Cost of living comparison

compared to

Cartagena vs. Phnom Penh Cost of Living Summary

Cartagena is 24.0% more expensive than Phnom Penh.

Restaurants: pay 9.1% more in Cartagena
Groceries: pay 6.3% less in Cartagena
Transportation: pay 56.8% more in Cartagena
Housing: pay 47.5% more in Cartagena
Childcare: pay 10.8% less in Cartagena
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.9% less in Cartagena
Clothing: pay 82.8% more in Cartagena

The cost of clothing, transportation, housing, and restaurants in Cartagena are more expensive than in Phnom Penh. Expenses including entertainment and sports, childcare, and groceries are lower in Cartagena. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in Cartagena.

Cartagena vs. Phnom Penh Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Cartagena instead of Phnom Penh, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 9.1% more for restaurants

	Phnom Penh	Cartagena
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.00 KHR20,018.85	$6.08 COP23,106.09	+21.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.00 KHR28,026.39	$9.99 COP37,949.89	+42.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.93 KHR3,721.15	$0.88 COP3,360.84	-4.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.91 KHR3,656.62	$0.70 COP2,670.02	-23.0%
Average			+9.1%

Phnom Penh vs. Cartagena - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.3% less for groceries

	Phnom Penh	Cartagena
Bread 1 loaf	$1.65 KHR6,608.28	$2.01 COP7,651.68	+22.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.70 KHR26,825.26	$3.71 COP14,093.07	-44.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.17 KHR32,701.82	$4.75 COP18,051.51	-41.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.82 KHR7,282.41	$2.30 COP8,750.82	+26.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.01 KHR8,041.21	$2.95 COP11,194.34	+46.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.81 KHR7,249.19	$1.56 COP5,942.07	-13.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.88 KHR3,541.36	$0.94 COP3,567.92	+6.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.91 KHR7,663.87	$0.72 COP2,720.54	-62.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 KHR2,942.05	$0.78 COP2,973.26	+6.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.88 KHR3,511.09	$0.76 COP2,898.93	-13.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.54 KHR2,149.03	$0.53 COP2,006.95	-1.6%
Average			-6.3%

Phnom Penh vs. Cartagena - Cost of groceries

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pay 56.8% more for transportation

	Phnom Penh	Cartagena
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.33 KHR17,336.51	$3.99 COP15,160.48	-7.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.60 KHR38,436.20	$30.54 COP116,022.06	+218.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$49,000.00 KHR196,184,757.29	$22,645.31 COP86,033,306.54	-53.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.05 KHR36,245.37	$15.45 COP58,708.83	+70.7%
Average			+56.8%

Phnom Penh vs. Cartagena - Cost of transportation

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pay 47.5% more for housing

	Phnom Penh	Cartagena
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.29 KHR85,223.90	$26.66 COP101,273.49	+25.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$481.60 KHR1,928,225.26	$776.41 COP2,949,713.37	+61.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$273.92 KHR1,096,705.90	$451.77 COP1,716,359.12	+64.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$82.99 KHR332,257.04	$115.21 COP437,706.07	+38.8%
Average			+47.5%

Phnom Penh vs. Cartagena - Cost of housing

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pay 10.8% less for childcare

	Phnom Penh	Cartagena
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$293.33 KHR1,174,439.36	$151.40 COP575,194.11	-48.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,141.67 KHR28,593,594.73	$9,058.12 COP34,413,322.61	+26.8%
Average			-10.8%

Phnom Penh vs. Cartagena - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Phnom Penh	Cartagena
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.21 KHR4,837.39	$0.91 COP3,441.33	-25.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.53 KHR10,114.79	$1.68 COP6,391.05	-33.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.88 KHR7,507.07	$2.46 COP9,340.76	+31.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.67 KHR166,823.77	$37.46 COP142,323.67	-10.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.75 KHR15,014.14	$3.11 COP11,798.85	-17.2%
Average			-10.9%

Phnom Penh vs. Cartagena - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 82.8% more for clothing

	Phnom Penh	Cartagena
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$25.75 KHR103,097.09	$51.76 COP196,647.56	+101.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$23.33 KHR93,421.31	$41.41 COP157,318.05	+77.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.00 KHR352,331.81	$133.72 COP508,006.19	+51.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$60.20 KHR241,026.99	$120.77 COP458,844.30	+100.6%
Average			+82.8%

Phnom Penh vs. Cartagena - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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