Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Sur

For one person, living is cheaper in Sur: $1,149 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Sur
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Sur Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Sur

🇴🇲 Oman

$1,149

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Sur

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $1,149 in Sur, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Sur $1,149

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $1,653 in Sur, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Sur $1,653

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $2,156 in Sur, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Sur $2,156

Medellin costs about 43% more than Sur, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Sur is 16% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$3.88 OMR 1.49

108.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$25.96 OMR 9.99

81.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$7.63 OMR 2.94

24.51%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$5.05 OMR 1.94

-40.40%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$0.73 OMR 0.28

146.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.27 OMR 0.10

422.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$12.80 OMR 4.93

-75.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$12.79 OMR 4.92

-55.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$1.59 OMR 0.61

-5.03%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$1.23 OMR 0.48

93.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$1.73 OMR 0.66

2.31%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$1.95 OMR 0.75

48.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$7.19 OMR 2.77

41.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$6.81 OMR 2.62

44.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$8.99 OMR 3.46

55.62%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$2.35 OMR 0.91

68.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.28 OMR 0.49

21.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$1.06 OMR 0.41

105.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$0.80 OMR 0.31

172.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$0.76 OMR 0.29

157.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$0.54 OMR 0.21

194.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$1.55 OMR 0.60

-25.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.53 OMR 0.21

133.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$6.38 OMR 2.45

-37.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$15.86 OMR 6.11

-13.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$6.10 OMR 2.35

-72.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$10.30 OMR 3.96

-78.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$3.32 OMR 1.28

-61.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$2.61 OMR 1.01

-21.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$7.74 OMR 2.98

10.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$0.53 OMR 0.20

154.72%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$24.7K OMR 9,491

38.19%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$20.7K OMR 7,965

67.60%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$77.7 OMR 29.90

118.42%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$23.09 OMR 8.89

-41.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$69.7 OMR 26.85

-59.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$86.3 OMR 33.21

-49.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$10.25 OMR 3.95

-32.59%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$502 OMR 193

58.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$6,458 OMR 2,486

41.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$56.9 OMR 21.89

48.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$44.07 OMR 16.97

31.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$88.9 OMR 34.23

51.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$88.4 OMR 34.01

10.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$257 OMR 99.0

369.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$271 OMR 104

137.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$467 OMR 180

334.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$385 OMR 148

163.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$583 OMR 224

615.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$515 OMR 198

271.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$2,660 OMR 1,024

-75.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

5.25

108.38%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sur: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Sur

$271 23.5% 57.8% $371

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Sur

$252 21.9% 15.2% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Sur

$170 14.8% 19.3% $41

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Sur

$208 18.1% 22.7% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Sur

$125 10.9% 25.9% $44

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Sur

$16 * 1.4% 82.5% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Sur

$107 9.3% 85.6% $49

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 $257 in Sur. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Sur are about 4 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin versus $26 in Sur. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $252 – making Sur the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇴🇲 Sur

🕒 Local time

17:07 5:07 PM

02:07 2:07 AM

9 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

120,000

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.33 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

OMR, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

Omani Rial exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.429 OMR (1 OMR = 2.33 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin Sur 14,180 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Sur

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 Sur: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 43%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,459 per month in Medellin and $1,724 in Sur. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sur, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $257 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $26 in Sur. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 18% more in Medellin, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Sur, where all-in costs run around $1,149, than in Medellin at $1,639. In Sur it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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