Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Kirkwall

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,625 a month against $2,121 in Kirkwall, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 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
103

Cost of Living Index in Kirkwall
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Kirkwall Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Kirkwall

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,121

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Kirkwall

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,625 in Medellin versus $2,121 in Kirkwall.

Medellin $1,625
Kirkwall $2,121

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,412 in Medellin versus $3,026 in Kirkwall.

Medellin $2,412
Kirkwall $3,026

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,199 in Medellin versus $3,931 in Kirkwall.

Medellin $3,199
Kirkwall $3,931

Living in Medellin costs roughly 23% less than in Kirkwall, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 20% above, Kirkwall 57% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.30 COP 26.3K

$23.63 £17.73

-64.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.91 COP 148.7K

$94.8 £71.1

-50.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 COP 29.3K

$10.57 £7.93

-12.58%

Cappuccino

$3.05 COP 9,676

$3.92 £2.94

-22.19%

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

$1.80 COP 5,707

$3.26 £2.44

-44.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,382

$1.31 £0.98

5.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 COP 10.3K

$6.20 £4.65

-47.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 COP 17.6K

$8.47 £6.36

-34.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 COP 4,760

$0.79 £0.59

89.87%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 COP 7,508

$1.58 £1.19

50.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 COP 5,377

$2.05 £1.54

-17.07%

Eggs

$2.96 COP 9,379

$3.22 £2.42

-8.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.22 COP 32.4K

$6.59 £4.95

55.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.74 COP 30.9K

$8.97 £6.73

8.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 COP 44.1K

$15.90 £11.92

-12.58%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.1K

$2.20 £1.65

87.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,839

$1.97 £1.48

-22.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 COP 7,052

$1.57 £1.18

41.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 COP 7,194

$1.32 £0.99

71.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,311

$1.11 £0.83

79.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 COP 5,285

$1.09 £0.82

53.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 COP 3,742

$0.77 £0.58

53.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,919

$1.08 £0.81

14.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.87 COP 12.3K

$20.10 £15.08

-80.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 COP 43.7K

$9.18 £6.89

50.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,256

$2.71 £2.03

-38.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 COP 7,615

$2.88 £2.16

-16.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 COP 3,944

$10.51 £7.89

-88.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

$107 £80.4

-27.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 COP 4,044

$5.19 £3.90

-75.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 COP 6,803

$2.58 £1.93

-16.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 COP 26.5K

$27.06 £20.30

-69.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,288

$2.05 £1.54

-34.15%

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

$34.8K COP 110.2M

$37.8K £28.4K

-8.15%

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

$34.7K COP 110.0M

$41.2K £30.9K

-15.72%

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

$167 COP 528.4K

$282 £212

-41.00%

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

$13.62 COP 43.2K

$30.12 £22.60

-54.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.12 COP 92.3K

$33.04 £24.79

-11.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.09 COP 143.0K

$41.73 £31.31

8.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.97 COP 22.1K

$11.46 £8.60

-39.18%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$1,237 £928

-36.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,041 COP 28.7M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.8 COP 278.4K

$91.5 £68.7

-4.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.2 COP 184.4K

$43.72 £32.80

33.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 COP 440.7K

$95.0 £71.3

46.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.9 COP 313.5K

$138 £103

-28.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

$935 £701

9.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 COP 2.0M

$792 £594

-21.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 COP 6.0M

$1,182 £887

59.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 COP 3.2M

$966 £725

4.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.6M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

$1,914 £1,436

-65.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.07

115.78%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Last update for Kirkwall: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$619 38.1%

Kirkwall

$792 37.3% 27.8% $172

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$298 18.3%

Kirkwall

$252 11.9% 15.4% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$209 12.9%

Kirkwall

$346 16.3% 65.1% $136

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$173 10.6%

Kirkwall

$165 7.8% 4.2% $7.2

Eating Out

Medellin

$171 10.5%

Kirkwall

$334 15.8% 95.6% $163

Getting Around

Medellin

$95 5.9%

Kirkwall

$167 7.9% 75.7% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$59 3.6%

Kirkwall

$65 3.1% 9.5% $5.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,028 in Medellin and $935 in Kirkwall. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kirkwall pays 188% 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: $47.00 in Medellin vs $95.0 in Kirkwall. Groceries flip the comparison at $298 vs $252, with Kirkwall cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇬🇧 Kirkwall

🕒 Local time

13:36 1:36 PM

19:36 7:36 PM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

7,500

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Kirkwall 8,420 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Kirkwall

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 Kirkwall: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin and Kirkwall differ by about 31% in total monthly costs ($1,625 vs $2,121 including rent). Medellin is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 188% lower in Kirkwall. 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: $1,028 in Medellin versus $935 in Kirkwall. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Medellin – a meal for two runs $47.00 versus $95.0 in Kirkwall. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,625 per month in Medellin versus $2,121 in Kirkwall – a 31% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,625 in Medellin versus $2,121 in Kirkwall, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Kirkwall. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin 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.

Safety-wise, Medellin and Kirkwall are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Medellin gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Kirkwall. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.