Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Sihanoukville

For one person, living is cheaper in Sihanoukville: $928 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Sihanoukville
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Sihanoukville Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Sihanoukville

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$928

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Sihanoukville

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

A single person spends $1,614 per month in Medellin vs $928 in Sihanoukville, rent included.

Medellin $1,614
Sihanoukville $928

A couple spends around $2,402 per month in Medellin vs $1,395 in Sihanoukville, rent included.

Medellin $2,402
Sihanoukville $1,395

A family of three spends $3,190 per month in Medellin vs $1,862 in Sihanoukville, rent included.

Medellin $3,190
Sihanoukville $1,862

Medellin costs about 74% more than Sihanoukville, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Sihanoukville is 31% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.2K

$3.94 ៛16.0K

101.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 146.7K

$30.25 ៛122.7K

52.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.2K

$7.19 ៛29.2K

32.13%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,897

$2.30 ៛9,344

35.22%

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

$1.83 COP 5,818

$0.78 ៛3,171

134.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,374

$0.42 ៛1,704

228.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,702

$1.02 ៛4,130

199.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.5K

$2.02 ៛8,208

172.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,614

$2.11 ៛8,555

-31.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,519

$1.59 ៛6,463

48.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,345

$0.87 ៛3,513

93.10%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,106

$1.71 ៛6,932

67.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.4K

$13.87 ៛56.3K

-26.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.3K

$4.10 ៛16.6K

132.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.7K

$8.78 ៛35.6K

59.91%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 12.9K

$3.59 ៛14.6K

13.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,757

$1.38 ៛5,591

8.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,913

$4.25 ៛17.2K

-48.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,333

$1.61 ៛6,540

43.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,132

$1.35 ៛5,465

42.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,212

$1.15 ៛4,647

42.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,582

$1.19 ៛4,816

-5.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,966

$0.73 ៛2,946

71.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.7K

$1.46 ៛5,938

173.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.5K

$11.16 ៛45.3K

19.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,400

$0.90 ៛3,669

88.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,549

$1.65 ៛6,713

43.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,839

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 243.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,193

$1.09 ៛4,428

21.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,795

$1.03 ៛4,177

107.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.9K

$5.19 ៛21.0K

63.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,127

$1.25 ៛5,053

4.00%

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

$28.0K COP 89.0M

$34.3K ៛139.2M

-18.44%

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

$35.4K COP 112.6M

$43.5K ៛176.5M

-18.59%

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

$172 COP 547.3K

$106 ៛431.0K

61.95%

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

$13.37 COP 42.5K

$6.46 ៛26.2K

106.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.4K

$18.99 ៛77.0K

51.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.9K

$72.2 ៛292.7K

-37.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.2K

$10.11 ៛41.0K

68.55%

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 20.0K

$5.09 ៛20.6K

23.38%

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

$770 COP 2.4M

$339 ៛1.4M

127.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.7M

$5,096 ៛20.7M

76.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 274.8K

$28.55 ៛115.8K

202.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.7K

$20.14 ៛81.7K

183.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 434.3K

$89.5 ៛363.2K

52.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 311.4K

$20.29 ៛82.3K

382.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.4M

$407 ៛1.6M

159.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$304 ៛1.2M

102.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

$643 ៛2.6M

194.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.3M

$492 ៛2.0M

107.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

8.07

35.56%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Last update for Sihanoukville: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Sihanoukville

$304 32.8% 50.6% $311

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Sihanoukville

$237 25.6% 19.6% $58

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Sihanoukville

$132 14.2% 38.5% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Sihanoukville

$71 7.7% 58.1% $99

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Sihanoukville

$95 10.2% 43.8% $74

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Sihanoukville

$6.2 * 0.7% 93.3% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Sihanoukville

$82 8.9% 42.4% $25

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,055 in Medellin versus $407 in Sihanoukville. 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 $46.00 in Medellin versus $30.00 in Sihanoukville. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $295 vs $237 – making Sihanoukville the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇰🇭 Sihanoukville

🕒 Local time

13:02 1:02 PM

01:02 1:02 AM

12 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

73,036

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

10,000 KHR = 2.47 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 October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 3,181 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,564 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 4,056 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD). 1 EUR = 4,545 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Sihanoukville 18,130 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Sihanoukville

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 Sihanoukville: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 74%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,421 per month in Medellin and $1,392 in Sihanoukville. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sihanoukville, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $46.00 in Medellin and $30.00 in Sihanoukville. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 24% more in Medellin, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Sihanoukville, where all-in costs run around $928, than in Medellin at $1,614. In Sihanoukville it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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