Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zawiya and Medellin

For one person, living is cheaper in Zawiya: $441 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

21

Cost of Living Index in Zawiya
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Zawiya Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index

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Zawiya

🇱🇾 Libya

$441

/mo nomad

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $441 per month in Zawiya vs $1,639 in Medellin, rent included.

Zawiya $441
Medellin $1,639

A couple spends around $686 per month in Zawiya vs $2,413 in Medellin, rent included.

Zawiya $686
Medellin $2,413

A family of three spends $930 per month in Zawiya vs $3,186 in Medellin, rent included.

Zawiya $930
Medellin $3,186

Zawiya is about 73% cheaper than Medellin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Zawiya sits 68% below the global median, while Medellin is 20% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.30 LYD 14.74

$8.09 COP 25.4K

-71.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$15.47 LYD 99.2

$47.05 COP 148.0K

-67.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$2.71 LYD 17.39

$9.50 COP 29.9K

-71.47%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.45 LYD 2.87

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.65 LYD 4.14

Cappuccino

$0.44 LYD 2.82

$3.01 COP 9,485

-85.38%

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

$0.44 LYD 2.84

$1.80 COP 5,660

-75.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.11 LYD 0.71

$1.41 COP 4,443

-92.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

Milk (1 liter)

$0.91 LYD 5.82

$1.51 COP 4,751

-39.74%

White Bread (500g)

$0.20 LYD 1.28

$2.38 COP 7,480

-91.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.01 LYD 6.50

$1.77 COP 5,573

-42.94%

Eggs

$1.35 LYD 8.66

$2.89 COP 9,093

-53.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.74 LYD 30.38

$10.19 COP 32.1K

-53.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.57 LYD 22.88

$9.87 COP 31.1K

-63.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.86 LYD 56.8

$13.99 COP 44.0K

-36.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 LYD 12.92

$3.97 COP 12.5K

-49.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.47 LYD 9.44

$1.55 COP 4,883

-5.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.70 LYD 4.49

$2.18 COP 6,867

-67.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 LYD 3.27

$2.18 COP 6,870

-76.61%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 LYD 3.72

$1.96 COP 6,174

-70.41%

Onion (1kg)

$0.26 LYD 1.64

$1.59 COP 5,000

-83.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 LYD 1.91

$1.15 COP 3,604

-73.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.16 LYD 1.05

$1.24 COP 3,911

-87.10%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.79 LYD 5.07

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 LYD 4.59

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 LYD 4.83

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.67 LYD 10.71

$3.96 COP 12.5K

-57.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,221

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,103

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 LYD 4.76

$1.17 COP 3,674

-36.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.22 LYD 251

$77.4 COP 243.4K

-49.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.75 LYD 4.79

$1.27 COP 3,989

-40.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.45 LYD 2.87

$2.05 COP 6,442

-78.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.31 LYD 14.80

$8.55 COP 26.9K

-72.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.02 LYD 0.12

$1.35 COP 4,237

-98.52%

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

$15.5K LYD 99.4K

$34.1K COP 107.2M

-54.48%

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

$16.8K LYD 107.4K

$34.7K COP 109.1M

-51.64%

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

$94.4 LYD 605

$170 COP 533.7K

-44.37%

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

$5.57 LYD 35.69

$13.55 COP 42.6K

-58.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$12.25 LYD 78.5

$28.07 COP 88.3K

-56.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.31 LYD 111

$43.70 COP 137.5K

-60.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.01 LYD 25.70

$17.19 COP 54.1K

-76.67%

Cinema Ticket

$3.92 LYD 25.15

$6.91 COP 21.7K

-43.27%

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

$51.5 LYD 330

$797 COP 2.5M

-93.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$897 LYD 5,749

$9,112 COP 28.7M

-90.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$20.81 LYD 133

$84.7 COP 266.5K

-75.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.19 LYD 283

$58.0 COP 182.3K

-23.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$30.99 LYD 199

$135 COP 424.6K

-77.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$31.62 LYD 203

$97.9 COP 307.9K

-67.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$88.9 LYD 570

$1,208 COP 3.8M

-92.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$58.4 LYD 375

$642 COP 2.0M

-90.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$164 LYD 1,049

$2,028 COP 6.4M

-91.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$121 LYD 772

$1,012 COP 3.2M

-88.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$347 LYD 2,227

$4,170 COP 13.1M

-91.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$98.1 LYD 629

$1,910 COP 6.0M

-94.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$251 LYD 1,609

$657 COP 2.1M

-61.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

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

Last update for Zawiya: October 26, 2026

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zawiya

$112 25.4%

Medellin

$211 12.9% 88.3% $99

Groceries & Markets

Zawiya

$109 24.7%

Medellin

$297 18.1% 173% $188

Accommodation & Living

Zawiya

$58 13.2%

Medellin

$642 39.1% 998% $583

Clothing & Footwear

Zawiya

$57 13%

Medellin

$169 10.3% 194% $112

Getting Around

Zawiya

$45 10.2%

Medellin

$94 5.7% 107% $48

Eating Out

Zawiya

$34 7.7%

Medellin

$170 10.4% 398% $136

Sport & Entertainment

Zawiya

$25 5.7%

Medellin

$58 3.5% 129% $32

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $89 in Zawiya 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 Medellin are about 2.6 times higher, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $15 in Zawiya versus $47 in Medellin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $109 vs $297 – making Zawiya the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇱🇾 Zawiya

🇨🇴 Medellin

🕒 Local time

23:22 11:22 PM

16:22 4:22 PM

7 h behind Zawiya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

318,726

2,486,723

💱 Currency

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.14 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to LYD – Libyan Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇾 Libyan Dinar (ل.د)

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.13 LYD (1 LYD = 0.14 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,502 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

USD to LYD in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Zawiya Medellin 9,480 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Zawiya
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

Zawiya vs Medellin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Medellin is pricier by about 271%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $662 per month in Zawiya 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 Zawiya, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $89 there versus $1,208 in Medellin.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $15 in Zawiya 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 $441 in Zawiya and $1,639 in Medellin. That makes Zawiya about 73% cheaper.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Zawiya, where all-in costs run around $441, than in Medellin at $1,639. In Zawiya it covers expenses comfortably, while in Medellin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

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