Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Kuruman

For one person, living is cheaper in Kuruman: $1,162 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Kuruman
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Kuruman Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Kuruman

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,162

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Kuruman

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Medellin versus $1,162 in Kuruman.

Medellin $1,692
Kuruman $1,162

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,471 in Medellin versus $1,815 in Kuruman.

Medellin $2,471
Kuruman $1,815

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,249 in Medellin versus $2,468 in Kuruman.

Medellin $3,249
Kuruman $2,468

Living in Medellin is roughly 46% more expensive than in Kuruman, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 25% above, Kuruman is 14% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 26.9K

$10.85 R 179

-23.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.3K

$37.97 R 626

22.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.6K

$5.59 R 92.1

69.41%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.1K

$1.85 R 30.49

69.19%

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

$1.77 COP 5,705

$1.14 R 18.82

55.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,601

$0.59 R 9.66

140.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$2.45 R 40.42

28.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.4K

$2.68 R 44.16

112.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,950

$1.14 R 18.84

34.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,401

$1.31 R 21.55

74.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,282

$1.78 R 29.27

8.99%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,905

$4.26 R 70.2

-27.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.3K

$8.52 R 140

17.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.7K

$5.05 R 83.3

106.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.1K

$7.49 R 123

86.38%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$1.85 R 30.52

118.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,937

$1.63 R 26.81

-6.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,797

$1.77 R 29.21

18.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,409

$1.66 R 27.42

37.95%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,813

$1.43 R 23.56

47.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,521

$1.42 R 23.39

20.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,780

$1.18 R 19.41

-0.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,104

$1.18 R 19.37

33.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.6K

$3.64 R 60.1

7.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.4K

$4.93 R 81.3

184.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,690

$1.45 R 23.84

21.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,760

$1.89 R 31.19

43.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,811

$1.56 R 25.74

-24.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 246.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,836

$0.85 R 14.05

112.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,878

$0.82 R 13.51

159.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.3K

$13.01 R 214

-37.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,119

$1.49 R 24.52

-14.09%

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

$34.4K COP 111.2M

$30.4K R 501.3K

13.20%

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

$34.1K COP 110.3M

$30.8K R 507.9K

10.75%

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

$178 COP 574.1K

$153 R 2,528

15.85%

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

$13.89 COP 44.9K

$34.83 R 574

-60.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.3K

$37.52 R 618

-18.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 135.5K

$32.98 R 544

27.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.3K

$10.85 R 179

54.84%

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.1K

$6.48 R 107

15.28%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$265 R 4,364

198.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.7M

$6,306 R 103.9K

95.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 278.9K

$54.2 R 892

59.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 191.4K

$34.07 R 561

73.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 446.9K

$98.2 R 1,618

40.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 319.2K

$85.0 R 1,400

16.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$438 R 7,220

206.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$403 R 6,648

65.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$650 R 10.7K

204.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$836 R 13.8K

23.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.2M

$799 R 13.2K

412.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$679 R 11.2K

185.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

$1,098 R 18.1K

-41.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

10.92

0.18%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Kuruman: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Kuruman

$403 34.7% 39.5% $264

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Kuruman

$203 17.5% 33.9% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Kuruman

$226 19.4% 1.5% $3.4

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Kuruman

$150 12.9% 12.9% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Kuruman

$122 10.5% 29.1% $50

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Kuruman

$11 * 1% 88% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Kuruman

$46 4% 19.2% $11

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 $438 in Kuruman. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kuruman pays 70% 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 $38 in Kuruman for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $203 per month, with Kuruman cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇿🇦 Kuruman

🕒 Local time

03:20 3:20 AM

10:20 10:20 AM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

9,093

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3,230 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,628 COP (10,000 COP = 2.76 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.51 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Kuruman 11,220 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Kuruman

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 Kuruman: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,692 in Medellin and $1,162 in Kuruman, so Kuruman is about 31% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 41% 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 $438 in Kuruman. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $790 in Medellin versus $265 in Kuruman. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Kuruman – a meal for two runs $38 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Kuruman gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.