Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Lezhe

For one person, living is cheaper in Lezhe: $991 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Lezhe
Learn more

Lezhe Living Index

Jump to prices

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Lezhe

🇦🇱 Albania

$991

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Lezhe

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $991 in Lezhe, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Lezhe $991

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $1,569 in Lezhe, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Lezhe $1,569

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $2,148 in Lezhe, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Lezhe $2,148

Medellin costs about 65% more than Lezhe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Lezhe is 27% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.6K

$5.51 ALL 449

46.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.9K

$36.39 ALL 2,964

29.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$3.75 ALL 305

153.33%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,540

$1.03 ALL 83.6

192.23%

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

$1.80 COP 5,693

$1.50 ALL 122

20.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,469

$0.64 ALL 52.1

120.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.0K

$1.47 ALL 120

116.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.2K

$2.42 ALL 197

137.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,778

$1.96 ALL 160

-22.96%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,524

$0.98 ALL 79.5

142.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,606

$2.12 ALL 173

-16.51%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,146

$2.74 ALL 223

5.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.2K

$10.16 ALL 827

0.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.2K

$8.41 ALL 685

17.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.3K

$14.09 ALL 1,147

-0.71%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.6K

$1.95 ALL 159

103.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,911

$2.33 ALL 190

-33.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,907

$1.65 ALL 134

32.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,910

$1.63 ALL 133

33.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,210

$1.06 ALL 86.0

84.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,029

$1.26 ALL 102

26.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,625

$1.19 ALL 97.0

-3.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,934

$0.83 ALL 67.7

49.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$4.33 ALL 353

-8.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.3K

$8.07 ALL 657

69.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,252

$1.76 ALL 143

-5.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,145

$1.85 ALL 151

22.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,696

$0.47 ALL 37.94

148.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 244.8K

$21.92 ALL 1,785

252.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,013

$3.79 ALL 309

-66.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,480

$3.95 ALL 322

-48.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.1K

$18.23 ALL 1,485

-53.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,262

$2.29 ALL 187

-41.05%

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

$34.1K COP 107.8M

$33.4K ALL 2.7M

2.04%

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

$34.7K COP 109.7M

$25.0K ALL 2.0M

38.71%

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

$170 COP 536.8K

$62.2 ALL 5,065

172.79%

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

$13.55 COP 42.9K

$16.72 ALL 1,362

-18.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.8K

$17.44 ALL 1,421

60.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 138.3K

$57.5 ALL 4,685

-24.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.4K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.9K

$8.87 ALL 723

-22.10%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$186 ALL 15.2K

327.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.8M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 268.1K

$49.07 ALL 3,997

72.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 183.4K

$55.5 ALL 4,520

4.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 427.1K

$98.6 ALL 8,028

36.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 309.7K

$147 ALL 11.9K

-33.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$415 ALL 33.8K

190.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$275 ALL 22.4K

133.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$761 ALL 62.0K

166.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$493 ALL 40.2K

105.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.2M

$2,221 ALL 180.9K

87.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$1,298 ALL 105.7K

47.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$623 ALL 50.7K

5.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

118.80%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Lezhe: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Lezhe

$275 27.7% 57.2% $367

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Lezhe

$251 25.4% 15.4% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Lezhe

$96 9.7% 54.4% $115

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Lezhe

$88 8.9% 47.9% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Lezhe

$157 15.9% 6.8% $12

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Lezhe

$47 4.8% 49.4% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Lezhe

$75 7.6% 30.8% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $415 in Lezhe. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 6% higher in Medellin, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $36 in Lezhe. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $251 – making Lezhe the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇦🇱 Lezhe

🕒 Local time

06:56 6:56 AM

12:56 12:56 PM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

65,633

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.16 USD

10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR

100 ALL = 1.23 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3,164 COP (10,000 COP = 3.16 USD). 1 EUR = 3,531 COP (10,000 COP = 2.83 EUR).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 81.44 ALL (100 ALL = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 90.88 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Medellin Lezhe 9,980 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Lezhe

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 Lezhe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,639 in Medellin, $991 in Lezhe – Lezhe comes out roughly 40% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $1,486 in Lezhe. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Lezhe, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $415 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

Groceries cost about 18% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $36 in Lezhe. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Lezhe, where all-in costs run around $991, than in Medellin at $1,639. In Lezhe it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Lezhe – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Lezhe. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.