Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sihanoukville and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Sihanoukville: $928 a month against $1,614 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

Sihanoukville
🇰🇭 Cambodia
$928
/mo nomad
Medellin
🇨🇴 Colombia
$1,614
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sihanoukville 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 Sihanoukville and in Medellin actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $928 per month in Sihanoukville vs $1,614 in Medellin, rent included.

  • Sihanoukville $928
  • Medellin $1,614

A couple spends around $1,395 per month in Sihanoukville vs $2,402 in Medellin, rent included.

  • Sihanoukville $1,395
  • Medellin $2,402

A family of three spends $1,862 per month in Sihanoukville vs $3,190 in Medellin, rent included.

  • Sihanoukville $1,862
  • Medellin $3,190

Sihanoukville is about 43% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Sihanoukville sits 31% below the global median, while Medellin is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Sihanoukville
Medellin
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$3.94 ៛16.0K
$7.93 COP 25.2K
-50.32%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$30.25 ៛122.7K
$46.13 COP 146.7K
-34.42%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.19 ៛29.2K
$9.50 COP 30.2K
-24.32%
Cappuccino
$2.30 ៛9,344
$3.11 COP 9,897
-26.05%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.78 ៛3,171
$1.83 COP 5,818
-57.38%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.42 ៛1,704
$1.38 COP 4,374
-69.57%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.02 ៛4,130
$3.05 COP 9,702
-66.56%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.02 ៛8,208
$5.50 COP 17.5K
-63.27%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Sihanoukville
Medellin
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$2.11 ៛8,555
$1.45 COP 4,614
45.52%
White Bread (500g)
$1.59 ៛6,463
$2.36 COP 7,519
-32.63%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.87 ៛3,513
$1.68 COP 5,345
-48.21%
Eggs
$1.71 ៛6,932
$2.86 COP 9,106
-40.21%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$13.87 ៛56.3K
$10.19 COP 32.4K
36.11%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$4.10 ៛16.6K
$9.53 COP 30.3K
-56.98%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$8.78 ៛35.6K
$14.04 COP 44.7K
-37.46%
Apples (1kg)
$3.59 ៛14.6K
$4.07 COP 12.9K
-11.79%
Banana (1kg)
$1.38 ៛5,591
$1.50 COP 4,757
-8.00%
Oranges (1kg)
$4.25 ៛17.2K
$2.17 COP 6,913
95.85%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.61 ៛6,540
$2.31 COP 7,333
-30.30%
Potato (1kg)
$1.35 ៛5,465
$1.93 COP 6,132
-30.05%
Onion (1kg)
$1.15 ៛4,647
$1.64 COP 5,212
-29.88%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.19 ៛4,816
$1.13 COP 3,582
5.31%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.73 ៛2,946
$1.25 COP 3,966
-41.60%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$1.46 ៛5,938
$3.99 COP 12.7K
-63.41%
Wine (Bottle)
$11.16 ៛45.3K
$13.35 COP 42.5K
-16.40%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$0.90 ៛3,669
$1.70 COP 5,400
-47.06%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.65 ៛6,713
$2.37 COP 7,549
-30.38%
🚌 Getting Around
Sihanoukville
Medellin
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
-
$1.21 COP 3,839
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$76.5 COP 243.3K
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.09 ៛4,428
$1.32 COP 4,193
-17.42%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.03 ៛4,177
$2.14 COP 6,795
-51.87%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.19 ៛21.0K
$8.47 COP 26.9K
-38.72%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.25 ៛5,053
$1.30 COP 4,127
-3.85%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$34.3K ៛139.2M
$28.0K COP 89.0M
22.62%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$43.5K ៛176.5M
$35.4K COP 112.6M
22.84%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sihanoukville
Medellin
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$106 ៛431.0K
$172 COP 547.3K
-38.25%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$6.46 ៛26.2K
$13.37 COP 42.5K
-51.68%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$18.99 ៛77.0K
$28.73 COP 91.4K
-33.90%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Sihanoukville
Medellin
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$72.2 ៛292.7K
$45.24 COP 143.9K
59.50%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$10.11 ៛41.0K
$17.04 COP 54.2K
-40.67%
Cinema Ticket
$5.09 ៛20.6K
$6.28 COP 20.0K
-18.95%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Sihanoukville
Medellin
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$339 ៛1.4M
$770 COP 2.4M
-55.97%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,096 ៛20.7M
$9,011 COP 28.7M
-43.45%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Sihanoukville
Medellin
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$28.55 ៛115.8K
$86.4 COP 274.8K
-66.96%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$20.14 ៛81.7K
$57.1 COP 181.7K
-64.75%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$89.5 ៛363.2K
$137 COP 434.3K
-34.42%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$20.29 ៛82.3K
$97.9 COP 311.4K
-79.28%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Sihanoukville
Medellin
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$407 ៛1.6M
$1,055 COP 3.4M
-61.46%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$304 ៛1.2M
$616 COP 2.0M
-50.57%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$643 ៛2.6M
$1,892 COP 6.0M
-66.00%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$492 ៛2.0M
$1,023 COP 3.3M
-51.87%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$4,059 COP 12.9M
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$1,678 COP 5.3M
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Sihanoukville
Medellin
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
-
$652 COP 2.1M
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
8.07
10.94
-26.23%

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

Last update for Sihanoukville: October 11, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Sihanoukville
$304
Medellin
$616 102% $311
Groceries & Markets
Sihanoukville
$237
Medellin
$295 24.3% $58
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Sihanoukville
$132
Medellin
$214 62.6% $82
Eating Out
Sihanoukville
$95
Medellin
$168 77.9% $74
Sport & Entertainment
Sihanoukville
$82
Medellin
$58 29.8% $25
Clothing & Footwear
Sihanoukville
$71
Medellin
$170 138% $99
Getting Around
Sihanoukville
$6.2 *
Medellin
$93 1396% $87

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $407 in Sihanoukville versus $1,055 in Medellin. 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 $30.00 in Sihanoukville versus $46.00 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $237 vs $295 – making Sihanoukville the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇰🇭 Sihanoukville
🇨🇴 Medellin
🕒 Local time
00:02 12:02 AM
12:02 12:02 PM
12 h behind Sihanoukville
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
73,036
2,486,723
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to KHR – Cambodian Riel Converter

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 4,056 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.47 USD). 1 EUR = 4,545 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.2 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 3,181 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,564 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Sihanoukville Medellin 18,130 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Sihanoukville
  • 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
Sihanoukville vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Medellin cheaper than Sihanoukville?
Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 74%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in clothing.
What income do you need for each city?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,392 per month in Sihanoukville and $2,421 in Medellin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Which city has lower housing costs?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Sihanoukville, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.
Is eating out cheaper in Sihanoukville or in Medellin?
A mid-range dinner for two costs $30.00 in Sihanoukville and $46.00 in Medellin. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.
How do food prices compare in Sihanoukville and in Medellin?
Groceries cost about 24% more in Medellin, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.
Is $2,000 a realistic budget for living in Sihanoukville or in Medellin?
A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Sihanoukville, where all-in costs run around $928, than in Medellin at $1,614. In Sihanoukville it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Is Sihanoukville or Medellin more family-friendly?
Families tend to lean toward Sihanoukville – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.
Which city is the better choice to relocate to?
If budget matters most, go with Sihanoukville. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Medellin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.

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