Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Siem Reap

For one person, living is cheaper in Siem Reap: $818 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,900 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Siem Reap
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Siem Reap Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Siem Reap

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$818

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Siem Reap

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $818 in Siem Reap, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Siem Reap $818

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $1,338 in Siem Reap, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Siem Reap $1,338

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $1,858 in Siem Reap, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Siem Reap $1,858

Medellin costs about 100% more than Siem Reap, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Siem Reap is 40% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 26.1K

$2.51 ៛10.2K

222.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 151.9K

$23.83 ៛97.1K

97.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.7K

$8.06 ៛32.8K

17.87%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,735

$1.67 ៛6,786

80.24%

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

$1.80 COP 5,809

$0.71 ៛2,888

153.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,561

$0.40 ៛1,625

252.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 10.3K

$1.03 ៛4,188

208.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.6K

$1.98 ៛8,075

190.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,876

$2.18 ៛8,872

-30.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,678

$1.74 ៛7,075

36.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,720

$0.94 ៛3,822

88.30%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,333

$1.75 ៛7,117

65.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.9K

$15.24 ៛62.1K

-33.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.9K

$2.95 ៛12.0K

234.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 45.2K

$10.07 ៛41.0K

38.93%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.8K

$4.23 ៛17.2K

-6.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 5,012

$1.28 ៛5,225

21.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,048

$3.83 ៛15.6K

-43.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 7,051

$1.05 ៛4,282

107.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,337

$1.32 ៛5,375

48.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,132

$1.11 ៛4,527

43.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,699

$1.29 ៛5,262

-10.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 4,014

$0.80 ៛3,241

55.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.8K

$1.42 ៛5,770

178.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 44.2K

$8.11 ៛33.0K

68.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,359

$1.00 ៛4,068

66.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,291

$2.32 ៛9,446

-2.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,771

$1.03 ៛4,176

13.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 249.8K

$15.11 ៛61.6K

412.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,094

$2.01 ៛8,207

-36.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,612

$1.01 ៛4,132

102.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 27.6K

$5.08 ៛20.7K

68.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,349

$1.24 ៛5,063

8.87%

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

$34.1K COP 110.0M

$24.7K ៛100.6M

37.97%

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

$34.7K COP 111.9M

$22.7K ៛92.4M

52.80%

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

$170 COP 547.8K

$101 ៛410.6K

68.32%

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

$13.55 COP 43.8K

$5.53 ៛22.5K

145.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 90.6K

$15.38 ៛62.6K

82.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 141.1K

$33.19 ៛135.2K

31.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 55.5K

$13.75 ៛56.0K

25.02%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 22.3K

$5.14 ៛20.9K

34.44%

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

$797 COP 2.6M

$286 ៛1.2M

178.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 29.4M

$4,379 ៛17.8M

108.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 273.5K

$26.54 ៛108.1K

219.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 187.2K

$13.43 ៛54.7K

331.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 435.8K

$67.5 ៛274.7K

100.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 316.0K

$44.82 ៛182.6K

118.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.9M

$337 ៛1.4M

258.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.1M

$244 ៛992.7K

163.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.5M

$685 ៛2.8M

196.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.3M

$603 ៛2.5M

67.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.5M

$2,492 ៛10.2M

67.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.2M

$1,074 ៛4.4M

77.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$234 ៛952.5K

181.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

9.2

18.91%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Siem Reap: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Siem Reap

$244 29.8% 62% $398

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Siem Reap

$237 28.9% 20.3% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Siem Reap

$122 14.9% 42.4% $90

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Siem Reap

$78 9.5% 54.1% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Siem Reap

$69 8.4% 59.5% $100

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Siem Reap

$26 3.2% 71.9% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Siem Reap

$43 5.3% 24.4% $14

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $337 in Siem Reap. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Medellin are about 2.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $24 in Siem Reap. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $237 – making Siem Reap the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇰🇭 Siem Reap

🕒 Local time

21:04 9:04 PM

09:04 9:04 AM

12 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

171,800

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.45 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KHR, 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 = 3,605 COP (10,000 COP = 2.77 EUR).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 4,074 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.45 USD). 1 EUR = 4,548 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Medellin Siem Reap 17,830 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Siem Reap

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 Siem Reap: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 100%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $1,227 in Siem Reap. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Siem Reap, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $337 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $24 in Siem Reap. 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 $818 in Siem Reap. That makes Siem Reap about 50% cheaper.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,639 in Medellin and $818 in Siem Reap. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Siem Reap – 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 Siem Reap. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.