Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Lushnje

For one person, living is cheaper in Lushnje: $1,191 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
57

Cost of Living Index in Lushnje
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Lushnje Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Lushnje

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,191

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Lushnje

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,692 in Medellin versus $1,191 in Lushnje.

Medellin $1,692
Lushnje $1,191

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,471 in Medellin versus $1,855 in Lushnje.

Medellin $2,471
Lushnje $1,855

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,249 in Medellin versus $2,519 in Lushnje.

Medellin $3,249
Lushnje $2,519

Living in Medellin is roughly 42% more expensive than in Lushnje, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 25% above, Lushnje is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 26.9K

$10.11 ALL 819

-17.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.2K

$55.5 ALL 4,499

-16.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.6K

$10.98 ALL 890

-13.75%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.1K

$2.25 ALL 183

39.11%

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

$1.77 COP 5,702

$2.39 ALL 194

-25.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,599

$1.31 ALL 106

8.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$3.61 ALL 292

-12.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.4K

$4.19 ALL 340

36.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,948

$2.17 ALL 175

-29.49%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,397

$1.19 ALL 96.6

92.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,279

$2.45 ALL 198

-20.82%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,900

$3.82 ALL 309

-19.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.3K

$12.72 ALL 1,030

-21.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.7K

$8.99 ALL 728

16.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.1K

$16.85 ALL 1,365

-17.15%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$1.92 ALL 156

110.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,934

$2.42 ALL 196

-36.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,794

$2.23 ALL 180

-5.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,405

$1.83 ALL 148

25.14%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,810

$1.02 ALL 82.4

106.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,518

$1.32 ALL 107

29.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,778

$1.52 ALL 123

-23.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,101

$0.81 ALL 65.5

95.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.6K

$4.86 ALL 393

-19.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.3K

$10.63 ALL 861

32.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,688

$1.59 ALL 129

10.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,756

$2.05 ALL 166

32.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,809

$0.51 ALL 41.20

131.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 246.3K

$19.83 ALL 1,606

284.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,833

$3.75 ALL 304

-51.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,874

$3.74 ALL 303

-43.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.3K

$18.90 ALL 1,531

-56.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,117

$2.43 ALL 197

-47.33%

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

$34.4K COP 111.2M

$33.2K ALL 2.7M

3.77%

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

$34.1K COP 110.2M

$29.7K ALL 2.4M

14.79%

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

$178 COP 573.8K

$101 ALL 8,193

75.74%

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

$13.89 COP 44.8K

$18.78 ALL 1,522

-26.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.2K

$19.86 ALL 1,608

54.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 135.4K

$56.5 ALL 4,580

-25.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.2K

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.1K

$9.79 ALL 793

-23.70%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

$353 ALL 28.6K

123.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.7M

$8,330 ALL 674.8K

47.62%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 278.7K

$49.90 ALL 4,042

73.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 191.3K

$48.72 ALL 3,947

21.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 446.6K

$120 ALL 9,733

15.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 319.0K

$113 ALL 9,180

-12.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$491 ALL 39.8K

172.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$310 ALL 25.1K

115.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$711 ALL 57.6K

177.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$473 ALL 38.3K

118.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.2M

$1,937 ALL 156.9K

111.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$1,323 ALL 107.2K

46.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

$614 ALL 49.7K

5.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.16

112.02%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Lushnje: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Lushnje

$310 26% 53.5% $357

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Lushnje

$289 24.3% 5.9% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Lushnje

$140 11.7% 37.1% $83

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Lushnje

$182 15.3% 5.5% $9.5

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Lushnje

$149 12.6% 13.2% $23

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Lushnje

$44 3.7% 52.6% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Lushnje

$76 6.4% 33.8% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,341 in Medellin and $491 in Lushnje. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 5% 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 $56 in Lushnje. Groceries flip the comparison at $307 vs $289, with Lushnje cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇦🇱 Lushnje

🕒 Local time

11:41 11:41 AM

17:41 5:41 PM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

31,105

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 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 November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,615 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 81.01 ALL (100 ALL = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 90.7 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Lushnje 9,990 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Lushnje

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 Lushnje: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lushnje wins on cost – living expenses run 30% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Lushnje the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 5% 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: $1,341 in Medellin versus $491 in Lushnje. 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 versus $56 in Lushnje. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,692 per month in Medellin versus $1,191 in Lushnje – Lushnje is about 30% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Lushnje is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Lushnje wins on affordability, Medellin on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.