Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Kuching

For one person, living is cheaper in Kuching: $972 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Kuching
Learn more

Kuching Living Index

Jump to prices

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Kuching

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$972

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Kuching

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $972 in Kuching.

Medellin $1,639
Kuching $972

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,521 in Kuching.

Medellin $2,413
Kuching $1,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,070 in Kuching.

Medellin $3,186
Kuching $2,070

Living in Medellin is roughly 69% more expensive than in Kuching, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Kuching is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$3.37 MYR 13.75

140.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$24.51 MYR 99.9

91.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$4.90 MYR 19.98

93.88%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$3.19 MYR 13.01

-5.64%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.78 MYR 3.19

130.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.38 MYR 1.55

271.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$4.61 MYR 18.79

-31.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$5.96 MYR 24.30

-3.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$2.39 MYR 9.74

-36.82%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$1.19 MYR 4.87

100.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$1.19 MYR 4.85

48.74%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$2.38 MYR 9.68

21.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$10.99 MYR 44.77

-7.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$4.34 MYR 17.67

127.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$10.00 MYR 40.73

39.90%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$3.17 MYR 12.92

25.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.32 MYR 5.38

17.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$2.52 MYR 10.28

-13.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$1.78 MYR 7.26

22.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$1.38 MYR 5.63

42.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$1.19 MYR 4.84

33.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$1.61 MYR 6.57

-28.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.55 MYR 2.22

125.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$4.76 MYR 19.37

-16.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$22.25 MYR 90.7

-38.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$4.13 MYR 16.81

-59.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$5.06 MYR 20.60

-55.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.36 MYR 1.47

225.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$7.48 MYR 30.47

934.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$0.97 MYR 3.95

30.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$1.23 MYR 5.01

66.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$8.82 MYR 35.92

-3.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$0.94 MYR 3.83

43.62%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$45.9K MYR 187.2K

-25.84%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$36.1K MYR 146.9K

-3.86%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$35.63 MYR 145

376.14%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$10.19 MYR 41.52

32.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$25.50 MYR 104

10.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$33.85 MYR 138

29.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$12.26 MYR 49.94

40.21%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$4.87 MYR 19.85

41.89%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$135 MYR 551

489.44%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$7,150 MYR 29.1K

27.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$64.1 MYR 261

32.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$37.52 MYR 153

54.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$90.0 MYR 367

50.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$64.6 MYR 263

51.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$469 MYR 1,912

157.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$334 MYR 1,361

92.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$834 MYR 3,399

143.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$654 MYR 2,667

54.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$2,053 MYR 8,364

103.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$1,534 MYR 6,248

24.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$535 MYR 2,181

22.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

4.37

150.34%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Kuching: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Kuching

$334 34.4% 47.9% $307

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Kuching

$272 28% 8.3% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Kuching

$71 7.3% 66.2% $140

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Kuching

$120 12.3% 29.4% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Kuching

$115 11.9% 31.8% $54

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Kuching

$16 1.7% 82.9% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Kuching

$44 4.5% 24.2% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $469 in Kuching. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 23% 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 $25 in Kuching for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $272 per month, with Kuching cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇲🇾 Kuching

🕒 Local time

17:11 5:11 PM

06:11 6:11 AM

13 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

349,147

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MYR, 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).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.07 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.54 MYR (1 MYR = 0.22 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Medellin Kuching 18,920 km ≈ 24 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Kuching

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 Kuching: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kuching is about 41% cheaper overall, especially in transport, clothing, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 23% higher in Medellin, 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 $469 in Kuching. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Kuching – a meal for two runs $25 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,639 per month in Medellin versus $972 in Kuching – Kuching is about 41% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

For families, Kuching is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Medellin, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Kuching gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.