Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Zenica

For one person, living is cheaper in Zenica: $856 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Zenica
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Zenica Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Zenica

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$856

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Zenica

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

A single person spends $1,639 per month in Medellin vs $856 in Zenica, rent included.

Medellin $1,639
Zenica $856

A couple spends around $2,413 per month in Medellin vs $1,251 in Zenica, rent included.

Medellin $2,413
Zenica $1,251

A family of three spends $3,186 per month in Medellin vs $1,646 in Zenica, rent included.

Medellin $3,186
Zenica $1,646

Medellin costs about 92% more than Zenica, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Medellin sits 20% above the global median, while Zenica is 37% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$6.91 BAM 12.14

17.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$18.19 BAM 31.95

158.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$3.89 BAM 6.84

144.22%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$1.61 BAM 2.83

86.96%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$1.76 BAM 3.09

2.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$1.19 BAM 2.09

18.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$1.99 BAM 3.49

59.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$2.02 BAM 3.55

184.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$1.31 BAM 2.30

15.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$0.93 BAM 1.63

155.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$1.77 BAM 3.11

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$2.73 BAM 4.79

5.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$7.80 BAM 13.69

30.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$7.13 BAM 12.52

38.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$12.57 BAM 22.08

11.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$1.37 BAM 2.40

189.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$1.66 BAM 2.92

-6.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$1.50 BAM 2.63

45.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$1.83 BAM 3.21

19.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$0.96 BAM 1.69

104.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$1.26 BAM 2.20

26.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$0.59 BAM 1.03

94.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.74 BAM 1.29

67.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$3.33 BAM 5.86

18.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$5.61 BAM 9.86

143.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

$0.88 BAM 1.55

88.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

$0.91 BAM 1.60

148.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$0.89 BAM 1.57

31.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

$31.85 BAM 55.9

142.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$1.60 BAM 2.80

-20.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$0.84 BAM 1.47

144.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$8.65 BAM 15.20

-1.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.53 BAM 2.69

-11.76%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$30.7K BAM 53.9K

10.89%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$20.8K BAM 36.5K

66.73%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$163 BAM 286

4.30%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$18.42 BAM 32.34

-26.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$23.62 BAM 41.49

18.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

$23.76 BAM 41.73

83.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

$13.13 BAM 23.06

30.92%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$4.55 BAM 7.99

51.87%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$134 BAM 235

495.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$18.5K BAM 32.4K

-50.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$49.45 BAM 86.8

71.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$30.23 BAM 53.1

91.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$91.0 BAM 160

48.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$88.7 BAM 156

10.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$190 BAM 334

535.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$145 BAM 255

342.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

$267 BAM 469

659.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$204 BAM 358

396.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

$1,599 BAM 2,808

160.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

$1,264 BAM 2,220

51.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$645 BAM 1,132

1.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

264.67%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Zenica: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Zenica

$145 17% 77.4% $497

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Zenica

$203 23.7% 31.6% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Zenica

$205 23.9% 3.1% $6.6

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Zenica

$112 13.1% 33.9% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Zenica

$117 13.6% 30.9% $52

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Zenica

$41 4.8% 56% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Zenica

$33 3.8% 42.9% $25

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Medellin versus $190 in Zenica. 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 $47 in Medellin versus $18 in Zenica. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $297 vs $203 – making Zenica the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇧🇦 Zenica

🕒 Local time

19:14 7:14 PM

01:14 1:14 AM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

70,533

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

1 BAM = 0.569 USD

1 BAM = 0.512 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BAM, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1.76 BAM (1 BAM = 0.569 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BAM (1 BAM = 0.512 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Between locations

Medellin Zenica 9,800 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

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Medellin
Zenica

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 Zenica: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 92%, 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 $1,284 in Zenica. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Zenica, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $190 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Medellin and $18 in Zenica. 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 $856 in Zenica. That makes Zenica about 48% cheaper.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,639 in Medellin and $856 in Zenica. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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

For expats, Zenica is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 48% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.