Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Manama

For one person, living is cheaper in Manama: $1,561 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $940 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Manama
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Manama Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Manama

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,561

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Manama

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,561 in Manama.

Medellin $1,639
Manama $1,561

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $2,442 in Manama.

Medellin $2,413
Manama $2,442

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $3,323 in Manama.

Medellin $3,186
Manama $3,323

Living in Medellin is roughly 5% more expensive than in Manama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Medellin 20% above, Manama 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$5.17 BHD 1.93

56.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$53.4 BHD 19.97

-11.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$7.22 BHD 2.70

31.58%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$5.01 BHD 1.88

-39.92%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$0.88 BHD 0.33

104.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$0.32 BHD 0.12

340.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$6.48 BHD 2.42

-50.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$10.09 BHD 3.78

-43.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$1.39 BHD 0.52

8.63%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$1.05 BHD 0.39

126.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$2.33 BHD 0.87

-24.03%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$2.22 BHD 0.83

30.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$8.62 BHD 3.22

18.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$6.58 BHD 2.46

50.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$8.38 BHD 3.13

66.95%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$2.39 BHD 0.89

66.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$2.31 BHD 0.86

-32.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$1.94 BHD 0.73

12.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$1.38 BHD 0.52

57.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$1.01 BHD 0.38

94.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$1.36 BHD 0.51

16.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$1.56 BHD 0.58

-26.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$0.84 BHD 0.32

47.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$5.26 BHD 1.97

-24.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$18.18 BHD 6.80

-24.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$3.63 BHD 1.36

-54.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$2.66 BHD 1.00

-15.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

$0.78 BHD 0.29

50.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

$36.65 BHD 13.71

111.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$5.18 BHD 1.94

-75.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$3.42 BHD 1.28

-40.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$15.82 BHD 5.92

-45.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$0.66 BHD 0.25

104.55%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$25.9K BHD 9,671

31.75%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$19.3K BHD 7,234

79.25%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$153 BHD 57.1

11.19%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$24.67 BHD 9.23

-45.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$35.29 BHD 13.20

-20.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$68.9 BHD 25.77

-36.57%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

$30.13 BHD 11.27

-42.95%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$10.78 BHD 4.03

-35.90%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$622 BHD 233

28.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$10.9K BHD 4,091

-16.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$50.1 BHD 18.74

69.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$58.0 BHD 21.71

-0.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$89.1 BHD 33.32

51.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$88.7 BHD 33.16

10.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$1,004 BHD 376

20.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$638 BHD 239

0.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$2,052 BHD 767

-1.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$1,303 BHD 487

-22.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$2,590 BHD 969

61.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$1,974 BHD 738

-3.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$2,384 BHD 892

-72.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

6.21

76.17%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Manama: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Manama

$638 40.9% 0.6% $3.7

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Manama

$249 16% 16.2% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Manama

$213 13.6% 0.6% $1.3

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Manama

$181 11.6% 6.5% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Manama

$129 8.2% 23.9% $40

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Manama

$62 4% 33.7% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Manama

$90 5.8% 57.2% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,208 in Medellin and $1,004 in Manama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Manama pays about 3.6 times 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 $53 in Manama. Groceries flip the comparison at $297 vs $249, with Manama cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇧🇭 Manama

🕒 Local time

02:31 2:31 AM

10:31 10:31 AM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

157,474 Capital

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

1 BHD = 2.67 USD

1 BHD = 2.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BHD, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 3,229 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,603 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.374 BHD (1 BHD = 2.67 USD). 1 EUR = 0.417 BHD (1 BHD = 2.4 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Manama 13,180 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Manama

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 Manama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Manama wins on cost – living expenses run 5% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Manama the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 72% 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: $1,208 in Medellin versus $1,004 in Manama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Manama runs roughly 53% less than in Medellin. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $622 in Manama. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

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

For families, Manama 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.