Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Koh Lipe

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,625 a month against $2,098 in Koh Lipe, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Koh Lipe outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
100

Cost of Living Index in Koh Lipe
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Koh Lipe Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Koh Lipe

🇹🇭 Thailand

$2,098

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Koh Lipe

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,625 in Medellin versus $2,098 in Koh Lipe.

Medellin $1,625
Koh Lipe $2,098

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,412 in Medellin versus $3,592 in Koh Lipe.

Medellin $2,412
Koh Lipe $3,592

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,199 in Medellin versus $5,086 in Koh Lipe.

Medellin $3,199
Koh Lipe $5,086

Living in Medellin costs roughly 23% less than in Koh Lipe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 20% above, Koh Lipe 55% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.30 COP 26.3K

$6.97 ฿233

19.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.91 COP 148.7K

$52.3 ฿1,748

-10.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 COP 29.3K

$13.86 ฿463

-33.33%

Cappuccino

$3.05 COP 9,676

$4.54 ฿152

-32.82%

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

$1.80 COP 5,707

$1.51 ฿50.5

19.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,382

$0.74 ฿24.70

86.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 COP 10.3K

$3.97 ฿133

-18.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 COP 17.6K

$6.11 ฿204

-9.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 COP 4,760

$2.14 ฿71.6

-29.91%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 COP 7,508

$1.77 ฿59.3

33.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 COP 5,377

$1.88 ฿63.0

-9.57%

Eggs

$2.96 COP 9,379

$2.73 ฿91.4

8.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.22 COP 32.4K

$24.27 ฿811

-57.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.74 COP 30.9K

$4.17 ฿139

133.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 COP 44.1K

$13.98 ฿467

-0.57%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.1K

$3.74 ฿125

10.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,839

$2.10 ฿70.1

-27.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 COP 7,052

$2.79 ฿93.3

-20.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 COP 7,194

$2.62 ฿87.5

-13.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,311

$1.83 ฿61.1

8.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 COP 5,285

$1.67 ฿55.9

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 COP 3,742

$1.38 ฿46.28

-14.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,919

$0.68 ฿22.89

82.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.87 COP 12.3K

$5.52 ฿185

-29.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 COP 43.7K

$22.90 ฿765

-39.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,256

$2.19 ฿73.3

-24.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 COP 7,615

$3.59 ฿120

-33.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 COP 3,944

$3.44 ฿115

-63.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 COP 4,044

$4.46 ฿149

-71.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 COP 6,803

$1.59 ฿53.1

35.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 COP 26.5K

$5.83 ฿195

43.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,288

$2.21 ฿74.0

-38.91%

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

$34.8K COP 110.2M

$40.4K ฿1.3M

-13.86%

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

$34.7K COP 110.0M

$40.0K ฿1.3M

-13.37%

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

$167 COP 528.4K

$113 ฿3,773

47.62%

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

$13.62 COP 43.2K

$12.73 ฿425

6.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.12 COP 92.3K

$20.03 ฿669

45.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.09 COP 143.0K

$66.6 ฿2,225

-32.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

$13.60 ฿454

26.32%

Cinema Ticket

$6.97 COP 22.1K

$9.45 ฿316

-26.24%

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$696 ฿23.3K

13.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,041 COP 28.7M

$14.5K ฿483.5K

-37.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.8 COP 278.4K

$67.4 ฿2,253

30.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.2 COP 184.4K

$29.63 ฿990

96.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 COP 440.7K

$102 ฿3,424

35.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.9 COP 313.5K

$92.5 ฿3,090

6.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

$1,835 ฿61.3K

-43.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 COP 2.0M

$1,181 ฿39.5K

-47.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 COP 6.0M

$5,300 ฿177.1K

-64.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 COP 3.2M

$3,000 ฿100.3K

-66.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.6M

$8,628 ฿288.3K

-53.78%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

$6,214 ฿207.7K

-72.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.57

96.41%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Last update for Koh Lipe: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$619 38.1%

Koh Lipe

$1.2K 56.3% 90.7% $562

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$298 18.3%

Koh Lipe

$335 16% 12.6% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$209 12.9%

Koh Lipe

$146 6.9% 30.4% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$173 10.6%

Koh Lipe

$131 6.3% 23.9% $41

Eating Out

Medellin

$171 10.5%

Koh Lipe

$193 9.2% 12.9% $22

Getting Around

Medellin

$95 5.9%

Koh Lipe

$26 * 1.3% 72.5% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$59 3.6%

Koh Lipe

$85 4.1% 44.8% $26

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 $1,028 in Medellin and $1,835 in Koh Lipe. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47.00 in Medellin vs $52.0 in Koh Lipe for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $298 vs $335 per month, with Medellin cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇹🇭 Koh Lipe

🕒 Local time

19:53 7:53 PM

07:53 7:53 AM

12 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

800

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

THB, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Koh Lipe 18,490 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Koh Lipe

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 Koh Lipe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin wins on cost – living expenses run 29% lower than in Koh Lipe. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Medellin the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,437 in Medellin and $3,147 in Koh Lipe 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: $1,028 in Medellin versus $1,835 in Koh Lipe. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $790 in Medellin versus $696 in Koh Lipe. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Medellin – a meal for two runs $47.00 versus $52.0 in Koh Lipe. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,625 in Medellin versus $2,098 in Koh Lipe, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Medellin but tight or insufficient in Koh Lipe. The gap between the two cities makes Medellin the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Medellin delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,625 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Medellin hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Medellin and Koh Lipe 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 29% less than in Koh Lipe. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.