Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Marta and Sharm El Sheikh

For one person, living is cheaper in Sharm El Sheikh: $455 a month against $1,436 in Santa Marta, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

60

Cost of Living Index in Santa Marta
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Santa Marta Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Sharm El Sheikh
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Sharm El Sheikh Living Index

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Santa Marta

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,436

/mo nomad

Sharm El Sheikh

🇪🇬 Egypt

$455

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Marta and in Sharm El Sheikh

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,436 in Santa Marta versus $455 in Sharm El Sheikh.

Santa Marta $1,436
Sharm El Sheikh $455

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,691 in Santa Marta versus $706 in Sharm El Sheikh.

Santa Marta $1,691
Sharm El Sheikh $706

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,946 in Santa Marta versus $956 in Sharm El Sheikh.

Santa Marta $1,946
Sharm El Sheikh $956

Living in Santa Marta is roughly 216% more expensive than in Sharm El Sheikh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santa Marta is 6% above, Sharm El Sheikh is 66% below.

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.17 E£1,237

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.87 E£260

Cappuccino

$3.85 COP 12.2K

$2.23 E£119

72.65%

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

$0.33 E£17.57

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.59 E£31.40

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.79 E£202

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.66 E£249

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 COP 4,834

$0.82 E£43.80

85.37%

White Bread (500g)

$2.15 COP 6,825

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 COP 3,737

$0.45 E£24.03

162.22%

Eggs

$2.55 COP 8,070

$1.21 E£64.5

110.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.18 COP 25.9K

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.79 COP 31.0K

$3.75 E£200

161.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.43 COP 36.2K

Apples (1kg)

$4.13 COP 13.1K

$1.55 E£82.9

166.45%

Banana (1kg)

$0.98 COP 3,110

$0.45 E£24.00

117.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.12 COP 3,553

$0.45 E£24.12

148.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 COP 6,308

$0.27 E£14.28

637.04%

Potato (1kg)

$0.91 COP 2,881

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 COP 4,888

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.97 COP 3,081

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.64 COP 2,037

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.10 COP 13.0K

$2.17 E£116

88.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$17.44 COP 55.3K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 COP 4,566

$1.48 E£78.8

-2.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 COP 4,507

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 COP 3,086

$0.10 E£5.23

870.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.20 COP 10.2K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 COP 4,104

$0.46 E£24.81

180.43%

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

$24.0K COP 75.9M

$32.7K E£1.7M

-26.69%

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

$33.6K COP 106.6M

$21.8K E£1.2M

54.27%

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

$154 COP 489.7K

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

$9.26 COP 29.3K

$11.34 E£605

-18.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.25 COP 70.6K

$27.77 E£1,483

-19.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.58 COP 100.1K

Cinema Ticket

$5.07 COP 16.1K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.8K COP 34.1M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.9 COP 275.6K

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$63.5 COP 201.4K

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.6 COP 293.6K

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.2 COP 279.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,088 COP 3.5M

$359 E£19.2K

202.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$743 COP 2.4M

$287 E£15.3K

158.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 COP 3.5M

$622 E£33.2K

76.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$628 COP 2.0M

$530 E£28.3K

18.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,098 COP 3.5M

$948 E£50.6K

15.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,216 COP 3.9M

$665 E£35.5K

82.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$534 COP 1.7M

$151 E£8,062

253.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

19.54

26.5

-26.26%

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

Last update for Santa Marta: October 12, 2026

Last update for Sharm El Sheikh: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Marta

$743 51.8%

Sharm El Sheikh

$287 63.2% 61.3% $455

Groceries & Markets

Santa Marta

$263 18.3%

Sharm El Sheikh

$55 * 12% 79.2% $208

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Marta

$186 13%

Sharm El Sheikh

$39 * 8.6% 79% $147

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Marta

$149 10.4%

Sharm El Sheikh

- * 0% 100%

Eating Out

Santa Marta

$46 * 3.2%

Sharm El Sheikh

$73 * 16.1% 58.4% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Marta

$42 2.9%

Sharm El Sheikh

- * 0% 100%

Getting Around

Santa Marta

$7.1 * 0.5%

Sharm El Sheikh

$0.4 * 0.1% 94.5% $6.7

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,088 in Santa Marta and $359 in Sharm El Sheikh. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Marta pays 254% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Santa Marta

🇪🇬 Sharm El Sheikh

🕒 Local time

01:10 1:10 AM

09:10 9:10 AM

8 h ahead of Santa Marta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

500,000

38,478

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Santa Marta Sharm El Sheikh 11,190 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Marta
Sharm El Sheikh

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

Santa Marta vs Sharm El Sheikh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sharm El Sheikh wins on cost – living expenses run 216% lower than in Santa Marta. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Sharm El Sheikh the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 254% higher in Santa Marta, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,088 in Santa Marta versus $359 in Sharm El Sheikh. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 381% higher in Santa Marta. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,436 per month in Santa Marta versus $455 in Sharm El Sheikh – a 216% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $455 in Sharm El Sheikh versus $1,436 in Santa Marta, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Sharm El Sheikh but tight or insufficient in Santa Marta. The gap between the two cities makes Sharm El Sheikh the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Sharm El Sheikh delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $455 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Sharm El Sheikh hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Santa Marta and Sharm El Sheikh are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Sharm El Sheikh gentler on the wallet – expenses run 216% less than in Santa Marta. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.