Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Shkoder

For one person, living is cheaper in Shkoder: $980 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Shkoder
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Shkoder Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Shkoder

🇦🇱 Albania

$980

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Shkoder

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $980 in Shkoder, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Shkoder $980

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $1,474 in Shkoder, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Shkoder $1,474

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $1,969 in Shkoder, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Shkoder $1,969

Medellin costs about 67% more than Shkoder, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Shkoder is 28% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$9.30 ALL 755

-13.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$38.93 ALL 3,162

20.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$6.21 ALL 504

52.98%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$1.93 ALL 157

55.96%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$1.83 ALL 149

-1.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$0.65 ALL 52.7

116.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$1.84 ALL 149

72.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$3.18 ALL 258

80.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$1.89 ALL 153

-20.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$0.97 ALL 79.1

145.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$2.01 ALL 164

-11.94%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$2.60 ALL 211

11.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$7.23 ALL 587

40.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$5.11 ALL 415

93.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$10.81 ALL 878

29.42%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$1.65 ALL 134

140.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$2.35 ALL 191

-34.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$1.72 ALL 139

26.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$1.45 ALL 118

50.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$1.02 ALL 82.9

92.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$1.23 ALL 99.6

29.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$1.14 ALL 92.5

0.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$0.77 ALL 62.7

61.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$4.23 ALL 343

-6.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$6.14 ALL 499

122.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$1.51 ALL 122

9.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$1.83 ALL 148

23.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

$0.49 ALL 39.91

138.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

$11.12 ALL 903

595.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$3.72 ALL 302

-65.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$3.85 ALL 313

-46.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$18.71 ALL 1,519

-54.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$2.17 ALL 177

-37.79%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$33.7K ALL 2.7M

1.20%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$24.7K ALL 2.0M

40.41%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$61.7 ALL 5,009

175.09%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$16.47 ALL 1,338

-17.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$17.10 ALL 1,389

64.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$42.68 ALL 3,467

2.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

$12.53 ALL 1,018

37.19%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$7.20 ALL 585

-4.03%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$91.1 ALL 7,399

774.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$1,835 ALL 149.0K

396.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$49.16 ALL 3,992

72.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$12.34 ALL 1,002

369.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$74.0 ALL 6,008

82.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$147 ALL 11.9K

-33.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$489 ALL 39.7K

146.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$317 ALL 25.8K

102.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$484 ALL 39.3K

319.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$412 ALL 33.5K

145.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$1,866 ALL 151.6K

123.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$1,232 ALL 100.1K

55.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$567 ALL 46.0K

15.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

118.80%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Shkoder: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Shkoder

$317 32.4% 50.5% $324

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Shkoder

$206 21% 30.6% $91

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Shkoder

$95 9.7% 54.9% $116

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Shkoder

$142 14.5% 16.5% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Shkoder

$127 13% 24.9% $42

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Shkoder

$36 3.7% 61.4% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Shkoder

$57 5.8% 0.8% $0.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $489 in Shkoder. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 16% higher in Medellin, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $39 in Shkoder. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $206 – making Shkoder the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇦🇱 Shkoder

🕒 Local time

05:18 5:18 AM

11:18 11:18 AM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

77,075

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

100 ALL = 1.23 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, 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).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 81.22 ALL (100 ALL = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 90.64 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Shkoder 9,960 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Shkoder

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 Shkoder: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 67%, 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 $1,470 in Shkoder. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Shkoder, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $489 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $39 in Shkoder. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,639 in Medellin and $980 in Shkoder. That makes Shkoder about 40% cheaper.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Shkoder, where all-in costs run around $980, than in Medellin at $1,639. In Shkoder it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

If budget matters most, go with Shkoder. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.