Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Maseru

For one person, living is cheaper in Maseru: $669 a month against $1,625 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,500 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
33

Cost of Living Index in Maseru
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Maseru Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,625

/mo nomad

Maseru

🇱🇸 Lesotho

$669

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Maseru

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,625 in Medellin versus $669 in Maseru.

Medellin $1,625
Maseru $669

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,412 in Medellin versus $1,123 in Maseru.

Medellin $2,412
Maseru $1,123

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,199 in Medellin versus $1,576 in Maseru.

Medellin $3,199
Maseru $1,576

Living in Medellin is roughly 143% more expensive than in Maseru, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Maseru is 51% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.30 COP 26.3K

$8.87 LSL 146

-6.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.91 COP 148.7K

$23.91 LSL 395

96.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 COP 29.3K

$8.34 LSL 138

10.79%

Cappuccino

$3.05 COP 9,676

$1.99 LSL 32.92

53.27%

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

$1.80 COP 5,707

$1.11 LSL 18.32

62.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,382

$0.88 LSL 14.55

56.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 COP 10.3K

$1.79 LSL 29.49

81.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.56 COP 17.6K

$2.46 LSL 40.51

126.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 COP 4,760

$1.18 LSL 19.50

27.12%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 COP 7,508

$0.87 LSL 14.42

172.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 COP 5,377

$1.80 LSL 29.75

-5.56%

Eggs

$2.96 COP 9,379

$1.53 LSL 25.27

93.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.22 COP 32.4K

$6.55 LSL 108

56.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.74 COP 30.9K

$6.15 LSL 101

58.37%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 COP 44.1K

$6.31 LSL 104

120.29%

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.1K

$1.94 LSL 31.96

112.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,839

$2.29 LSL 37.85

-33.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 COP 7,052

$2.77 LSL 45.67

-19.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.27 COP 7,194

$2.39 LSL 39.48

-5.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,311

$1.55 LSL 25.62

28.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.67 COP 5,285

$1.67 LSL 27.53

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 COP 3,742

$1.55 LSL 25.50

-23.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,919

$0.80 LSL 13.13

55.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.87 COP 12.3K

$5.08 LSL 83.9

-23.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 COP 43.7K

$7.24 LSL 119

90.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,256

$1.04 LSL 17.18

59.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 COP 7,615

$1.53 LSL 25.30

56.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.24 COP 3,944

$0.82 LSL 13.55

51.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$78.2 COP 248.0K

$30.08 LSL 496

160.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.28 COP 4,044

$0.75 LSL 12.43

70.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.15 COP 6,803

$0.70 LSL 11.52

207.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.37 COP 26.5K

$3.69 LSL 60.9

126.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,288

$1.32 LSL 21.71

2.27%

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

$34.8K COP 110.2M

$21.2K LSL 349.9K

63.95%

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

$34.7K COP 110.0M

$16.6K LSL 274.0K

108.85%

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

$167 COP 528.4K

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

$13.62 COP 43.2K

$14.55 LSL 240

-6.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.12 COP 92.3K

$38.75 LSL 639

-24.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.09 COP 143.0K

$23.08 LSL 381

95.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.18 COP 54.5K

Cinema Ticket

$6.97 COP 22.1K

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

$790 COP 2.5M

$52.7 LSL 870

1398.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,041 COP 28.7M

$1,219 LSL 20.1K

641.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.8 COP 278.4K

$45.86 LSL 757

91.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.2 COP 184.4K

$57.2 LSL 944

1.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$139 COP 440.7K

$104 LSL 1,714

33.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.9 COP 313.5K

$150 LSL 2,478

-34.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

$92.8 LSL 1,531

1008.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$620 COP 2.0M

$56.7 LSL 935

993.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,881 COP 6.0M

$444 LSL 7,330

323.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 COP 3.2M

$170 LSL 2,800

493.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,988 COP 12.6M

$391 LSL 6,453

919.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 COP 5.4M

$527 LSL 8,696

222.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$663 COP 2.1M

$622 LSL 10.3K

6.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

8.5

28.71%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 19, 2026

Last update for Maseru: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$619 38.1%

Maseru

$57 8.5% 90.9% $563

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$298 18.3%

Maseru

$196 29.3% 34.1% $102

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$209 12.9%

Maseru

$53 * 8% 74.6% $156

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$173 10.6%

Maseru

$161 24% 7% $12

Eating Out

Medellin

$171 10.5%

Maseru

$142 21.2% 17% $29

Getting Around

Medellin

$95 5.9%

Maseru

$38 5.6% 60.5% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$59 3.6%

Maseru

$23 * 3.5% 60.9% $36

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 $1,028 in Medellin and $92.8 in Maseru. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Medellin pays 7% 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: $47.00 in Medellin vs $24.00 in Maseru for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $298 vs $196 per month, with Maseru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇱🇸 Maseru

🕒 Local time

10:30 10:30 AM

17:30 5:30 PM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

227,880 Capital

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Lesotho Loti LSL L

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 LSL = 6.06 USD

100 LSL = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LSL, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Lesotho Loti exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 LSL (100 LSL = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 LSL (100 LSL = 5.39 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Maseru 11,610 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

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Maseru

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 Maseru: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin and Maseru differ by about 143% in total monthly costs ($1,625 vs $669 including rent). Maseru is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 7% 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: $1,028 in Medellin versus $92.8 in Maseru. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Maseru – a meal for two runs $24.00 versus $47.00 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,625 per month in Medellin versus $669 in Maseru – a 143% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $669 in Maseru versus $1,625 in Medellin, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Maseru but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Maseru 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.

Expats usually find Maseru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 143% less than in Medellin. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.