Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Machakos

For one person, living is cheaper in Machakos: $520 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Machakos
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Machakos Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Machakos

🇰🇪 Kenya

$520

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Machakos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $520 in Machakos.

Medellin $1,639
Machakos $520

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $802 in Machakos.

Medellin $2,413
Machakos $802

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $1,084 in Machakos.

Medellin $3,186
Machakos $1,084

Living in Medellin is roughly 215% more expensive than in Machakos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Machakos is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$2.99 KES 389

170.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$19.26 KES 2,501

144.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$6.26 KES 813

51.76%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$1.97 KES 255

52.79%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.66 KES 85.4

172.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.54 KES 69.6

161.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$2.16 KES 281

47.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$2.67 KES 346

115.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$0.39 KES 50.9

287.18%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$0.48 KES 62.7

395.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$0.80 KES 104

121.25%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$1.36 KES 177

112.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$10.89 KES 1,414

-6.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$6.36 KES 827

55.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$4.71 KES 612

197.03%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$1.50 KES 195

164.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$0.81 KES 105

91.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$0.37 KES 47.51

489.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$0.40 KES 51.6

445.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$0.79 KES 102

148.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$0.76 KES 98.7

109.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$0.75 KES 97.6

53.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.39 KES 51.1

217.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$3.51 KES 456

12.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$11.31 KES 1,469

20.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$1.91 KES 248

-13.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$2.70 KES 351

-16.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$0.74 KES 96.4

71.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$0.75 KES 97.8

173.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$2.86 KES 371

198.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.50 KES 195

-10.00%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$19.1K KES 2.5M

78.17%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$21.7K KES 2.8M

59.57%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$57.0 KES 7,400

197.74%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$7.83 KES 1,017

73.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$11.58 KES 1,504

142.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$38.98 KES 5,062

12.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$7.66 KES 995

-9.79%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$45.51 KES 5,910

1650.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$12.3K KES 1.6M

-26.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$11.62 KES 1,509

629.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$28.49 KES 3,700

103.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$68.8 KES 8,927

96.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$38.19 KES 4,959

156.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$94.2 KES 12.2K

1182.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$70.4 KES 9,137

811.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$155 KES 20.1K

1210.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$116 KES 15.1K

769.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$385 KES 50.0K

70.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

14.71

-25.63%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Machakos: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Machakos

$70 13.5% 89% $571

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Machakos

$161 31% 45.8% $136

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Machakos

$76 14.7% 63.8% $135

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Machakos

$87 16.8% 48.5% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Machakos

$66 12.7% 60.8% $103

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Machakos

$4.5 * 0.9% 95.2% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Machakos

$54 10.4% 5.6% $3.2

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 $1,208 in Medellin and $94 in Machakos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 71% 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 $19 in Machakos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $161 per month, with Machakos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇰🇪 Machakos

🕒 Local time

09:03 9:03 AM

17:03 5:03 PM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

114,109

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.7 USD

1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, 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 = 3,501 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.7 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.92 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Machakos 12,550 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Machakos

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 Machakos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Machakos wins on cost – living expenses run 68% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Machakos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 71% 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 $94 in Machakos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 84% higher in Medellin. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,639 per month in Medellin versus $520 in Machakos – a 215% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $520 in Machakos versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $800 budget is realistic in Machakos but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Machakos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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