Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Mbabane

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbabane: $756 a month against $1,692 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $11,200 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Mbabane
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Mbabane Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,692

/mo nomad

Mbabane

🇸🇿 Eswatini

$756

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Mbabane

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

A single person spends $1,692 per month in Medellin vs $756 in Mbabane, rent included.

Medellin $1,692
Mbabane $756

A couple spends around $2,471 per month in Medellin vs $1,214 in Mbabane, rent included.

Medellin $2,471
Mbabane $1,214

A family of three spends $3,249 per month in Medellin vs $1,672 in Mbabane, rent included.

Medellin $3,249
Mbabane $1,672

Medellin costs about 124% more than Mbabane, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 25% above the global median, while Mbabane is 44% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.34 COP 26.9K

$10.17 SZL 169

-17.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.53 COP 150.2K

$33.37 SZL 556

39.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 COP 30.6K

$6.02 SZL 100

57.31%

Cappuccino

$3.13 COP 10.1K

$2.61 SZL 43.40

19.92%

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

$1.77 COP 5,702

$1.11 SZL 18.52

59.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,599

$0.57 SZL 9.43

149.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.15 COP 10.2K

$2.08 SZL 34.65

51.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.70 COP 18.4K

$2.35 SZL 39.17

142.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 COP 4,948

$1.52 SZL 25.37

0.66%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 COP 7,397

$0.85 SZL 14.13

169.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,279

$1.67 SZL 27.87

16.17%

Eggs

$3.07 COP 9,900

$1.78 SZL 29.69

72.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.99 COP 32.3K

$10.87 SZL 181

-8.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.45 COP 33.7K

$5.61 SZL 93.3

86.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.96 COP 45.1K

$5.22 SZL 87.0

167.43%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 COP 13.1K

$1.75 SZL 29.10

131.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.53 COP 4,934

$0.66 SZL 10.99

131.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 COP 6,794

$1.21 SZL 20.09

73.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.29 COP 7,405

$1.41 SZL 23.43

62.41%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 COP 6,810

$1.25 SZL 20.86

68.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 COP 5,518

$1.48 SZL 24.72

15.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 COP 3,778

$0.67 SZL 11.13

74.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 COP 5,101

$0.77 SZL 12.79

105.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.91 COP 12.6K

$2.77 SZL 46.18

41.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.04 COP 45.3K

$6.13 SZL 102

129.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 COP 5,688

$1.60 SZL 26.57

10.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 COP 8,756

$1.64 SZL 27.25

65.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 COP 3,809

$0.74 SZL 12.30

59.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.3 COP 246.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.81 COP 5,833

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.13 COP 6,874

$1.43 SZL 23.78

48.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.13 COP 26.3K

$3.09 SZL 51.5

163.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,117

$1.33 SZL 22.12

-3.76%

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

$34.4K COP 111.2M

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

$34.1K COP 110.2M

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

$178 COP 573.8K

$65.2 SZL 1,086

172.55%

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

$13.89 COP 44.8K

$37.37 SZL 622

-62.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 COP 99.2K

$26.65 SZL 444

15.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.94 COP 135.4K

$22.34 SZL 372

87.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.80 COP 54.2K

$3.08 SZL 51.3

445.45%

Cinema Ticket

$7.47 COP 24.1K

$3.52 SZL 58.6

112.22%

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

$790 COP 2.6M

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K COP 39.7M

$6,211 SZL 103.4K

97.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.3 COP 278.7K

$34.83 SZL 580

147.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.3 COP 191.3K

$15.14 SZL 252

291.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 COP 446.6K

$69.4 SZL 1,156

99.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.8 COP 319.0K

$54.4 SZL 905

81.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,341 COP 4.3M

$267 SZL 4,447

402.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$667 COP 2.2M

$176 SZL 2,937

278.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,976 COP 6.4M

$451 SZL 7,509

338.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,033 COP 3.3M

$357 SZL 5,945

189.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,098 COP 13.2M

$488 SZL 8,129

739.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 COP 6.3M

$363 SZL 6,040

434.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$646 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

7.25

50.90%

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

Last update for Medellin: November 2, 2026

Last update for Mbabane: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$667 39.4%

Mbabane

$176 23.3% 73.6% $491

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$307 18.2%

Mbabane

$181 23.9% 41.3% $127

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$222 13.1%

Mbabane

$129 17.1% 41.9% $93

Eating Out

Medellin

$173 10.2%

Mbabane

$153 20.2% 11.6% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$172 10.2%

Mbabane

$78 10.3% 54.6% $94

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.5%

Mbabane

$10 * 1.3% 89.2% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.4%

Mbabane

$29 3.9% 48.4% $28

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,341 in Medellin versus $267 in Mbabane. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $33 in Mbabane. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $307 vs $181 – making Mbabane the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇸🇿 Mbabane

🕒 Local time

18:48 6:48 PM

01:48 1:48 AM

7 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

94,874 Capital

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Eswatini Lilangeni SZL L

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

100 SZL = 6.01 USD

100 SZL = 5.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SZL, 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 = 3,610 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

Eswatini Lilangeni exchange rates as of November 3, 2026: 1 USD = 16.65 SZL (100 SZL = 6.01 USD). 1 EUR = 18.62 SZL (100 SZL = 5.37 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Mbabane 11,980 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Mbabane

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 Mbabane: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Medellin costs about 124% more than Mbabane, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,538 per month in Medellin and $1,135 in Mbabane. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mbabane, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $267 there versus $1,341 in Medellin.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,692 in Medellin and $756 in Mbabane. That makes Mbabane about 55% cheaper.

Groceries cost about 70% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

It depends on your priorities. Medellin has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $756 in Mbabane to $1,692 in Medellin. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.