Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Mbarara

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbarara: $488 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 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
23

Cost of Living Index in Mbarara
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Mbarara Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Mbarara

🇺🇬 Uganda

$488

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Mbarara

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $488 in Mbarara, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Mbarara $488

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $776 in Mbarara, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Mbarara $776

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $1,063 in Mbarara, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Mbarara $1,063

Medellin costs about 236% more than Mbarara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Mbarara is 64% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$2.35 UGX 10.3K

244.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$24.42 UGX 107.1K

92.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$7.07 UGX 31.0K

34.37%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$2.43 UGX 10.7K

23.87%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.34 UGX 1,504

429.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.27 UGX 1,191

422.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$1.22 UGX 5,340

160.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$1.83 UGX 8,029

214.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$0.50 UGX 2,180

202.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$0.93 UGX 4,089

155.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$1.17 UGX 5,138

51.28%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$1.53 UGX 6,691

88.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$4.23 UGX 18.6K

140.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$4.51 UGX 19.8K

118.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$3.46 UGX 15.2K

304.34%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$2.00 UGX 8,792

98.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.24 UGX 5,442

25.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$1.30 UGX 5,714

67.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$1.19 UGX 5,207

83.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$1.23 UGX 5,397

59.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$1.17 UGX 5,133

35.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$0.72 UGX 3,163

59.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.51 UGX 2,221

143.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$2.43 UGX 10.6K

62.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$7.39 UGX 32.4K

85.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$1.08 UGX 4,736

53.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$1.81 UGX 7,960

24.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.70 UGX 3,060

67.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$0.46 UGX 2,038

176.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$0.29 UGX 1,268

606.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$3.03 UGX 13.3K

182.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.37 UGX 5,990

-1.46%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$7,154 UGX 31.4M

376.20%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$7,202 UGX 31.6M

381.38%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$69.2 UGX 303.3K

145.34%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$11.20 UGX 49.1K

20.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$33.55 UGX 147.1K

-16.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$17.82 UGX 78.1K

145.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$7.15 UGX 31.4K

-3.36%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$247 UGX 1.1M

222.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$8,140 UGX 35.7M

11.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$13.66 UGX 59.9K

520.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$12.69 UGX 55.7K

356.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$31.67 UGX 138.9K

326.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$42.04 UGX 184.4K

132.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$83.7 UGX 367.0K

1343.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$73.0 UGX 320.0K

779.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$231 UGX 1.0M

777.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$171 UGX 750.9K

490.98%

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

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

20.75

-47.28%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Mbarara: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Mbarara

$73 14.9% 88.6% $569

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Mbarara

$138 28.3% 53.5% $159

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Mbarara

$114 23.3% 46.1% $97

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Mbarara

$81 16.7% 52% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Mbarara

$45 9.2% 73.4% $124

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Mbarara

$4.7 * 1% 95% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Mbarara

$32 6.6% 44.2% $25

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $84 in Mbarara. 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 $24 in Mbarara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $138 – making Mbarara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇺🇬 Mbarara

🕒 Local time

00:26 12:26 AM

08:26 8:26 AM

8 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

195,013

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UGX, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 4,386 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.28 USD). 1 EUR = 4,883 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.05 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Mbarara 11,810 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Mbarara

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 Mbarara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 236%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $732 in Mbarara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mbarara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $84 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $24 in Mbarara. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 115% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Mbarara, where all-in costs run around $488, than in Medellin at $1,639. In Mbarara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Mbarara – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.