Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Oslo and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,639 a month against $3,538 in Oslo, rent and utilities included – about $22,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

170

Cost of Living Index in Oslo
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Oslo Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Oslo

🇳🇴 Norway

$3,538

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Oslo and in Medellin

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Oslo and in Medellin actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $3,538 per month in Oslo vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Oslo $3,538
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $5,096 per month in Oslo vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Oslo $5,096
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $6,653 per month in Oslo vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Oslo $6,653
Medellin $3,186

Oslo costs about 116% more than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Oslo and Medellin sit above the global median – Oslo by 160%, Medellin by 20%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.75 NOK 200

$8.09 COP 26.1K

168.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$130 NOK 1,193

$47.05 COP 151.7K

175.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$16.04 NOK 147

$9.50 COP 30.6K

68.84%

Cappuccino

$5.84 NOK 53.7

$3.01 COP 9,722

94.02%

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

$4.38 NOK 40.21

$1.80 COP 5,801

143.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.35 NOK 30.75

$1.41 COP 4,554

137.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.65 NOK 107

$3.18 COP 10.2K

266.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$12.81 NOK 118

$5.75 COP 18.5K

122.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.61 NOK 24.00

$1.51 COP 4,869

72.85%

White Bread (500g)

$4.38 NOK 40.27

$2.38 COP 7,667

84.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.70 NOK 43.19

$1.77 COP 5,712

165.54%

Eggs

$6.25 NOK 57.4

$2.89 COP 9,320

116.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.48 NOK 142

$10.19 COP 32.9K

51.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$15.84 NOK 146

$9.87 COP 31.8K

60.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$32.30 NOK 297

$13.99 COP 45.1K

130.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.36 NOK 30.83

$3.97 COP 12.8K

-15.37%

Banana (1kg)

$2.72 NOK 25.03

$1.55 COP 5,005

75.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.65 NOK 33.54

$2.18 COP 7,039

67.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.96 NOK 54.8

$2.18 COP 7,041

173.39%

Potato (1kg)

$2.69 NOK 24.75

$1.96 COP 6,328

37.24%

Onion (1kg)

$2.85 NOK 26.18

$1.59 COP 5,125

79.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.26 NOK 29.96

$1.15 COP 3,694

183.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.50 NOK 22.96

$1.24 COP 4,009

101.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$19.21 NOK 176

$3.96 COP 12.8K

385.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.64 NOK 153

$13.68 COP 44.1K

21.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.60 NOK 33.08

$1.66 COP 5,352

116.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.23 NOK 38.82

$2.26 COP 7,281

87.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.02 NOK 46.13

$1.17 COP 3,766

329.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$83.5 NOK 767

$77.4 COP 249.5K

7.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$12.39 NOK 114

$1.27 COP 4,089

875.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.84 NOK 16.93

$2.05 COP 6,603

-10.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$70.8 NOK 651

$8.55 COP 27.6K

728.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.48 NOK 22.79

$1.35 COP 4,343

83.70%

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

$49.9K NOK 458.4K

$34.1K COP 109.8M

46.47%

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

$44.7K NOK 410.5K

$34.7K COP 111.8M

28.88%

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

$433 NOK 3,983

$170 COP 547.0K

155.52%

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

$34.50 NOK 317

$13.55 COP 43.7K

154.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.7 NOK 512

$28.07 COP 90.5K

98.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$58.1 NOK 534

$43.70 COP 140.9K

32.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.79 NOK 274

$17.19 COP 55.4K

73.30%

Cinema Ticket

$20.78 NOK 191

$6.91 COP 22.3K

200.72%

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

$240 NOK 2,201

$797 COP 2.6M

-69.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.2K NOK 148.5K

$9,112 COP 29.4M

77.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 NOK 958

$84.7 COP 273.2K

23.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.8 NOK 567

$58.0 COP 186.9K

6.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 NOK 1,239

$135 COP 435.2K

-0.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$160 NOK 1,470

$97.9 COP 315.6K

63.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,133 NOK 19.6K

$1,208 COP 3.9M

76.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,645 NOK 15.1K

$642 COP 2.1M

156.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,270 NOK 30.0K

$2,028 COP 6.5M

61.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,466 NOK 22.7K

$1,012 COP 3.3M

143.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$12.4K NOK 113.6K

$4,170 COP 13.4M

196.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,462 NOK 68.6K

$1,910 COP 6.2M

290.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,703 NOK 43.2K

$657 COP 2.1M

615.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.94

10.94

-54.84%

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

Last update for Oslo: October 25, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Oslo

$1.6K 46.5%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 61% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Oslo

$530 15%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 44% $233

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Oslo

$524 14.8%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 59.7% $312

Eating Out

Oslo

$407 11.5%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 58.3% $237

Clothing & Footwear

Oslo

$207 5.9%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 18.5% $38

Getting Around

Oslo

$125 3.5%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 25.2% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Oslo

$100 2.8%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 42.3% $42

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,133 in Oslo versus $1,208 in Medellin. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Oslo are about 7.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $130 in Oslo versus $47 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $530 vs $297 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇳🇴 Oslo

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

00:10 12:10 AM

18:10 6:10 PM

6 h behind Oslo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,098,061 Capital

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Norwegian Krone NOK kr

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 NOK = 10.88 USD

100 NOK = 9.75 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.1 USD

10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to NOK – Norwegian Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇴 Norwegian Krone (kr)

Norwegian Krone exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 9.19 NOK (1 NOK = 0.109 USD). 1 EUR = 10.26 NOK (100 NOK = 9.75 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 3,224 COP (10,000 COP = 3.1 USD). 1 EUR = 3,600 COP (10,000 COP = 2.78 EUR).

USD to NOK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Oslo Medellin 9,200 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Oslo
Medellin

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

Oslo vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Oslo is pricier by about 116%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,307 per month in Oslo and $2,459 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Medellin, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,208 there versus $2,133 in Oslo.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $130 in Oslo and $47 in Medellin. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,538 in Oslo and $1,639 in Medellin. That makes Medellin about 54% cheaper.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Medellin, where all-in costs run around $1,639, than in Oslo at $3,538. In Medellin it covers expenses comfortably, while in Oslo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Medellin costs $1,639 versus $3,538 in Oslo. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Medellin. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Oslo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.