Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Margate

For one person, living is cheaper in Margate: $889 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Margate
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Margate Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Margate

🇿🇦 South Africa

$889

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Margate

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,614 in Medellin versus $889 in Margate.

Medellin $1,614
Margate $889

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,402 in Medellin versus $1,410 in Margate.

Medellin $2,402
Margate $1,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,190 in Medellin versus $1,932 in Margate.

Medellin $3,190
Margate $1,932

Living in Medellin is roughly 82% more expensive than in Margate, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Margate is 34% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.2K

$7.83 R 129

1.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 146.3K

$35.95 R 592

28.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$5.97 R 98.4

59.13%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,866

$1.80 R 29.58

72.78%

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

$1.83 COP 5,800

$1.03 R 16.99

77.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,360

$0.76 R 12.60

81.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,672

$2.43 R 39.96

25.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.4K

$2.27 R 37.38

142.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,600

$1.02 R 16.77

42.16%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,496

$0.92 R 15.10

156.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,328

$1.05 R 17.37

60.00%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,077

$2.36 R 38.87

21.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.3K

$4.98 R 82.0

104.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.2K

$3.37 R 55.6

182.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.5K

$6.05 R 99.7

132.07%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 12.9K

$1.15 R 18.87

253.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,742

$1.19 R 19.54

26.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,891

$1.05 R 17.37

106.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,310

$1.44 R 23.78

60.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,113

$1.08 R 17.78

78.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,196

$1.30 R 21.43

26.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,571

$1.09 R 17.96

3.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,954

$0.95 R 15.63

31.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.6K

$1.58 R 26.04

152.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.3K

$3.49 R 57.5

282.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,384

$1.45 R 23.92

17.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,525

$1.81 R 29.90

30.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

$1.52 R 25.09

-20.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,179

$0.41 R 6.75

221.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,774

$0.74 R 12.23

189.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

$7.46 R 123

13.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,114

$1.35 R 22.31

-3.70%

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

$28.0K COP 88.7M

$35.5K R 584.5K

-21.11%

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

$35.4K COP 112.3M

$30.9K R 508.8K

14.67%

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

$172 COP 545.6K

$60.9 R 1,003

182.62%

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

$13.37 COP 42.4K

$18.27 R 301

-26.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.1K

$33.36 R 550

-13.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

$32.27 R 532

40.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

$10.59 R 174

60.91%

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 19.9K

$4.12 R 68.0

52.43%

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

$770 COP 2.4M

$304 R 5,016

152.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.6M

$7,507 R 123.7K

20.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 274.0K

$54.2 R 893

59.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.1K

$18.33 R 302

211.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 432.9K

$71.8 R 1,183

90.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 310.4K

$48.57 R 800

101.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.3M

$396 R 6,527

166.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$366 R 6,028

68.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

$741 R 12.2K

155.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.2M

$722 R 11.9K

41.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

$888 R 14.6K

357.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

$666 R 11.0K

152.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

$1,528 R 25.2K

-57.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

11.78

-7.13%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Last update for Margate: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Margate

$366 41.2% 40.6% $250

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Margate

$147 16.5% 50.2% $148

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Margate

$113 12.7% 47.5% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Margate

$87 9.8% 49% $83

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Margate

$126 14.2% 25.2% $42

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Margate

$10 * 1.2% 89.1% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Margate

$41 4.6% 29.9% $17

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 $1,055 in Medellin and $396 in Margate. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Margate pays 134% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $46.00 in Medellin vs $36.00 in Margate for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $295 vs $147 per month, with Margate cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇿🇦 Margate

🕒 Local time

02:59 2:59 AM

09:59 9:59 AM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

34,407

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 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 October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Medellin Margate 11,890 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Margate

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 Margate: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Margate wins on cost – living expenses run 82% lower than in Medellin. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Margate the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 134% lower in Margate. 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: $1,055 in Medellin versus $396 in Margate. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $770 in Medellin versus $304 in Margate. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Margate – a meal for two runs $36.00 versus $46.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $889 in Margate versus $1,614 in Medellin, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Margate but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Margate the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Margate delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $889 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Margate hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Margate gentler on the wallet – expenses run 82% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.