Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Kawasoti

For one person, living is cheaper in Kawasoti: $331 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $15,700 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
16

Cost of Living Index in Kawasoti
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Kawasoti Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Kawasoti

🇳🇵 Nepal

$331

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Kawasoti

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $331 in Kawasoti.

Medellin $1,639
Kawasoti $331

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $541 in Kawasoti.

Medellin $2,413
Kawasoti $541

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $750 in Kawasoti.

Medellin $3,186
Kawasoti $750

Living in Medellin is roughly 395% more expensive than in Kawasoti, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Kawasoti is 76% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$1.99 NPR 303

306.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$20.31 NPR 3,088

131.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$7.43 NPR 1,130

27.86%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$1.58 NPR 240

90.51%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.52 NPR 78.9

246.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.14 NPR 20.61

907.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$3.19 NPR 485

-0.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$3.24 NPR 493

77.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$0.76 NPR 116

98.68%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$0.51 NPR 77.1

366.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$0.92 NPR 140

92.39%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$1.67 NPR 253

73.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$7.19 NPR 1,094

41.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$2.66 NPR 405

271.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$6.17 NPR 939

126.74%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$2.08 NPR 316

90.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$0.77 NPR 116

101.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$0.64 NPR 96.9

240.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$0.45 NPR 68.4

384.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$0.32 NPR 48.07

512.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$0.47 NPR 72.0

238.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$0.35 NPR 52.7

228.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.24 NPR 36.68

416.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$2.43 NPR 370

62.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$2.69 NPR 409

408.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,222

$2.19 NPR 334

-24.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,104

$2.67 NPR 405

-15.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.17 NPR 26.05

588.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$0.68 NPR 103

86.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$0.85 NPR 129

141.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$1.93 NPR 294

343.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.14 NPR 173

18.42%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$35.9K NPR 5.5M

-5.03%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$37.0K NPR 5.6M

-6.25%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$16.10 NPR 2,448

953.73%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$3.22 NPR 489

320.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$6.65 NPR 1,010

322.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$19.44 NPR 2,956

124.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$6.61 NPR 1,005

160.06%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$1.66 NPR 253

316.27%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$65.0 NPR 9,888

1125.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$5,454 NPR 829.3K

67.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$13.36 NPR 2,031

534.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$9.79 NPR 1,489

492.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$19.90 NPR 3,025

578.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$9.82 NPR 1,494

896.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$66.1 NPR 10.1K

1727.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$46.76 NPR 7,110

1271.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$97.0 NPR 14.8K

1989.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$65.2 NPR 9,920

1450.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$232 NPR 35.2K

183.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

9.98

9.62%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Kawasoti: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Kawasoti

$47 14.1% 92.7% $595

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Kawasoti

$124 37.5% 58.2% $173

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Kawasoti

$26 7.8% 87.7% $185

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Kawasoti

$82 24.8% 51.6% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Kawasoti

$24 7.2% 85.9% $145

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Kawasoti

$5.6 * 1.7% 94% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Kawasoti

$23 6.9% 60.4% $35

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 $66 in Kawasoti. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays about 2.8 times more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $20 in Kawasoti for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $124 per month, with Kawasoti cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇳🇵 Kawasoti

🕒 Local time

13:00 1:00 PM

23:45 11:45 PM

10 h 45 min ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Nepalese Rupee NPR रु

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

1,000 NPR = 6.58 USD

1,000 NPR = 5.91 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NPR, 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).

Nepalese Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 152 NPR (1,000 NPR = 6.58 USD). 1 EUR = 169 NPR (1,000 NPR = 5.91 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Kawasoti 15,660 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Kawasoti

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 Kawasoti: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin and Kawasoti differ by about 395% in total monthly costs ($1,639 vs $331 including rent). Kawasoti is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Medellin is about 2.8 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 $66 in Kawasoti. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 139% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,639 per month in Medellin versus $331 in Kawasoti – a 395% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $331 in Kawasoti versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Kawasoti but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Kawasoti 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 – Kawasoti wins on affordability, Medellin on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.