ₺51.6K

87.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

$1,213 ₺60.7K

-46.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

-73.32%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Karabuk: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Karabuk

$328 32.2% 50.8% $339

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Karabuk

$223 21.8% 27.6% $85

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Karabuk

$101 9.9% 54.6% $121

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Karabuk

$152 14.9% 12.1% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Karabuk

$144 14.1% 16.2% $28

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Karabuk

$8.6 * 0.8% 90.8% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Karabuk

$64 6.3% 13.3% $7.6

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 $1,341 in Medellin and $422 in Karabuk. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Karabuk pays 88% 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 $24 in Karabuk for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $223 per month, with Karabuk cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇹🇷 Karabuk

🕒 Local time

05:11 5:11 AM

13:11 1:11 PM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

123,309

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

100 TRY = 2 USD

100 TRY = 1.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 3,225 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,624 COP (10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 50.02 TRY (100 TRY = 2 USD). 1 EUR = 56.21 TRY (100 TRY = 1.78 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Karabuk 11,040 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Karabuk

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 Karabuk: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Karabuk wins on cost – living expenses run 40% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Karabuk the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 47% 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 $422 in Karabuk. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 38% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,692 per month in Medellin versus $1,021 in Karabuk – Karabuk is about 40% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Karabuk 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.