Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and the United Arab Emirates

Name: United Arab Emirates
Address: AE

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,589 a month against $2,227 in the United Arab Emirates, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
110

Cost of Living Index in the United Arab Emirates
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United Arab Emirates Living Index

Jump to prices

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,589

/mo nomad

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,227

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Medellin is 16.4% cheaper than the United Arab Emirates without rent, and 28.6% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Medellin is 16.5% cheaper than the United Arab Emirates without rent, and 30.3% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.01 COP 25.5K

$9.40 AED 34.51

-14.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 COP 148.3K

$60.5 AED 222

-23.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.43 COP 30.1K

$9.69 AED 35.60

-2.68%

Cappuccino

$2.91 COP 9,277

$5.34 AED 19.63

-45.51%

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

$1.75 COP 5,585

$1.05 AED 3.86

66.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 COP 4,218

$0.46 AED 1.70

186.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.13 COP 9,969

$11.80 AED 43.33

-73.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.55 COP 17.7K

$12.35 AED 45.35

-55.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 COP 4,495

$1.72 AED 6.33

-18.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.44 COP 7,777

$1.46 AED 5.38

67.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 COP 5,191

$2.14 AED 7.85

-23.83%

Eggs

$2.82 COP 8,990

$3.22 AED 11.82

-12.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.69 COP 30.9K

$10.60 AED 38.92

-8.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.32 COP 29.7K

$8.82 AED 32.38

5.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.46 COP 42.9K

$11.55 AED 42.44

16.54%

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 COP 12.8K

$2.46 AED 9.04

62.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 COP 4,719

$1.77 AED 6.51

-16.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.12 COP 6,768

$1.68 AED 6.18

26.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.25 COP 7,178

$1.36 AED 4.99

65.44%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 COP 6,092

$1.07 AED 3.92

78.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 COP 5,160

$1.06 AED 3.88

52.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,658

$1.49 AED 5.46

-22.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 COP 4,021

$0.56 AED 2.06

125.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.82 COP 12.2K

$6.09 AED 22.38

-37.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.11 COP 41.8K

$13.52 AED 49.66

-3.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 COP 5,083

$2.43 AED 8.94

-34.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,188

$2.76 AED 10.14

-18.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,731

$1.62 AED 5.94

-27.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.0 COP 239.0K

$47.10 AED 173

59.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 4,056

$3.25 AED 11.93

-60.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,531

$0.60 AED 2.22

241.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.20 COP 26.1K

$8.32 AED 30.57

-1.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 COP 4,046

$0.95 AED 3.48

33.68%

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

$26.8K COP 85.3M

$44.9K AED 165.0K

-40.39%

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

$34.4K COP 109.6M

$22.4K AED 82.2K

53.65%

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

$162 COP 516.9K

$198 AED 726

-17.91%

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

$13.12 COP 41.8K

$53.4 AED 196

-75.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.09 COP 89.5K

$91.3 AED 335

-69.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.33 COP 141.2K

$73.8 AED 271

-39.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.33 COP 52.0K

$33.45 AED 123

-51.18%

Cinema Ticket

$6.09 COP 19.4K

$13.77 AED 50.6

-55.77%

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

$764 COP 2.4M

$570 AED 2,094

34.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,904 COP 28.4M

$12.2K AED 44.8K

-26.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.0 COP 270.8K

$61.2 AED 225

38.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.5 COP 183.2K

$58.0 AED 213

-0.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$132 COP 419.8K

$99.5 AED 365

32.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.8 COP 305.1K

$100 AED 368

-4.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 COP 3.3M

$1,553 AED 5,704

-33.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$604 COP 1.9M

$1,092 AED 4,011

-44.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,802 COP 5.7M

$2,731 AED 10.0K

-34.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$993 COP 3.2M

$2,022 AED 7,427

-50.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,921 COP 12.5M

$5,628 AED 20.7K

-30.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,639 COP 5.2M

$2,849 AED 10.5K

-42.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$626 COP 2.0M

$2,827 AED 10.4K

-77.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

4.63

136.29%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 6, 2026

Last update for the United Arab Emirates: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$604 38.3%

United Arab Emirates

$1.1K 48.3% 80.7% $488

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$288 18.3%

United Arab Emirates

$263 11.6% 8.8% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$203 12.9%

United Arab Emirates

$342 15.2% 68.3% $139

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$166 10.6%

United Arab Emirates

$143 6.4% 13.8% $23

Eating Out

Medellin

$166 10.6%

United Arab Emirates

$258 11.4% 55.2% $92

Getting Around

Medellin

$91 5.8%

United Arab Emirates

$60 2.7% 34.4% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$57 3.6%

United Arab Emirates

$101 4.5% 79.4% $45

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

🕒 Local time

06:58 6:58 AM

15:58 3:58 PM

9 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

9,890,400

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3,187 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,571 COP (10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Medellin United Arab Emirates 13,610 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
United Arab Emirates

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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